Latex bases for Whittlesey kitchen and bathroom refits
Ordinary levelling compound is mixed with water. Latex screed swaps the water for a latex liquid, which is stirred into a cement based powder on site. The result cures into a thin, slightly flexible layer with a strong bond, and that combination is what makes it the trade's choice over tiles, plywood and other surfaces where a plain mix might crack or let go.
Homes built before 1919 account for 10% of Whittlesey's housing, and floors in houses that old have often been covered and recovered over the decades. A refit in an older home might uncover ceramic tiles, a concrete floor worn into shallow hollows or a suspended timber floor. Each can take latex, but each needs different preparation first.
Old tiles are tested by tapping. If every tile is stuck fast, they are degreased, primed to suit the tile and covered directly, which saves breaking them out. A hollow or loose tile is lifted and the gap filled. Timber is overboarded first: flooring grade plywood screwed down at close centres, never latex straight onto bare boards. Concrete is cleaned back, cracks filled and primed.
The finishes that benefit are the thin and flexible ones. Sheet vinyl, LVT, lino and rubber all copy any ridge below them, and safety flooring in a utility room or cloakroom is no different. Carpet is more tolerant, though a smooth base still helps it wear evenly. Stripping old adhesive and loose layers beforehand falls under adhesive removal and floor preparation.
When latex is the wrong answer in Whittlesey
A thin layer cannot make a bad floor good. Three problems rule it out until they are fixed.
Damp comes first. An old solid floor laid without a damp proof membrane has to be put right before any new layer goes down. Latex over a damp slab traps moisture under the vinyl and the adhesive fails. That floor is taken up and rebuilt in sand and cement over a membrane.
Movement is second. Boards that flex underfoot will crack a skim along their joints however good the plywood, so loose boards are fixed and weak joists dealt with before overboarding.
Level is third. Latex smooths small undulations. A floor several centimetres out from one side to the other needs a screed or a repair first, and failed patches can be cut out and relaid by our screed repairs team before any skim.
Newer houses raise one more point. Where the existing floor is a calcium sulphate screed, the surface skin is sanded off and a compatible primer applied before latex goes on, or the bond will fail. For larger scale levelling and the flatness classes behind it, read our page on Whittlesey floor levelling.
How we price latex screed in Whittlesey
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 Whittlesey
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 Whittlesey
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 74.2 miles from Whittlesey, which lies to the north-north-east. Postcodes here include PE7, and Peterborough (5 miles), March (9.1 miles), Chatteris (10.1 miles) and Huntingdon (15.8 miles) are close by.
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
