Latex over timber and tiles in Sutton's inter-war houses
Latex screed is the trade's shorthand for a two part smoothing compound. One part is a cement based powder; the other is a latex liquid that takes the place of the water used with an ordinary compound. Mixed together, they make a thin layer that bonds well and copes with slightly more movement than a plain cement product, which suits the mixed floors of an older house.
Inter-war houses across the borough, including the part of the St Helier estate that lies in Sutton, often have suspended timber floors, the same floors that new extensions are built to meet. For a kitchen or bathroom on timber, the boards are screwed down tight and covered with flooring grade plywood, and the latex goes over the ply. Laying it on bare floorboards is a mistake: boards shrink, swell and move separately, and the compound breaks up along every joint.
Some older kitchens, halls and utility rooms still have quarry or ceramic tiles in place. Where every tile is firmly bonded, there is no need to break them out. They are cleaned of grease and old sealer, primed, and the latex fills the grout lines and evens the surface. Rough concrete, and sound, well stuck adhesive left by an earlier floor, can be dealt with the same way once tested.
The primer changes with the base. Plywood, tile, concrete and old adhesive each take a different product. The town centre's newer flats have liquid screed over underfloor heating. If that screed is calcium sulphate, its laitance is sanded off and it is always primed before latex touches it, so we check which type is there.
Sutton floors that need more than latex
A thin compound hides small faults. It cannot cure larger ones, and a Sutton refit should rule out three before any latex is mixed.
Springy floors come first. If boards bounce, or joists have been notched for pipes over the years, the plywood and latex above them will crack. The timber is put right before overboarding begins.
Damp is next. Latex is not a damp proof layer, and a solid floor in an older house that reads damp needs the cause dealt with. That may mean a membrane and a new sand and cement screed rather than a skim.
Last, a floor that is well off level is beyond what latex is designed for. Its range is a few millimetres. Bigger falls and humps need a deeper compound or a screed, and the Sutton floor levelling page explains how that choice is made and which flatness class LVT expects.
Postcodes here include SM2, SM3 and SM6, and the method is the same whether the house is in North Cheam, Carshalton Beeches, Bandonhill or Woodcote Green: inspect the base, choose the primer, and lay latex only where it will stay put.
How we price latex screed in Sutton
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 Sutton
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 Sutton
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 23.6 miles from Sutton, which lies to the east-south-east. Postcodes here include SM6, CR0, CR4 and SM2, and Ewell (3.6 miles), Croydon (3.7 miles), Merton (3.7 miles) and Epsom (4.7 miles) are close by.
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
