What latex screed is and where Baldock floors need it
Latex screed is a trade name rather than a separate kind of screed. It comes in two parts: a cement based powder and a latex liquid, which is stirred in where an ordinary compound would take water. The latex helps the mix grip and lets it flex very slightly, which is why it gets chosen for bases that are a little unusual. It goes down thin, normally a few millimetres, and it depends completely on the floor beneath being sound.
Semis and terraces from the 1970s to the 1990s, Clothall Common among them, are the core of Baldock's market for kitchen remodels. Pull up the old vinyl in a kitchen of that age and there may be ceramic tiles, a patched concrete slab or a film of old adhesive underneath. Where the tiles are firmly bonded and the adhesive is hard, latex can go straight over once the surface is cleaned and primed, so nothing has to be broken out.
Upstairs bathrooms are another matter, because they almost always sit on timber. Latex should never be poured onto bare floorboards, which move and open up. The boards are screwed down first and overlaid with flooring grade plywood, and the latex then goes over the plywood.
Along the High Street, older buildings converted into flats or shops can hold a mix of bases left by earlier alterations, with timber in one room and tiles in the next. Each base gets its own primer. A calcium sulphate screed, wherever one turns up, always has its laitance taken off and is primed before latex touches it. If a stubborn coating or old paint has to come off first, our concrete floor grinding in Baldock deals with that.
When a Baldock floor needs more than latex
Latex is a finishing layer, so it cannot rescue a floor with a deeper fault. Three problems are common in older houses, and each has to be dealt with before any compound is mixed.
Springy boards come first. If a bedroom or landing floor bounces underfoot, the latex will crack along the board lines however carefully it is spread. The fix lies in the joists and boards, then plywood overboarding, and only after that a thin coat.
Damp is the second. Latex does nothing to stop moisture rising through an old solid floor. A ground floor without a working membrane will push damp into the new layer and lift the vinyl on top. We check for damp before quoting, and where the floor is wet the answer is a new membrane and screed rather than a coat of latex.
The third is level. A few millimetres of latex smooths a surface; it does not straighten a floor that falls across the room. For that, general levelling or a fresh screed is the starting point.
Once those checks pass, latex suits finishes that show every flaw: sheet vinyl, LVT, safety flooring in a shop kitchen, lino, rubber and carpet. If your refit is in the next town along, read about latex screed in Stotfold.
How we price latex screed in Baldock
A fixed written price within 24 hours, once we know the area and the base. See our floor screeding cost guide.
Who lays your latex screed in Baldock
K & B Screeding’s own team, led by director Donatas Bardisevicius. Founded 2019, company 12298780.
See what customers say in our Google reviews and on our testimonials page.
Latex Screed from Slough to Baldock
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 37.2 miles from Baldock, which lies to the north-north-east. Postcodes here include SG7, and Letchworth (2 miles), Stotfold (2.6 miles), Hitchin (4.8 miles) and Stevenage (6.1 miles) are close by.
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
