What latex screed copes with in Chippenham refits
Latex screed takes its name from how it is mixed. A cement based powder is stirred into a latex liquid rather than water, and the result is a compound that grips well, flexes slightly and can be spread a few millimetres thick. That makes it a smoothing layer for the floor underneath a soft or thin covering, not a structural floor in its own right.
Kitchen and bathroom refits are where it earns its place. Once the old lino or carpet tiles come up, the surface below can be a patchwork: quarry tiles in one corner, concrete in another, a strip of old adhesive where a cabinet stood. Sheet vinyl, LVT, lino, rubber and safety flooring all show that patchwork straight through. A latex skim hides it.
Timber floors need a different start. Bare floorboards move with every step and every season, so latex is never spread directly onto them. So the first job is a layer of flooring grade plywood, fixed with plenty of screws, and only that plywood is skimmed. Old quarry or ceramic tiles can stay if each one is firmly stuck; we tap them across the room and lift any that sound loose. A thin, well stuck film of old adhesive may be able to stay, sealed with a primer suited to it.
Every base gets its own primer first, chosen for what is actually there. If the question is wider than latex, for example bringing a whole room or two joined floors to SR1, our floor levelling page for Chippenham covers that job.
When a Chippenham floor needs more than latex
Latex is a thin finishing layer, so the base it lands on has to be dry, firm and roughly flat already. It will not hold down boards that bounce, it will not stop damp coming up, and it cannot rebuild a floor that falls away badly from one wall.
Damp is the first check in the older terraces near Chippenham town centre, which often lack a damp proof membrane and have tired concrete. A smoothing compound laid over a damp slab can soften or blister, and the new vinyl may lift. A moisture reading comes before any price. If the floor is wet because there is no membrane, the honest fix is to dig out and rebuild it, which our sand and cement screed service in Chippenham explains.
Springy timber is the second check. If boards flex under a heel, the joists or fixings need sorting and the floor overboarding before any latex goes down; otherwise the compound cracks along the board lines within weeks.
The third is level. Where a floor dips by more than a few millimetres across a room, latex alone is the wrong product, and a deeper repair or new screed comes first. Cracked and hollow patches in old concrete are handled by our concrete floor repair work.
Where the base turns out to be a calcium sulphate screed, its laitance is sanded off and the surface primed before any latex goes on.
How we price latex screed in Chippenham
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 Chippenham
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 Chippenham
On the map, Chippenham sits west of Slough, about 63.6 miles from our base in a straight line (postcodes including SN15), next to Corsham (3.5 miles), Calne (4.9 miles), Melksham (6 miles) and Devizes (9 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
