Refits that keep the floor in Richmond upon Thames
Homes built between 1945 and 1972 make up 16% of the borough's housing, and floors of that period, like many older ones, are often kept during a refit and given a new finish. The reason is height. Latex adds only a few millimetres, so new flooring can go down without creating a step into the hall. Upstairs bathrooms, where breaking out a floor is rarely sensible, are a frequent case.
Latex screed is a two part product. The cement based powder is combined with a latex liquid, not water, and the latex gives the cured layer a slight flex and a firmer hold on surfaces that standard compound grips poorly. It is poured or trowelled out, then left to settle smooth.
Upstairs, and in older houses generally, the base is often timber. Bare boards are never latexed directly, because they move and the layer would craze along every joint. A carpenter first fixes flooring grade plywood over them, screwed at close centres, and the latex is laid on the plywood. Where the boards are springy, the joists need attention before any of that.
On solid floors the candidates are old quarry or ceramic tiles that are still firmly stuck, sound concrete with shallow hollows, and thin old adhesive that is hard and well bonded. Each one is checked, cleaned and primed with the product its maker names. For the wider picture of compound depths and flatness classes, see our general levelling compound and flatness page for the borough.
When a Richmond upon Thames floor needs more than latex
Victorian houses in Twickenham, St Margarets and Richmond that have their ground floors dug out for underfloor heating usually finish in stone or engineered timber on a new screed, and latex is not normally part of that build up. Latex belongs under the flexible sheet and tile finishes: vinyl, safety flooring, lino, rubber, LVT and carpet.
It has firm limits too. It will not cure damp, so a wet reading on a solid ground floor means a membrane or a new build up first, not a thin coat on top. It will not stop a bouncing floor, which is a carpentry problem. Nor will it rescue a room that sits badly out of level; there the order is to grind the high spots, then use a deeper levelling product or a new sand and cement floor.
Calcium sulphate screeds need particular care. The laitance has to be sanded away and a primer always applied before latex goes near it, or the bond fails. A cement screed also gets a primer suited to how porous it is.
Where old adhesive is soft or patchy, grinding off old adhesive gives clean concrete for the latex to grip. Nearby, see latex screed in Kingston upon Thames.
How we price latex screed in Richmond upon Thames
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 Richmond upon Thames
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 Richmond upon Thames
Richmond upon Thames is about 15.6 miles east-south-east of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including SW13, SW14, TW10 and TW12. The nearest towns to it are Hounslow (2.5 miles), Kingston upon Thames (4 miles), Ealing (4.9 miles) and Sunbury-on-Thames (5 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
