Latex screed under Saffron Walden kitchen and bathroom refits
Ask a flooring fitter for a latex screed and what turns up is a compound sold in two parts. One bag holds a cement based powder. The second part is a latex liquid, and it is stirred into the powder in place of the water an ordinary compound would take.
It is laid thin, usually a few millimetres, and its job is to smooth rather than to build height. Four kinds of base suit it in a refit.
Timber floors that have already been overboarded come first. Loose boards flex and open at the joints, so latex never goes onto them bare; once flooring grade plywood is screwed down across them, the latex fills the board joints and screw heads so they stay hidden under vinyl.
Old quarry or ceramic tiles are the second. When every tile is still firmly bonded, cleaning and priming them and skimming over the top avoids digging up a sound floor.
The third is older concrete that is solid but pitted or wavy, and the fourth is a floor still carrying a thin, hard film of old adhesive that will not scrape off.
Rooms from the inter-war years, which make up 6% of homes in Saffron Walden, and from the post-war decades often hide one or more of these under a tired covering. Each base gets a primer suited to it. Where the lifted floor turns out to be timber that still bounces, that movement has to be cured before any latex is mixed, and stripping old coverings and residue back to a sound base comes under our floor preparation service.
When a Saffron Walden floor needs more than latex
Latex is a finishing skin, so it only lasts as long as the floor under it. Three faults rule it out until they are put right.
Springy boards are the first. If the floor moves when you rock on your heels, the latex will crack along the joints however well it was mixed. The boards are screwed down and overboarded with plywood, and only then does the compound go on.
Damp is the second. Latex does not stop moisture coming up from the ground, and vinyl or rubber laid over a damp base can lift or smell. In the older houses around Castle Street and Bridge Street, where solid floors often suit a breathable approach, it is worth settling how the floor will handle moisture before sealing it under a sheet finish.
The third is a floor that is well out of level. A few millimetres of latex will not take out a fall across a room, and building it up thick risks cracking. That floor needs proper levelling compound or a fresh screed first, or a hand-laid replacement floor if the base itself has failed.
Any calcium sulphate screed in a newer extension has its laitance removed and is primed before latex touches it. About 9 miles away, Haverhill has its own page on latex screed in Haverhill.
How we price latex screed in Saffron Walden
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 Saffron Walden
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 Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is about 51 miles north-east of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including CB10. The nearest towns to it are Haverhill (9.3 miles), Bishop's Stortford (11.1 miles), Royston (11.3 miles) and Great Dunmow (11.7 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
