Refitting kitchens and bathrooms in Bletchley's post-war houses
Bletchley has very few old houses. Only 4% of its homes date from before 1919 and 5% from the inter-war years, so the floors that need latex mostly belong to the overspill era and the estates of the 1970s to 1990s. On the ground floor that normally means concrete; upstairs it normally means timber.
Ground floors first. An original concrete floor that is still hard and dry, but pitted, patched or ridged with old tile adhesive, makes a good base for latex. It is cleaned, loose patches are cut out and filled, and the surface is primed so the compound bonds instead of drying out too fast. Firmly fixed ceramic or quarry tiles left from an earlier kitchen can also stay, once any hollow ones are lifted and the glaze is cleaned and primed.
Upstairs is a different job. Bathroom floors on upper storeys are usually boarded, and latex must never go straight onto boards. They are screwed down, any split ones are replaced, and the floor is overboarded with flooring grade plywood before the latex goes on. Springy joists need a carpenter first, because no compound stiffens a floor.
Where the old concrete has cracked right through or dropped, latex is the wrong product altogether. That floor needs digging out and relaying, as our sand and cement page for Bletchley explains, or a concrete floor repair if the damage is confined to one area.
Latex, damp and primers on Bletchley floors
The finish decides whether latex is needed. Sheet vinyl, LVT, lino, rubber and safety flooring are glued down thin and copy whatever lies beneath them, so an old grout line or a trowel ridge will show. Carpet hides more, yet still wears unevenly over a step between surfaces. If one of the thin finishes is going into a house in Fenny Stratford, Far Bletchley or Eaton Leys, allow for a latex layer unless the floor is already smooth.
Damp comes next. Older ground floors were not always laid with an effective membrane, and a latex skin over a damp floor will blister or lift. We test before laying, and where the reading is high the damp is dealt with before any compound.
The primer has to suit the surface. Concrete, ply, glazed tile and old adhesive each take a different primer, and a calcium sulphate screed must have its laitance removed and be primed before latex goes anywhere near it.
This page is about awkward bases. If your question is how flat a floor has to be for a given finish, or whether you need compound or a new screed, the floor levelling in Bletchley page covers it, and our page on latex screed in Milton Keynes covers the neighbouring city.
How we price latex screed in Bletchley
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 Bletchley
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 Bletchley
Bletchley is about 32.1 miles north of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including MK3, MK1, MK17 and MK2. The nearest towns to it are Milton Keynes (3.5 miles), Leighton Buzzard (6.2 miles), Newport Pagnell (6.5 miles) and Flitwick (10.4 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
