Morning all, I have been lurking for a while but thought this would be a good place for some opinions/experience. I’m an LVT fitter subbing to a large firm in Bristol. Clearing anything from 50-100m2 a week. we are always trying to improve and tweak materials/processes used to improve and are currently using Ardex CL over concrete and Proscreed gold over ply. obviously we all know Ardex NA is the daddy of latex based screeds but is also a premium in price which is difficult as it eats into the shops margin for material supply. what are your guys go to’s over ply. I’m at the point where if dammed up correctly and subfloor prepared and primed well I can drop a CL that needs minimal sanding/feathering the next day. Main characteristics required: * good flow rate. * once dry not absolutely rock hard the next day (workable with an SDR & block). * consistent drying times. * reasonable working time to allow time for one man mixing and spreading in complete ground floors/1st floors when required to drop in multiple rooms at once and bring wet edges together in central exit. your advice/experience with different products would be appreciated.
'Why fix it if it aint broke' - your using CL already and that's one of the best screeds in my opinion. Why does it need to be workable with a str machine/block? If you screed it properly then why create unnecessary dust/mess? For the extra working time you want to be looking at ardex K39 I think it is, extended working time. I use Mapei renovation over plywood I try and stick to the same screeds but when there is pallet deals on then I go with whatever providing its not Level it 2! Tilemaster do some decent screeds, they're NA equivalent is decent with a decent price to especially pallet rate.
I’m not trying to fix CL, I love the stuff and wouldn’t use anything other on concrete. I’m trying to fix pro screed gold as there are certain characteristics I dislike about the product. In regards to working with the latex the next day, I am more than happy with my ability to drop a very very good latex, however, I try to achieve the best possible finish before I even consider opening a box of planks. I’m sure we all get low spots/pukkas from spiker/imperfections as generally the subfloor we are working with is pretty poor. So a good sand and feather is pretty standard in my mind. yeah I’m not one for hopping latex due to deals/price. I find as with anything, the more you understand the characteristics of what you are using the better finished product you can produce Thanks for your suggestions, I have used Reno but wouldn’t consider it as a daily latex over ply personally.
Not just hopping to any cheap deal but what I'm saying is there is more than one latex that you can use that is just as good as the other.
It's not bad daz, don't go as far as your usual NA but it's OK. A fitter I see down the suppliers doesn't get on with it though, he says they don't come as a consistent mix but I've never had that problem.
Over ply we mainly use Mapei renovation but not a fan of it. So used ardex na the last few but expensive way of doing it.
Give tilemaster a look, they’re level flex is decent and the moisture tolerant pro flow is as good as NA but much cheaper
Pro flow is decent from what I've found so far. I'd use NA all the time if I could justify the extra ££'s on my jobs.
Thanks all for your reply’s… very interested in this though, have you used it a lot? What do you find good about it….
Mapie Na is good when it’s good but as with all their products it’s inconsistent. Maybe stick with Ardex and use one of their water based flex compounds.
