Thin smoothing coats for Gravesend flats and kitchens
The name comes from the mix. Instead of water, the cement based powder in a latex screed is combined with a latex liquid, and the two parts together make a compound meant to be spread thin, normally a few millimetres, over a base that is already firm.
That suits refits more than new builds. Kitchen extensions suit the inter-war houses of King's Farm, and when the old kitchen beside a new one is refitted, the floor under the lino or tiles is often older and less even than the new screed beside it. A thin latex coat over the old part, once primed, gives the new vinyl or LVT a smooth face right across.
Flats bring timber into the picture. Where an upper floor is boarded, latex is never spread on the bare boards: they move and have gaps. Flooring grade plywood is screwed down over them first, then primed, then the latex goes on. Safety flooring in a shared bathroom or a kitchen in a flat needs that smooth base just as much as LVT does.
Old ceramic or quarry tiles that are firmly bonded can take latex too, and so can some thin, sound old adhesive, after cleaning and the right primer. A calcium sulphate screed has its weak top skin removed and is primed before latex goes on. If the floor needs more than a skim, our Gravesend floor levelling page covers deeper compounds and flatness classes.
Damp, bounce and dips in Gravesend's older terraces
Damp is the first check, because latex does not stop it, and many of Gravesend's older terraces still stand on solid floors laid without a membrane. Moisture rising through an old slab will lift a thin compound and the vinyl stuck to it. If a meter shows high readings, the floor needs breaking out and rebuilding with a membrane, and our page on sand and cement floors in Gravesend explains how that is done.
Bounce is the second check. A timber floor that flexes when you walk on it will crack any latex laid on it, plywood or not. Loose boards are refixed and any weakness underneath is put right before overboarding.
The third is how far out of level the floor is. Latex is a smoothing coat, not a filler for deep hollows. A floor that drops across a room in Milton, Denton or Windmill Hill, or anywhere else in town, may need a deeper compound or a new screed first.
These checks are quick, and they decide whether latex is the right product. Where a slab has broken areas, our repairs to damaged concrete floors deal with those before any smoothing coat.
How we price latex screed in Gravesend
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 Gravesend
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 Gravesend
Gravesend is about 44.2 miles east of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including DA11 and DA12. The nearest towns to it are Northfleet (1 miles), Tilbury (1.3 miles), Grays (3.2 miles) and Swanscombe (3.7 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
