Underlayment for floating floors
Underlayment for floating floors — modern flooring photography" width="1200" height="675" loading="eager" decoding="async">
Some topics are so important that they deserve repetition and additional information.
Today’s topic is underlayment for floating floors. A floating floor is such a great way to add flexibility into virtually any installation situation. Floors like Kahrs, Saso, Pergo, Alloc, Trueflooring and others are so versatile they can be installed on wood subfloors, existing vinyl or tile floors and even on concrete subfloors just about anywhere in the home including basements. (concrete with too much moisture shouldn’t have any flooring on it without being properly sealed.)
The underlayment you choose can REALLY impact your investment however. I routinely see people select a really high grade of flooring and then select the cheapest underlayment like a 2-1 basic foam.
Yes, mechanically this covers the fundamental need of the floating floor and it is relatively cheap. However it adds a much higher likelihood of a “hollow” sound when you walk on the floor. The other likely side effect folks don’t always think about is the way a floor feels underfoot. Typically there will be a some amount of “give” in a floating floor and the thinnest underlayments accent this side effect and they don’t feel particularly comfortable either.
Whereas the premium 6mm cork underlayment addresses all of these issues and more with ease. Although the cost is higher than the cheap stuff cork underlayment in the 6mm or 12mm versions really can add tremendous value to the total package.
It reduces the sound impact to you as you walk on the floor and reduces the sound transmission to anyone living below you. THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD USE IN CONDOs for instance to meet most condo board requirements for ITC and or STC ratings.
Sound 6 Barrier is another alternative that meets the sounds requirements very well indeed and is thinner for the situations that cannot have a thicker underlayment installed.
My favorite is the 6mm or 12mm cork underlayment which really can help mask certain subfloor issues and has incredible solid sound as you walk on it and it FEELs better.
If you are investing in flooring don’t forget to use the best underlayment. You deserve it!
(past blog entries include addition details)
Will cork underlayment void my flooring warranty?
underlayment for floating floors is a very important piece of the flooring puzzle