Latex over tiles and boards in Lewisham conversions
In Lewisham, 17% of homes are flats in converted houses or other converted buildings. Above the ground floor, those flats nearly always sit on timber, and the boards have often been patched by several owners over the decades. Latex suits them, but only once the boards have been dealt with properly.
The sequence matters. Loose boards are screwed down, and any that bounce are packed or replaced. Flooring grade plywood is then fixed over the top at close centres, so the sheets act as one stiff deck. Only then is the plywood primed and the latex spread, filling sheet joints and screw heads to leave a seamless surface. Pour latex onto bare boards instead and it will split along every joint as the timber moves.
On the ground floor the base is more often concrete or tiles. Old kitchens and sculleries frequently kept their quarry tiles under later layers of lino. If every tile is firm, the surface is degreased, primed and covered with latex, which saves breaking out a floor that is still sound. Hollow tiles are lifted and the gaps filled before the latex goes on.
The latex liquid gives the cured layer a little flexibility and helps it hold to difficult bases, which is why fitters prefer it to a water mixed compound in these situations. Thin, soft finishes need it most, since sheet vinyl, LVT, lino and rubber all show every ridge underneath. If old adhesive has to come off first, see floor grinding in Lewisham.
When a Lewisham floor needs more than latex
Latex cannot fix three things: a floor that moves, a floor that is damp and a floor that is well out of level. Each has to be put right before a thin layer will last.
Movement first. A suspended floor that flexes will crack latex along its joists however carefully it is mixed. Where one of Downham's inter-war cottage homes still has its suspended floor, replacing it with a new solid floor may be a better plan than overboarding. Damp comes second. Old ground floors in the Victorian terraces between Brockley and Hither Green can turn out to have no membrane once opened up, and moisture rising through them breaks the bond of anything laid on top. That calls for a membrane and a new screed, not latex.
Level is the third. Latex is spread a few millimetres deep and is not designed to fill a dip of several centimetres, so a floor that falls away across a room needs a new screed first, or levelling compound where the dip is shallow enough for it.
Across the borough, from Ladywell and Lee to Forest Hill and Honor Oak Park, we check the base with a straightedge, a moisture reading and a heel test for spring before saying whether latex will do. Calcium sulphate screeds in newer flats need their laitance sanded off and a compatible primer first. Damaged patches are dealt with through our screed repairs service.
How we price latex screed in Lewisham
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 Lewisham
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 Lewisham
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 27.5 miles from Lewisham, which lies to the east. Postcodes here include SE26, SE6, SE3 and SE4, and Southwark (3.2 miles), Lambeth (4.2 miles), Greenwich (4.3 miles) and Tower Hamlets (4.9 miles) are close by.
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
