Testing old Marlow floors before latex goes down
A latex screed is the trade's name for a levelling compound made in two parts: a cement based powder and a latex liquid, mixed together in place of water. It sets with more flex and more grip than a standard compound, so it can be laid very thin over surfaces that are smooth, slightly flexible or not porous.
That makes it useful for refits. It is poor at hiding problems, and an older Marlow house can have several.
Damp is the first. A solid floor laid without a membrane lets moisture rise, and a sealed finish such as vinyl or LVT traps it. Adhesive softens and seams lift. We test the base before pricing latex; if it is damp, the lasting fix is a dig-out with a membrane and new screed, as our sand and cement screed page for Marlow describes.
Movement is the second. Timber floors that flex will crack any thin compound along the board lines. Loose boards are screwed down, damaged ones replaced, and flooring grade plywood goes over the top before latex can follow. Bare floorboards never take it directly.
Level is the third. Latex is a smoothing layer of a few millimetres. If a room falls away by more than that, it needs a deeper compound or a screed first.
Once those checks pass, the base is primed with a product suited to it, and the latex is poured and spread in one continuous layer so no joins show through the finish.
Tiles, adhesive and timber across Marlow and Marlow Bottom
Wherever the house is, in the town itself, Marlow Bottom or Bigfrith, a kitchen or bathroom refit usually leaves one of three bases under the new floor.
Old tiles. Quarry or ceramic tiles that are firmly stuck can be kept. We sound each one, lift any that ring hollow, fill the gaps, clean and prime the glaze, and latex over the lot. That avoids breaking out a floor, with all the noise and dust that brings.
Old adhesive. Where carpet or vinyl has been lifted, a thin, hard, well bonded film can often be primed and covered. Soft, thick or patchy residue is taken off first, usually by grinding back to clean concrete.
Plywood overboarding. Upstairs, most houses have timber floors, and those need flooring grade plywood screwed down at close centres before any latex goes on.
The finish drives the choice. Sheet vinyl, LVT, lino, rubber and safety flooring print through every flaw, and carpet wears along ridges. Tiles and engineered wood care more about overall flatness, which our floor levelling page covers in detail. A calcium sulphate screed, say in a newer extension, needs one extra step: its laitance is sanded off and it is always primed before latex.
How we price latex screed in Marlow
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 Marlow
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 Marlow
On the map, Marlow sits west-north-west of Slough, about 6.3 miles from our base in a straight line (postcodes including SL7 and SL6), next to High Wycombe (4.1 miles), Maidenhead (4.2 miles), Henley-on-Thames (6 miles) and Beaconsfield (6.3 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.