Latex over plywood and old tiles in East Grinstead
Latex screed is a two part product. One part is a cement based powder, the other a latex liquid, and the two are mixed together with no water added. Laid a few millimetres thick, it smooths a base that is already sound; it does not build up a floor that is missing height.
Timber floors are never latexed directly. Bare boards move, and a thin layer would crack along each one. The boards are screwed down, any soft or broken ones replaced, and the floor overboarded with flooring grade plywood. The plywood is primed and the latex laid on top. If the floor still flexes when walked on, the joists need looking at before any flooring work continues.
Solid floors in older houses are often a patchwork: a band of quarry tiles, a concrete repair, a strip of old adhesive. Tiles that are still firmly bonded can stay; loose ones are lifted. Old adhesive that is thin, hard and well stuck can be primed over, while soft residue comes off. Terraced houses are 17% of the town's homes, and a refitted terrace kitchen or bathroom is exactly the kind of small room where mixed bases turn up.
Wherever the house is, from Sunnyside and North End to Blackwell, the aim is the same: a smooth skin so sheet vinyl or LVT does not show the joints and grout lines below. Where the floor is more than a few millimetres out, floor levelling in East Grinstead explains the deeper options.
Damp, primers and finishes in East Grinstead homes
Before latex, three checks decide whether it is the right answer at all.
The first is damp. Latex does not stop moisture. On a ground floor slab a reading is taken before priming, and a floor that is damp needs a membrane or rebuilding first, otherwise the new vinyl will lift.
The second is movement. Springy boards, loose tiles and plywood fixed too far apart will all crack a thin layer, so they are fixed before anything else happens.
The third is level. Latex is laid thin. A floor that falls badly across the room needs screed, and a deep pour of compound is no substitute; rebuilding with sand and cement screed is the route then.
Priming follows, matched to the base: concrete, plywood, tiles and old adhesive each take their own product. Any calcium sulphate screed has its laitance removed and is always primed before latex goes on it.
In flats, the floor finish often sits over an acoustic build-up, and the latex and finish must suit it, so tell us what is under the existing floor. With semi-detached houses at 24% of the housing, a semi with a new kitchen or cloakroom is a typical place for sheet vinyl, LVT or lino to go onto a latex base. Rubber and safety flooring need the same smooth preparation.
How we price latex screed in East Grinstead
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 East Grinstead
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 East Grinstead
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 39.4 miles from East Grinstead, which lies to the south-east. Postcodes here include RH19, and Horley (7.5 miles), Crawley (7.9 miles), Crowborough (8.6 miles) and Oxted (9.3 miles) are close by.
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
