How latex screed works on March refit floors
Latex screed takes its name from the liquid half of the pack. The powder, which has a cement base, is stirred into liquid latex where an ordinary compound would use water, and that gives the cured layer more grip and a little give. That suits thin work over awkward bases, where a standard compound could crack or let go.
Terraced houses make up 19% of March's homes, and a terraced kitchen or bathroom can be a narrow room where several bases meet. A refit might uncover old quarry tiles by the back door, a concrete patch where a wall was taken out and boards in an adjoining room. Latex can take most of these, provided each is prepared properly.
Quarry or ceramic tiles that are firmly bonded stay down: loose ones are lifted, the rest are degreased and primed. Old concrete is cleaned back to a sound surface. Thin, hard old adhesive may be left if it is well stuck. Timber is never covered directly; floorboards are first overboarded with flooring grade plywood, screwed at close centres, so the latex sits on a stable sheet. A calcium sulphate screed has its laitance taken off and is always primed before latex.
The coat goes on a few millimetres thick and is smoothed out, ready for thin, flexible finishes such as sheet vinyl, LVT, safety flooring, rubber or lino that would otherwise show every joint underneath.
Bases that need cleaning or repair first go through floor preparation. For general levelling compound and flatness classes, see March floor levelling.
When a March floor needs more than latex
Latex smooths. It does not fix damp, movement or a badly out of level floor, and laying it over any of those wastes the money spent on the finish.
Damp is the main worry in older March houses, where solid floors sometimes have no membrane. Moisture rising through the slab breaks the latex bond and can lift vinyl or LVT on top. We take a reading first, and if it fails, the floor needs breaking out and relaying with a membrane, which is covered on our March sand and cement page.
Bouncy boards are next. If the floor flexes when you walk on it, the joists and boards are secured before overboarding, or the latex will crack along the sheet joints.
Then there is level. A thin layer cannot make up a floor that drops away across the room. That needs a new screed or a repair first.
Whether the house is in Knight's End, Norwoodside or Little London, the order of work does not change. Chatteris, about 6.5 miles away, has its own latex screed page.
How we price latex screed in March
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 March
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 March
March is about 76.8 miles north-north-east of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including PE15. The nearest towns to it are Chatteris (6.5 miles), Whittlesey (9.1 miles), Ely (12.6 miles) and Peterborough (14 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.