How much does a tiled floor weigh per m²?
Add up the dead load of each layer. Screed weighs about 2 kg per m² for every millimetre, so 50 mm is 100 kg/m²; tile adhesive adds roughly what its powder weighs, 4 to 6 kg/m²; porcelain weighs about 2.35 kg/m² per millimetre of thickness. Grout is light — about 0.1 kg/m² for large tiles, more for mosaics.
So a 50 mm screed with porcelain comes to about 128 kg/m², while the same tiles fixed straight to a slab weigh under 30. The calculator lists every layer, the total per m² and for the room, and the same floor without the screed, using the layers set up in the floor renovation calculator.
Weight of each layer
Typical values; the weight printed on a box beats any of them:
- Sand-cement screed: about 2 kg/m² per mm (100 kg/m² at 50 mm).
- Anhydrite (calcium sulphate) liquid screed: about 2 kg/m² per mm.
- Self-levelling compound: about 1.6 kg/m² per mm.
- Tile adhesive: 3 to 6 kg/m², about the weight of the powder.
- Tiles at 10 mm: porcelain 23.5 kg/m², ceramic 20, marble, granite or slate 27, limestone 24, terracotta 19.
- Boards: click vinyl (SPC) about 10 kg/m² at 5 mm, laminate about 7 kg/m² at 8 mm, engineered wood about 10 kg/m².
The floor weight formula
load = Σ layer weights per m²; room total = load × area
Screeds and levelling compounds use their coverage rate times their depth, tile adhesive counts as its powder weight, and tiles and boards use the box weight divided by the box coverage — or thickness × a typical density when no box weight is entered. The screed calculator uses the same rates for the bags.
Worked example
- Room 4 × 3 m = 12 m²: 50 mm sand-cement screed, tile adhesive 4 kg/m², 10 mm porcelain, 2 mm grout joints.
- Screed 100 + adhesive 4.0 + porcelain 23.5 + grout 0.11 = 127.6 kg/m².
- Room total: 127.6 × 12 = 1,531 kg.
- Without the screed: 27.6 kg/m², 331 kg for the room.
Timber floors and upper storeys
On a ground-bearing slab the weight rarely matters. On timber joists or an upper-floor slab it does: a screed with tiles can weigh several times what the floor was designed around. Tiling guidance also asks for a stiff floor — commonly L/360 deflection for ceramic and porcelain and L/720 for natural stone. The calculator does not know your joist spans, so have the structure checked before adding a heavy floor upstairs.
Weight to carry home
Below the per-m² figures, the calculator adds up what you will carry: bags of screed and adhesive at their bag weight, and boxes of tiles or packs of boards at the weight printed on them, or an estimate from typical density when you have not entered it. Even a small bathroom with levelling compound, adhesive and tiles often comes to 150 kg or more — worth knowing before you load the car.
Frequently asked questions
How much does screed weigh per m²?
About 2 kg per m² for every millimetre, so a 50 mm screed is about 100 kg/m² and a 75 mm screed about 150 kg/m².
How much do porcelain tiles weigh per m²?
About 23.5 kg/m² at 10 mm thick and 19 kg/m² at 8 mm. The weight printed on the box divided by the box coverage is more accurate.
Can my floor joists take a tiled floor?
Often yes for tiles fixed to a stiff overlay or a thin membrane, at about 30 to 40 kg/m². A screed at 100 kg/m² or more needs a floor designed for it — ask a structural engineer.
Is self-levelling compound lighter than screed?
Slightly, about 1.6 kg/m² per mm against 2, but it is usually poured much thinner, so it adds far less weight.
How much will I carry home for one bathroom?
The weight-to-carry list adds up your bags and boxes. A small bathroom with levelling compound, adhesive and porcelain is often 150 to 200 kg.
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