A floor underlayment is required for any installation of laminate flooring or engineered real wood flooring. It is important to use only the type underlayment offered or suggested by the manufacturer of your particular flooring. Plywood, sawdust composites, oriented strand board, cement board, etc. are available and are the most used material used in both new home construction and remodeling jobs. When exposed to moisture, the wood based underlayments can warp and swell when exposed to moisture. This will lead to the finished flooring to buckle even if the underlayment relaxes after it dries out if it is exposed to a wet environment.
Engineered and laminate flooring is free floated which means it is not attached to the sub-floor. Most people think they are permenantly attached but that is not the case. It actually floats over the original floor environment.
The individual boards are only secured to each other by gluing the mating tongue and groove edges or by simply clicking together the special joints of the "no-glue" type. This process holds the structure together with integrity and is a skill set that is quickly learned.
Unlike carpet padding, the thickness of floor underlayment is thinner. But like carpet padding it must be placed on the sub-floor first. The subfloor is usually either a concrete floor or a plywood floor that is secured to the framework of the building.
A floating floor is like a jigsaw puzzle in that the pieces are connected to each other. The big advantage of the floating floor method of installation is it allows for the floor to move and expand in response to changes in a room's humidity. This is why extra space needs to be allowed for at the extreme edges of the room to allow for expansion.
The function of underlayment is to absorb some of the minor imperfections in the sub-floor; to help deaden sound when walking on the floor. Naturally, on basement floors or in many commercial applications, underlayments are absent. However, in most home applications, the extra insulation and sound deadening effect is a feature worth investing in.
There are three basic types of foam underlayment from flooring stores: standard foam, foam/film combination, a floor muffler modified/upgraded.
Standard foam underlayments do not have a moisture barrier attached to them; combo underlayments are used wherever there would be the possibility of moisture coming up from the sub-floor. Combination foam/film underlayment is essentially the same as standard foam except that it has a moisture barrier attached to one side.
Engineered and laminate flooring is free floated which means it is not attached to the sub-floor. Most people think they are permenantly attached but that is not the case. It actually floats over the original floor environment.
The individual boards are only secured to each other by gluing the mating tongue and groove edges or by simply clicking together the special joints of the "no-glue" type. This process holds the structure together with integrity and is a skill set that is quickly learned.
Unlike carpet padding, the thickness of floor underlayment is thinner. But like carpet padding it must be placed on the sub-floor first. The subfloor is usually either a concrete floor or a plywood floor that is secured to the framework of the building.
A floating floor is like a jigsaw puzzle in that the pieces are connected to each other. The big advantage of the floating floor method of installation is it allows for the floor to move and expand in response to changes in a room's humidity. This is why extra space needs to be allowed for at the extreme edges of the room to allow for expansion.
The function of underlayment is to absorb some of the minor imperfections in the sub-floor; to help deaden sound when walking on the floor. Naturally, on basement floors or in many commercial applications, underlayments are absent. However, in most home applications, the extra insulation and sound deadening effect is a feature worth investing in.
There are three basic types of foam underlayment from flooring stores: standard foam, foam/film combination, a floor muffler modified/upgraded.
Standard foam underlayments do not have a moisture barrier attached to them; combo underlayments are used wherever there would be the possibility of moisture coming up from the sub-floor. Combination foam/film underlayment is essentially the same as standard foam except that it has a moisture barrier attached to one side.
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