Liquid screed, spray render and external wall insulation by our own teams, on our projects and as a package on yours.
Screed, render and insulation
The Lynch Brother Group lays liquid screed, applies spray render and fits external wall insulation on commercial projects across Oxford and Oxfordshire. Our own teams do the work in offices, schools and laboratories, within our own main contracting and fit out projects and as a package for other contractors and developers. Send us the drawings and the floor areas or the elevations; we will price the work and give you the dates.
Flowing screed pumped and laid to level over insulation, underfloor heating or a structural slab, in cement-based and calcium sulphate (anhydrite) systems chosen for the floor finish and the programme.
Floor insulation, the separating membrane and edge strips laid, then the levels checked before the pour, so the screed is the depth the specification asks for across the whole floor.
Screed laid over underfloor heating pipes at the cover the system needs, with the pipes clipped down and pressure-tested before the pour and the heating run through a controlled warm-up once the screed has cured.
Monocouche (one-coat, coloured through), silicone and acrylic render systems, sprayed onto prepared blockwork, a reinforced base coat or insulation boards, then finished by hand to the specified texture.
Insulation boards fixed to the wall, a base coat with the mesh in it, then the render finish, in BBA-certified systems tested as one build-up and fitted by our own manufacturer-approved teams.
Existing render surveyed, loose areas removed and made good, then refinished so the wall has one even finish again.
Moisture readings, laitance sanded off where the system needs it, the drying programme in writing, and a handover that tells the next trade when the floor or the wall is ready.
Commercial liquid screed goes down faster and flatter than a sand and cement screed and wraps underfloor heating pipes without voids. On a commercial floor the questions are different: bay sizes and day joints, movement joints at columns and doorways, the surface regularity the finish needs, and the loads the floor will carry, from plant to raised-access pedestals. We set those at the survey, pour to them and sand off the laitance before the finish goes down.
Spray application puts the render on evenly and quickly over large elevations, which is why most commercial rendering is sprayed; our own teams then finish it by hand. The systems we use are coloured all the way through, so the colour needs no paint, or painted to the specification. They are weatherproof and matched across the whole building.
Commercial external wall insulation cuts the heat a building loses through its walls and gives it a new finished face at the same time. On commercial buildings it is usually part of a retrofit, and we fit it first, because every other measure works better once the walls hold their heat.
On most projects screed, render and insulation come from three subcontractors, each on its own programme. In the Lynch Brother Group they are our own teams. One site team sequences the preparation, the pour, the insulation and the render, and the people who will do the work set the price.
We deliver them in two ways. Within our own projects they are part of the programme, whether that is a new build, a fit out, a retrofit or a residential development scheme for a developer. For other main contractors and developers we deliver them as a package: our teams and our price, to your programme, on your site. Either way the specification and the dates are in writing before we start.
Screed and render are trades where the preparation decides the result. A screed laid too thin over soft insulation cracks. A render put on a wall that is wet, dusty or has no key does not bond. So we survey before we price, check before we pour or spray, and test before we hand over.
Most of this work is in Oxford and across the county, in buildings that stay in use while we work. Screed is pumped from the truck at the site boundary, so the floors stay clear. Render and insulation are done from scaffold in agreed hours. The drying programme is planned into the project, so the following trades are not kept waiting. The same group also offers decorating and finishes for the surfaces that come after.
Science & Laboratories
Lab fit out and refurbishment
Workspace & Offices
Cat A, Cat B and full building refurbishment
Retail
Shopfitting and fit outs that open on time
Hospitality
Refurbishments designed around trading hours
Education
Schools and colleges; summer works a speciality
Student Accommodation
Build and refurb, timed to the academic year
Residential Development
Multi-plot schemes, groundworks to handover
Heritage & Listed
Conservation-grade work on period buildings
How the work runs
Every job is priced from its own drawings and survey. Send us yours.
Main Contracting
Main contractor and design and build partner
New Build Construction
Offices, labs, education and residential development
Fit Out & Refurbishment
Cat A, Cat B and full refurbishment
Dilapidations
Strip out, repairs and making good, for tenants and landlords
Retrofit & Decarbonisation
External wall insulation, render systems and energy upgrades
Screed, Render & Insulation
Liquid screed, spray rendering and external wall insulation
Decorating & Finishes
High-end decorating and tiling — the final finish
Property Management & Maintenance
Planned maintenance for landlords and businesses
From the site office
Liquid screed is priced per square metre. The rate depends on the depth the specification needs, the area, the access for the pump and whether the screed has to wrap underfloor heating. A large open floor at a standard depth is one job; a deep pour in a building with no road access is another. We price from the drawings and a survey, with the preparation and the moisture testing in the price.
Liquid screed dries at a rate set by the system, the depth and the conditions in the building, so the drying time is planned into the programme. As a rule of thumb, cement-based flowing screeds dry faster than anhydrite ones, and heat and airflow shorten both. We give the drying programme in writing at the survey stage. We take moisture readings before the floor finish goes down, so nothing is laid on a floor that is not ready.
Each system has a minimum and a maximum depth set by its manufacturer, and the right depth depends on what is under the screed: a structural slab, insulation boards, or underfloor heating pipes and the cover they need. Thicker is not always better: it costs more, dries slower and adds weight. We set the depth from the specification and the survey, and we check the levels before the pour so the whole floor is laid to it.
A liquid screed is as strong as its specification, and the floor's use sets that. The system, the depth and what lies beneath it decide the load it will carry: office furniture, laboratory benches, plant or the pedestals of a raised access floor. Tell us about point loads and trolley traffic at the survey, so the depth and any reinforcement are set for them before we price.
External wall insulation changes the outside of a building, so it can need planning permission; your planning adviser or the council will confirm what applies. It must be detailed properly at every window reveal, sill, eave, service penetration and the base of the wall, or water gets behind it, and it needs a sound wall to fix to. So have one team survey, specify and install it. Done properly, it cuts heat loss and renews the face of the building.
There is no single best. The choice depends on the wall, the finish and what the building has to achieve. Expanded polystyrene boards suit many low-rise masonry buildings with a rendered finish. Mineral wool suits buildings where the height or the use calls for non-combustible insulation, or where the wall must let moisture out. We use certified systems, tested as one build-up of board, fixings, mesh, base coat and finish, and recommend the one that suits the building.
Something else on your mind? Ask us directly.
Planning something serious — commercial, residential or a property portfolio that needs looking after? Send the outline and we'll take it from there.
