Latex in Haringey's split terraces and refitted kitchens
What sets latex apart from ordinary levelling compound is the liquid. The powder is cement based, but it is mixed with a latex emulsion rather than water, and that gives the set layer a degree of give and a stronger hold on difficult surfaces. It is laid thin, generally a few millimetres, and only over a base that is already firm.
Picture a ground floor flat in a divided terrace. The kitchen may have quarry tiles from decades ago, the hall a patched concrete floor and the bathroom suspended timber. A single run of sheet vinyl or LVT across all three would show every change of surface. With the tiles checked, the concrete cleaned and the timber overboarded, latex brings them to one smooth plane.
Timber needs particular care. Bare floorboards are never a base for latex, because boards shrink, swell and move independently and the coat cracks along every joint. The fix is flooring grade plywood screwed across the boards at close centres, after any loose or springy boards are secured. Latex then covers the plywood joints and fixings.
Old adhesive is the other common find when carpet or vinyl comes up. Residue that is thin, hard and stuck fast can sometimes be primed and covered; anything soft or thick comes off first, often with a diamond grinder, as our page on Haringey concrete floor grinding describes.
Before any of this, damp has to be ruled out. A lot of the borough's older ground floors lack a damp proof membrane, and latex cannot hold back moisture rising through them.
Shop floors on Muswell Hill's Edwardian parades
The Edwardian shopping parades of Muswell Hill date from the early twentieth century, when much of the area was laid out, and their units are refitted whenever a tenant or use changes. A fit-out usually wants a hard wearing sheet finish, safety flooring in a café kitchen or rubber in a studio, and each of those needs a smooth, firm base to stick to. When the previous finish comes up, the floor below is rarely uniform.
Latex suits these floors because one thin coat can bridge firmly bonded old tiles, worn concrete and patched areas together, and its short drying time, set by the product sheet, lets the fitter follow on quickly. Each base is primed with a product made for it. Where a newer calcium sulphate screed is involved, its laitance has to be sanded away and a compatible primer applied before any latex goes on.
It is not the answer to everything. A shop floor that dips or slopes noticeably needs a fuller levelling job, which our floor levelling service in Haringey covers, or a new screed. Springy boards and high damp readings are fixed before anything else. For the same work in a nearby borough, see latex screed in Islington.
How we price latex screed in Haringey
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 Haringey
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 Haringey
Haringey is about 23.1 miles east of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including N22, N11, N2 and N10. The nearest towns to it are Islington (3.1 miles), Hackney (3.5 miles), Camden (3.5 miles) and Barnet (4 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
