Eye-catching natural screed floor

Eye-catching ‘natural’ screed floor for Yum Cha restaurant in Manchester

Clockwork Screed’s recent screed floor project at Manchester’s Yum Cha restaurant presented us with a slight departure from our usual installations.

The brief

The owners of Liverpool’s highly successful Yum Cha restaurant, known for its authentic Chinese small plates, contacted Clockwork Screed for help with the floor installation at their new restaurant in Manchester city centre.

We quickly organised a site survey to share our expertise and advice, after which Yum Cha appointed us to complete the screeding works.

The majority of our liquid floor screed installations are finished in a natural state, this was ideal for Yum Cha as they specifically asked to leave the natural finish, so it could be polished at a later date. The client wanted an industrial style décor to create an authentically earthy and relaxed representation of their brand and cuisine. The polished concrete floor would complement design elements such as the soft lanterns and wood carvings.

The works

Yum Cha is located inside Kampus, a residential community in the city centre of Manchester. This presented challenges such as parking, accessing a water source and having an area to wash off. The owners of the restaurant, Adam and Neil, worked with us to plan in advance to remove all obstacles so that work could begin on schedule.

We used our purpose built mobile screed factory to deliver the exact amount of screed required to the restaurant, over two days. We batched the material on site, tested the product and pumped it into the restaurant. Using our innovative mobile screed factory avoids having to use additional production companies who would have to make multiple trips to deliver the screed. This is particularly beneficial when working in city centres were access and parking is extremely limited. Having one company with one vehicle to deliver the screed also keeps movement around the site to a minimum.

We were working over two levels in the restaurant and decided to break the area so that natural joints were created without having to complete unnecessary saw cuts on the slab.

As requested by the client, we left a raw finish on the screed floor and around a month after our installation, the polishing company we brought into the project were able to attend site, prepare, grind, sand and polish the slab to the client’s desired sheen.

The restaurant has now opened its doors to the public and is receiving rave reviews. We are, of course, particularly proud of the beautiful screed floor that greets every customer upon arrival.

Benefits of Clockwork Screed’s work to the client

· We were able to complete our work in two days using our unique mobile screed factory without disrupting the area surrounding the site and its residents.

· By being adaptable and understanding the client’s vision, we were able to provide exactly the kind of floor they needed, ready for the final polish by another contractor.

· The natural joints we created enhanced the authenticity of the ‘raw’ finish that allowed the floor to authentically complement the overall décor of the restaurant.

· Our cementitious screed creates no surface dust after curing, allowing for the polish to be applied without any issues.

· We used our network of contractors to find a reputable company to polish the floor once our work was done.