Latex over overboarded timber in Redbridge semis
Semi-detached houses make up 27% of Redbridge homes. In a house of that type, the hall and front rooms often sit on suspended timber, and bare boards are no base for latex. They shrink and swell through the year, each board moves on its own, and a thin cement layer spread across them soon cracks along the board lines.
Overboarding solves that. A carpenter lays flooring grade plywood across the boards, screwed down at close centres so it cannot flex, with the sheet joints staggered. The moving timber floor becomes a stiff, continuous deck, and latex can then be spread over it, filling screw heads and sheet joints and leaving a smooth surface for sheet vinyl or LVT.
Why latex and not ordinary compound? When the cement based powder is mixed, it takes a latex liquid where an ordinary compound would take water. That gives the cured layer a little flexibility and a stronger grip on plywood. That is why latex is the usual choice over plywood, tiles and other awkward bases. You can compare it with standard levelling compound on our general levelling page.
Thickness stays low, normally a few millimetres. If a hall floor dips by much more than that, a carpenter should pack or replace joists before we come back. A spongy floor, a damp void below or rotten boards all have to be dealt with first, because latex does not stiffen a weak floor. It only smooths a sound one.
Tiles, adhesive and primers in Redbridge kitchens
Under a kitchen's old vinyl there is often a layer of quarry or ceramic tiles. Where every tile is still firmly fixed, latex can go straight over them, sparing you the noise, dust and lost depth of breaking them out. Each tile is tapped first. Any that sound hollow or rock are lifted and the holes filled, then the glaze is cleaned of grease and given a tile primer so the latex has something to key to.
Old adhesive left after vinyl or carpet comes up can stay too, if it is thin, hard and well stuck. Soft, thick or bitumen based residue is another matter, and that is when diamond grinding back to clean concrete comes first.
Primer is matched to each base, since concrete, plywood, tile and calcium sulphate all take different ones. If a flat has a calcium sulphate screed, the laitance has to be sanded away and a primer applied before latex goes anywhere near it.
Damp is the final check. Latex is not a damp proof layer, so a wet reading on an older solid floor means a membrane or a new screed before any finish.
How we price latex screed in Redbridge
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 Redbridge
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 Redbridge
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 30.9 miles from Redbridge, which lies to the east. Postcodes here include IG2, E11, IG6 and IG5, and Chigwell (2.4 miles), Waltham Forest (3.2 miles), Barking and Dagenham (3.5 miles) and Newham (4.1 miles) are close by.
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
