Latex over awkward bases in Northampton terraces
A latex screed is mixed from two parts: a cement based powder and a latex liquid used where an ordinary compound would take water. The latex makes the cured layer a little more flexible and helps it hold on to bases that a water mixed compound would not suit. It is spread only a few millimetres deep.
In the terraced streets built for shoe factory workers, a new kitchen or bathroom usually means dealing with whatever earlier owners left on the floor. Four bases suit latex once they have been checked.
Plywood overboarding. Timber floors are screwed down and overboarded with flooring grade plywood first, because latex laid on bare boards cracks as they move.
Old quarry and ceramic tiles that are firmly bonded, degreased and primed. Loose ones come up.
Older concrete that is sound but rough, uneven or patched where pipes and cables were once run.
Remnants of earlier adhesive, but only where they are thin, hard and well stuck.
The primer changes with the base, and a calcium sulphate screed always has its laitance removed and is primed before latex touches it. A damp check comes before any of this. Latex sits on top of the floor and will not hold back moisture rising from below, so a damp solid floor in an old terrace needs lifting and relaying over a membrane, as our Northampton sand and cement screed page describes.
Once smooth, the floor suits the thin finishes that hide nothing: sheet vinyl, LVT, lino, rubber and safety flooring, and carpet too.
When latex is the wrong answer in Northampton
Latex is a finishing layer, not a fix, and three kinds of floor need other work before it.
A timber floor that bounces or creaks underfoot will crack any thin layer laid over it. Boards are refixed, joists checked by a carpenter where needed, and plywood laid before we return.
A damp floor is the second. Old solid floors can lack any membrane, and latex laid over one simply traps the moisture under the new vinyl. The hygrometer reading decides whether we go ahead.
The third is a floor that is badly out of level, such as a room that has sunk at one side or a step where an extension meets the house. Latex goes on thin and cannot make up a big difference. A screed repair or a new screed comes first, and our floor levelling service in Northampton covers flatness classes and thicker smoothing work.
We cover the whole town for latex work, including Bellinge, Blackthorn, Boothville, Ecton Brook, Goldings, Great Billing, Little Billing and Lings, and a short look at the floor tells us whether it is ready for latex or needs one of these steps first. Latex screed in Wellingborough follows the same checks.
How we price latex screed in Northampton
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 Northampton
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 Northampton
Northampton is about 49.9 miles north-north-west of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including NN1, NN3, NN4 and NN2. The nearest towns to it are Towcester (8.3 miles), Wellingborough (9.7 miles), Daventry (11.3 miles) and Burton Latimer (12.6 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
