Latex under new vinyl in Harlow flats
What makes latex screed different is the liquid. Instead of mixing the cement based powder with water, it is mixed with a latex liquid supplied in the same pack. That latex helps the compound grip difficult surfaces and gives it a little give, which is why the trade reaches for it on bases where an ordinary water-mixed compound might let go.
In a Harlow flat, the floor under the old carpet or vinyl is commonly a concrete slab or screed with years of history: glue ridges, filled chases where cables or pipes were run, a step at the kitchen door, perhaps a patch of old ceramic tiles in the bathroom. As long as everything is firmly attached and dry, latex can bury those marks under a smooth skin a few millimetres thick.
Some homes have timber upper floors instead. Bare boards are never latexed directly. They are fixed down and overboarded with flooring grade plywood, and the latex goes over that.
The finishes asking for this preparation are the thin ones: sheet vinyl, LVT, lino, rubber and the safety flooring often chosen for bathrooms. Laminate is more forgiving but still needs a flat base so its joints do not open. Carpet hides more, yet a ridge under it soon shows as a worn line.
Thick black adhesive or paint is better taken off before the latex, and our grinding service for concrete floors handles that with dust extraction. Once the surface is bare, priming and latex can follow in the same visit where the product allows.
Harlow floor checks before latex goes down
Latex only covers what is there, so the base gets tested first.
Damp: a moisture reading is taken on any ground floor slab. Latex does not stop damp, and on a wet base it can lose its bond or let the new flooring lift. A damp floor needs the cause sorted before any compound goes on.
Movement: boards or plywood that spring underfoot will crack a thin layer. Those are refixed or replaced first.
Level: a straightedge shows whether the floor is just rough or actually out of level. Latex deals with the first. A floor that drops away across a living room needs a deeper levelling compound or, where it is failing, a new screed, and our Harlow floor levelling page explains how that choice is made.
Each base then gets its own primer. Concrete and sand and cement are primed to control suction, old tiles get a product made for smooth, non-porous surfaces, and plywood has its own. Calcium sulphate screeds, the kind often specified in newer homes, always have their laitance removed and are always primed before latex touches them.
From Brays Grove and Stewards to Little Parndon and Hare Street, the same checks come before any price is agreed. For a flat over in Ware, see latex screed in Ware.
How we price latex screed in Harlow
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 Harlow
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 Harlow
On the map, Harlow sits east-north-east of Slough, about 35.8 miles from our base in a straight line (postcodes including CM20, CM18, CM17 and CM19), next to Sawbridgeworth (3.8 miles), Hoddesdon (4.7 miles), Epping (4.9 miles) and Ware (6.4 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
