What latex screed does on Sudbury refit floors
Latex screed is a trade name for a type of mix, not a brand. A cement based powder is stirred into a latex liquid where plain water would normally go, and the two parts are supplied to be used together. The result is a compound that suits awkward bases such as plywood and glazed tile.
It goes down thin, usually just a few millimetres, and its job is to smooth rather than to build height. That makes it a good match for refits anywhere in Sudbury, Chilton or Great Cornard where the kitchen or bathroom floor is renewed but the doors, skirting and units around it stay where they are.
Four kinds of base suit it. First, suspended timber once a layer of flooring grade plywood has been screwed down over it. Latex never goes straight onto bare floorboards, because boards move, their joints open and the compound cracks along them. Second, old quarry or ceramic tiles that are still firmly stuck; tapped and found solid, they can be cleaned, primed and covered instead of chiselled up. Third, older concrete with a rough or uneven face. Fourth, sound old adhesive that will not come away easily.
The covering going on top drives the decision. Sheet vinyl, lino, rubber and safety flooring show every grain of grit and every board edge beneath them, so the base must be smooth as well as sound. If you are weighing latex against a deeper compound pour, read how Sudbury floors are levelled and graded for flatness.
When a Sudbury floor needs more than latex
Latex is a finishing coat for a sound floor. It does not cure damp, it will not stop boards that bounce underfoot, and it cannot pull a floor back into level when it falls away badly across a room. Laid over any of those, it fails, usually by cracking or by lifting with the new covering.
So the first job is a check. We look for movement in timber, test for moisture, tap tiles for hollow spots and run a straightedge across the room. Springy boards are refixed and overboarded before anything else. A floor far out of level gets a screed. Damp is the most serious finding, especially in Sudbury's older terraced streets, where lifting a floor often shows there was never a damp proof membrane at all, and no thin compound will hold on a floor like that.
Priming comes next, matched to the base: plywood, tile, concrete and old adhesive each take their own product. Calcium sulphate screed is the strict case. Its laitance is sanded off first and it is always primed, or the latex ends up stuck to a weak skin.
Old adhesive, paint or laitance sometimes has to come off mechanically before priming, and our diamond grinding service in Sudbury covers that step. Where the base needs wider work, see floor preparation.
How we price latex screed in Sudbury
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 Sudbury
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 Sudbury
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 68.7 miles from Sudbury, which lies to the east-north-east. Postcodes here include CO10, and Halstead (7.8 miles), Colchester (12.6 miles), Haverhill (12.9 miles) and Braintree (13.5 miles) are close by.
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
