Overboarded floors in Worthing's converted period flats
Worthing's resort years left a good deal of Victorian and Edwardian building, Liverpool Terrace among it, and many period houses in the town have since been divided into flats. Buildings of that era usually have suspended timber floors, and boards that have been lifted for a century of plumbing and rewiring are seldom flat enough for a thin modern finish.
Latex never goes straight onto those boards. Timber moves with the seasons and under foot, and a thin cement based layer stuck to it will crack along every board joint within months. The order is fixed: screw down loose or creaking boards, deal with any badly raised edges, then fix flooring grade plywood over the whole floor at close centres. That plywood becomes the base, and the latex is spread over it.
Why latex here? Mixing the powder with latex liquid instead of water gives a compound made for thin work over awkward bases such as ply. It is normally laid just a few millimetres deep, enough to bury screw heads and sheet joints so nothing shows through a thin covering.
Sheet vinyl, lino and LVT reveal every mark beneath them, and so does safety flooring in a communal hallway or shared bathroom. Carpet is kinder, but a smooth latex face still stops ridges wearing lines into the pile.
First, though, the boards are checked for spring. A floor that bounces needs its joists looked at, and no compound will hide that. Where the base is concrete and the question is how flat it must be, our Worthing floor levelling page explains the flatness classes.
Worthing kitchens with old tiles, glue and damp
Interwar and post-war houses make up a large part of Worthing, and a solid ground floor in a house of that age may carry layers from earlier refits: quarry tiles in the kitchen, ceramic tiles in a bathroom, or the dark residue of old vinyl adhesive. Breaking up tiles that are firmly stuck can do more harm than leaving them, so every tile gets tapped. Any that sound hollow or rock are lifted, the holes are filled, the glaze is degreased and a primer made for tiles goes on. Latex then bonds across the lot.
Old adhesive can stay if it is thin, hard and well stuck, once loose residue is scraped off and the correct primer applied. Thick, soft or bitumen layers usually have to come off, which is the job of diamond grinding the slab back to clean concrete.
Damp has to be ruled out. A latex skim will not stop moisture coming up through an old slab, and if the floor is damp the new covering will lift. A test before the job decides whether a membrane, a repair or a new screed comes first.
Terraced houses account for 20% of Worthing's homes, and a narrow terrace kitchen is a typical small latex job, prepared and laid in a short visit before the floor fitter arrives. For a refit a few miles west, see latex screed in Littlehampton.
How we price latex screed in Worthing
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 Worthing
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 Worthing
Worthing is about 51 miles south-south-east of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including BN11, BN14, BN12 and BN13. The nearest towns to it are Shoreham-by-Sea (4.5 miles), Southwick (6 miles), Littlehampton (7.4 miles) and Brighton and Hove (10 miles).
More on latex screed, part of our screeding services.
