Latex over boards and tiles in Sawbridgeworth homes
A latex job usually starts when an old floor covering comes up and the fitter decides the base is not good enough for a thin new finish. In Sawbridgeworth that base varies with the age of the house, from the Tudor, Stuart and Georgian houses of the conservation area around the old centre to the later family homes further out.
Upstairs and in converted flats, the floor is normally timber. Bare boards move, shrink and leave gaps, so latex never goes straight onto them. Loose boards are fixed down, any that flex are dealt with, and flooring grade plywood is screwed over the top. The plywood is primed, then the latex is poured and spread to bury the joints and screw heads.
Downstairs, old ceramic or quarry tiles are often left in place. If every tile is firmly bonded and clean, latex can go over them after priming, which saves breaking out a floor. A tile that sounds hollow is lifted and the hole filled first.
Old adhesive is the third usual base. Sound, thin residue can generally stay under a primed latex coat. Soft, thick or patchy glue cannot, and it is removed before we start. Where a floor was poured in calcium sulphate, the laitance must go and a compatible primer goes on.
Where a house is listed, covering an original floor may need permission, so settle that before booking. If the dips are deeper than a thin coat can take, see floor levelling across Sawbridgeworth.
Sawbridgeworth floors that need more than latex
Latex smooths; it does not repair. Whether the house is in Lower Sheering or close to Great St Mary's Church, three checks decide whether it will last.
Movement is the first. A board floor that bounces will crack the latex and then the vinyl or tiles above it, so loose or weak timbers are fixed before any overboarding.
Damp is the second. A thin compound does nothing to stop moisture, and an old solid floor may have no membrane at all. If a reading comes back high, the floor needs a membrane or a full relay, which our sand and cement screed page for Sawbridgeworth explains.
Level is the third. A coat of a few millimetres will not correct a room that falls by more than that. A floor badly out of level is repaired, overboarded or given a new screed, and only then smoothed.
Where paint or loose adhesive has to be cleaned back before priming, our concrete floor grinding page explains how that is done. Harlow has a page of its own for Harlow latex screed.
How we price latex screed in Sawbridgeworth
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 Sawbridgeworth
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 Sawbridgeworth
On the map, Sawbridgeworth sits east-north-east of Slough, about 39.3 miles from our base in a straight line (postcodes including CM21), next to Harlow (3.8 miles), Bishop's Stortford (4.1 miles), Hoddesdon (7.9 miles) and Ware (8 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
