Small fix vs full floor build-up
Latex Self-Levelling Compound vs Liquid Screed
These two get mixed up constantly because both self-level, but they're solving completely different problems at completely different depths.
Not sure whether you need levelling or screed?
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"Self-levelling" is used loosely to describe both a thin latex compound poured over an existing floor before flooring goes down, and a full-depth liquid screed poured onto insulation as the main floor build-up. They're not the same product and not interchangeable.
Latex levelling compound is a finishing product — a few millimetres thick, applied to smooth out an existing sub-floor. Liquid screed is a structural floor layer, tens of millimetres thick, that can carry loads, encapsulate UFH and set the finished floor level from scratch.
This page clears up the confusion and explains when each is the right product to specify.
Latex compound vs liquid screed
| Factor | Latex vs liquid screed |
|---|---|
| Typical depth | 2–10mm vs 30–75mm |
| Purpose | Smooths an existing sub-floor vs forms the structural floor build-up |
| Can it encapsulate UFH pipe? | No vs yes |
| Applied over | Existing concrete/ply sub-floor vs insulation, DPM or bare slab |
| Dry time | Hours to 1–2 days vs days to weeks depending on depth |
Use latex levelling compound when
- An existing solid floor has minor dips or unevenness before laying LVT, tile or carpet
- You're correcting a slightly uneven timber or ply sub-floor
- No new insulation or UFH is being introduced
Not sure whether you need levelling or screed?
Describe your existing floor and finish and we'll tell you honestly which product — or whether you need both.
Use liquid screed when
- You're building the floor from insulation upward, including new UFH
- The floor needs real structural depth to carry loads and set level across a whole plate
- You're pouring onto a new slab or beam-and-block floor as the primary finish layer
Latex is a finishing skim; liquid screed is a structural floor. If you're not sure which your project needs, it's almost always about whether UFH and insulation are involved — if they are, you need screed, not latex.
— Exeter Liquid Screeders
Latex Levelling vs Liquid Screed — questions we get asked
Keep reading across the site
Not sure whether you need levelling or screed?
Describe your existing floor and finish and we'll tell you honestly which product — or whether you need both.