Latex over mixed bases in Newtown and Katesgrove terraces
Latex screed is the trade's shorthand for a two part compound: a cement based powder combined with a latex liquid instead of plain water. The latex makes the set layer tougher and slightly flexible, and it bonds well to surfaces that ordinary compound struggles with. It goes down thin, typically a few millimetres, purely to give the flooring a flat, smooth face. It is a finishing layer only.
A Victorian terrace in Newtown or Katesgrove shows why that matters. Strip out a dated kitchen and the floor might be part concrete, part old tile and part patched with something else entirely. A thin vinyl or LVT laid straight over that would show every grout line and change of material within weeks. A coat of latex ties those surfaces into one even face.
First floor bathrooms are usually built on timber. Bare boards are never latexed directly: they shrink, swell and flex, and the thin layer would crack along the joints. The boards are screwed down tight and covered with flooring grade plywood, fixed at close centres, and the latex is spread over the plywood.
Old adhesive is a judgement call. A thin, hard residue that is firmly stuck can sometimes stay; anything soft, powdery or lifting comes off, and diamond grinding of the old floor is often the quickest way to remove it.
Reading floors where latex is the wrong fix
Latex smooths a floor. It does not repair one, and three faults rule it out until they are dealt with.
The first is damp. Many Victorian ground floors in Newtown, Katesgrove and the Redlands conservation area were laid with no damp proof membrane at all, and a latex coat with vinyl over it would seal that moisture in until the bond fails. We test before laying anything, and where damp shows, the floor is taken out and rebuilt with a membrane, insulation and a hand-laid replacement screed.
The second is movement. If boards bounce underfoot, the joists or fixings need attention before any overboarding, or the latex will crack along the board lines.
The third is level. Latex is meant for a few millimetres. A kitchen floor that drops noticeably from one wall to the other needs compound to a flatness class, or a new screed, not a thicker coat of latex.
Priming ties it all together. Concrete, tiles, plywood and calcium sulphate screed each take a matched primer, and calcium sulphate also needs its laitance sanded off first. Skipping it leaves a thin floor at risk of lifting. Woodley is covered too, on our page for latex screed in Woodley.
How we price latex screed in Reading
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 Reading
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 Reading
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 15.2 miles from Reading, which lies to the west-south-west. Postcodes here include RG1, RG31, RG4 and RG30, and Woodley (2.9 miles), Henley-on-Thames (6.5 miles), Wokingham (6.8 miles) and Crowthorne (9.8 miles) are close by.
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
