Laminate Flooring Underlay

Laminate flooring underlay consists of the material(s) that are applied to the subfloor in order to act as a cushion between the base side of the flooring and the surface of the subfloor. Obviously, the type of underlay that you should use will depend on the type of subflooring that you have and how it interacts with environmental conditions and the material of which your laminate flooring is composed. The material of which subfloors are made are usually either concrete or wood. The physical peculiarities of concrete do not make it an effective medium for absorbing moisture that may seep up from under it. On the opposite end, a wooden subfloor absorbs moisture and will need to periodically release it.

If your concrete subfloor is above another story of the house, this moisture may come from the evaporation of liquids coming from the floor below and penetrating through the wood of the ceiling. This is clearly exemplified in situations where a room is located above the kitchen or an indoor sauna. For subfloors that are directly in contact with the ground, the seepage of moisture can be even worse. To protect your wooden laminate flooring from this moisture, you need to have a laminate flooring underlay over the concrete that is dampness resistant in order that rot-causing moisture does not penetrate into the flooring proper. Plastic polyethylene films are used for this purpose. If the concrete subflooring happens to be uneven, you may stuff the crevices with wads of plastic material. Polyethylene underlayment will not be appropriate because it will lock in the moisture, causing the sub floor to rot. For a wooden subfloor you will need to use airy and moisture-absorbent material here. Cork, spongy materials like rubber foam and rubber strips are ideal underlayment over this type of subfloor because the materials will trap the moisture, which then evaporates in the presence of the hot air in the fluffy underlayment.

The density and distribution of your underlayment will affect the “softness” of your laminate flooring, its resonance, temperature and durability. Uneven subfloors or subfloors with gaps will damage solid or interlocked laminate floorings. Besides striving for evenness, you should also provide for a cushioning effect in case the laminate is made to support heavy weights. This prevents the laminate flooring from being crushed out of shape by the opposing pressures of the heavy weight and the hardness of the subfloor. Heat, cold and sound will also be effectively diffused by a thicker layer of underlayment. This will be very comforting for you if the hollow sound of feet walking on the floor bothers you or if you want to keep your room within a pleasant temperature range. As you can see choosing the correct laminate flooring underlay will make a great difference in making your house comfortable and healthy to live in as well as in maintaining its structural integrity. By now you will have realized how many homeowners neglect to pay attention to this very important aspect of home improvement. By now you should know if you need to do something about it in your own home.