Latex for patched kitchen and bathroom floors in Haverhill
Latex screed is a two part product. One part is a cement based powder, the other a latex liquid that replaces the water you would normally mix with. The result bonds well, stays slightly flexible and is spread in a thin coat, usually a few millimetres.
Semi-detached houses account for 27% of Haverhill homes, and when the kitchen or bathroom in a house like that is stripped out, the floor underneath rarely matches. A strip of new concrete where a pipe was rerouted, filled holes from old fixings, a thin layer of hard adhesive from the last vinyl: a new sheet floor would show every one of them. Latex covers the joins and gives one consistent surface.
What stays and what goes is decided by testing the base. Hard, thin adhesive that is still stuck tight can often be primed and covered. Soft, tacky or powdery residue is scraped or ground off, because latex will only hold as well as the layer under it. Patches that sound hollow are cut out and made good first.
Upstairs, the base is usually timber. Bare boards are never latexed directly; they are overboarded with flooring grade plywood, fixed at close centres, and the latex goes on the ply. That combination suits bathrooms where sheet vinyl or safety flooring is going down.
The finishes that benefit are the thin ones. Sheet vinyl, LVT, lino and rubber all copy the floor beneath them, so they need the smoothness latex gives. Carpet is more forgiving but still wears faster over ridges.
Damp, bounce and big dips in Haverhill floors
Latex is the right tool for a sound floor that just needs smoothing. Three conditions rule it out until something else is done first.
Damp is the obvious one. Latex is not a damp barrier, and a sheet finish over a damp floor will trap moisture until the adhesive fails. Where an old Haverhill floor has scant insulation and no dependable membrane, digging out and rebuilding it, as described for a dug-out floor relaid by hand, deals with the cause.
Movement is the second. Boards that spring underfoot or a floor that is still settling will crack a thin layer. Refix and overboard timber, and find out why a solid floor is moving before covering it.
The third is a floor that is badly out of level. A few millimetres of latex follows the shape of the floor rather than correcting it. Where a room has settled noticeably towards one wall, a deeper pour of self levelling compound for uneven floors or a fresh screed is needed.
Every base also needs the right primer. A calcium sulphate screed has its laitance sanded away and is primed with a compatible product, while porous concrete and dense old tiles each take their own primer. The wrong primer can leave a thin layer free to lift.
How we price latex screed in Haverhill
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 Haverhill
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 Haverhill
On the map, Haverhill sits north-east of Slough, about 60 miles from our base in a straight line (postcodes including CB9), next to Saffron Walden (9.3 miles), Newmarket (11.2 miles), Halstead (12.7 miles) and Sudbury (12.9 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
