Laminate Underlayment Question
Q: I have installed several Pergo floors in the past using Pergo’s SilentStep. I really liked the quietness of the floors with this underlayment. How does Sound 6 compare with it? I can find no information on the STC of SilentStep so I have no baseline to compare to. After reading Steve’s blog, I noticed that cork is the highest recommended underlayment followed closely by Sound 6. The laminate flooring will be going in my kitchen area, so I’d like to go with cork for it’s water resistance. Will I be giving up sound deadening over the Pergo SilentStep if I go this route. Should I layer 3mm of cork with Sound 6?
Thanks,
Kevin
A: Pergo SilentStep has a decent STC rating, around the same as 3mm cork so you won’t be losing any sound deadening, especially if you decide to go with 6mm cork (you will actually gain a bit more). Most of the underlayment made by flooring manufacturers tends to be similar in quality, the highest STC ratings get around 3mm cork‘s quality, but no where near something like Sound 6. Although you lose some sound deadening choosing cork over Sound 6, you gain a bit from Cork’s density and durability (not to mention the water resistance and hypoallergenic qualities).
If you primary concern is sound deadening, then you can layer cork and Sound 6, but make sure you lay down the cork as a substrate, then lay down the Sound 6. If you were to do this the other way, you would lose the benefit of cork’s density since it would be riding on top of the Sound 6. If water resistance is a big factor for you, look into using 6mm cork to get a good underlayment with a high STC rating (around 55) .