Looking to give your garden area a showroom quality finish? When building a modern garden, homeowners want to bring the comfort and style of indoor spaces outside. At the same time, they’re looking for practicality and long-lasting quality in their hard landscaping.
The question is… How do you create a perfectly flat, level surface to support patios, pathways, garden rooms and other outdoor flooring? The answer is simple: Use a screed pump for fast, even coverage. In this guide, we’ll show you the innovative screed pump hire techniques that professionals use to build the outdoor areas of modern gardens.
What You’re Going to Discover
- Why Screed Pumps Are Essential for Garden Projects
- The Different Types of Screed Pumps Available
- How to Choose the Right Equipment
- Top Techniques for Perfect Garden Flooring
Why Screed Pumps Matter for Modern Gardens
The UK garden hard landscaping market is currently estimated to be worth £357 million. Garden patios and pathways in particular have become extremely popular in recent years, helping drive this growth.
The problem is that laying a screed for an outdoor flooring installation is incredibly difficult if you don’t have the right tools and techniques.
Manual methods are time-consuming, labour-intensive, and often fail to provide a completely level and consistent finish.
A screed pump offers a solution by pumping the screed material exactly where it’s needed. It saves time, money, and effort, while providing a better finish than traditional methods. That’s why UK screed pump rental is the smart choice for homeowners who are building a garden project and need to prepare a solid base for tiles, natural stone, or composite decking.
Simple enough to understand, right?
The Different Types of Screed Pumps
As with any kind of construction machinery, it pays to know the differences between screed pumps and what they’re best used for. Let’s take a closer look at the different types you’re likely to encounter.
Traditional Sand and Cement Pumps
These are workhorse machines that can handle standard screed mixes just like you’d use indoors. They’re best suited to larger garden applications where you need to pump screed over a greater area.
Traditional sand and cement pumps are great for:
- Patio bases
- Garden room foundations
- Pathway installations
- Outdoor kitchen areas
Liquid Screed Pumps
Liquid screed (or flowing screed as it’s also known) is rapidly gaining in popularity for garden and outdoor flooring projects. The big advantage of liquid screed is that it self-levels to provide a flatter finish with less effort.
The global floor screed market is projected to grow at 6.2% annually through 2032. This growth is being driven in large part by innovations in liquid screed systems that make installation faster and easier.
Heated Screed Systems
If you’re planning to have underfloor heating in your garden room or outdoor kitchen area, heated screed systems are what you need.
Heated screed has a number of advantages including:
- Even heat distribution
- Improved thermal efficiency
- Compatibility with a wide range of floor finishes
- Durability
How to Choose the Right Equipment
There are many factors to consider when it comes to hiring the appropriate screed pump for your garden project.
Get this wrong and your entire job will suffer.
Consider Your Project Size
The size of your patio, garden room, or pathway determines which type of screed pump you’ll need. A small area might only require a small, lightweight machine. Larger garden applications will need something with greater capacity and reach.
Think about how much area you need to cover in total. Most screed pumps can reach 100 metres or more from their power source, so they can be used even in larger residential gardens.
Think About Access
Access can be a real problem when using screed pumps in gardens. Narrow side passages, steps, and gates can all be difficult to get equipment through.
Always measure your access points carefully before hiring anything.
The good news is that many modern screed pumps are designed for easy manoeuvrability. Some can even be placed on the street and use long hoses to pump screed into the property via a side passage.
Match the Screed Type
Make sure the pump you’re hiring is compatible with the type of screed you plan to use. Ask the hire company about the following:
- Maximum aggregate size the pump can handle
- Flow rate capabilities
- Hose lengths available
- Clean-up requirements
Top Techniques for Perfect Garden Flooring
Having the right equipment is only half the battle. The other half is knowing how to use it properly to get the best results.
Preparation Is Everything
The surface on which the screed is laid (known as the substrate) needs to be clean, stable, and properly prepared. Failure to do so will result in a sub-par finish.
For garden applications, this often means:
- Thoroughly compacting the sub-base
- Installing a suitable membrane
- Setting out accurate levels
- Ensuring the right amount of fall for drainage
Control Your Environment
The weather impacts screed curing, which in turn affects the overall quality of your finished installation. Hot, dry weather causes the screed to lose moisture quickly. Cold weather, on the other hand, slows down the curing process and can impact its strength.
Plan your project for mild weather conditions wherever possible. If you have no choice but to work in less than ideal conditions, take steps like covering the screed as soon as possible or using accelerators and retarders.
Work in Sections
Unless you’re working on a very small area, you should be breaking the whole installation down into sections. Working in bays gives you more control over the finish, and also allows you to compact and level each section properly before it starts to set.
Professional contractors often use bays of 20-30 square metres. It’s a good rule of thumb to follow when laying screed in modern gardens.
Get the Depth Right
Too shallow and the screed won’t perform as it should. Too deep and you’re wasting material (and money). The minimum depth for most outdoor applications is 50mm, but this can vary depending on the intended use.
Always check the recommendations from the screed manufacturer.
The Benefits of Professional-Grade Equipment
Why bother hiring a screed pump when you could mix the material and lay it by hand?
Let’s just run through the advantages quickly:
Speed: A screed pump can lay 10 times more material per hour than traditional methods.
Consistency: Pumped screed has a more consistent density and composition throughout.
Reduced Labour: Fewer people are needed, reducing costs on large projects.
Better Finish: The screed material flows into place smoothly, which reduces the occurrence of air pockets and other weak spots.
Less Waste: Material is delivered precisely where it’s needed, resulting in less waste.
Wrapping Things Up
Innovative screed pump hire techniques have revolutionised how modern gardens are built in the UK.
Whether it’s a simple patio base or a complex outdoor flooring installation for a garden room or modern kitchen, having the right equipment makes all the difference.
To quickly recap:
- Match the pump type to the screed material
- Take access and project size into account before hiring
- Prepare the substrate properly
- Work in sections
- Control environmental factors during curing
The market for outdoor flooring is only set to continue growing as more and more people invest in their gardens. By taking the right approach and using professional-grade equipment, you can achieve a finish that rivals even commercial installations.
Whether you’re building a sleek contemporary patio area or a cosy foundation for a garden room, screed pump hire brings professional quality within reach.
Images courtesy of unsplash.com, Freepix and pexels.com
