What Is The Best Underlayment For Vinyl Flooring

This is the layer that you see and walk on.

What is the best underlayment for vinyl flooring.

For our discussion of underlayment a wide range of flooring comes under the heading of hardwood. Just under the visible floor covering is a layer of some kind of material usually only about 1 4 or 1 2 inch thick. Wear layers and topcoats can protect the surface of your floor but underlay adds a layer of protection to the bottom of your boards or tiles. A vinyl flooring underlayment will not be as thick as a laminate or hardwood underlayment.

The airguard 5 in 1 floor underlayment is an ideal option if you re shopping for floor underlayment for laminate. Vinyl floors that are glue down or loose lay will not need a vinyl underlayment as these floors will be installed directly over the subfloor. There s no need for a moisture barrier underlayment on plywood. Installing new flooring is a costly enterprise so you want to get it right the first time around.

Vinyl underlayment is an optional add on to click lock vinyls that are 4mm or thicker. Its purpose is to provide a smooth flat surface for the floor covering. If you re installing new vinyl flooring over an existing floor such as hardwood tile laminate or vinyl then cork or foam make good choices. While vinyl flooring is known for its resiliency it would be a major mistake to overlook the underlayment.

This is the finished visible flooring surface such as hardwood planks carpeting ceramic tile or vinyl. To keep moisture and mold away this underlayment is treated with microban and includes airguard technology to promote airflow with embedded polyshims that prevent compression and allow moisture vapor to escape. If you need and are allowed to use additional soundproofing felt cork and foam will all work but cork is best because it won t harm or stain the flooring. An underlayment that offers more cushioning is armstrong flooring quiet comfort.

We recommend using a vapor barrier on a cement subfloor to prevent moisture from seeping up and sitting beneath your flooring. Like plywood or osb flooring you can forgo the underlayment entirely if you prefer. It includes domestic solid hardwood flooring such as oak maple hickory and ash and exotic varieties like brazilian cherrywood koa teak or sakura. It s more important that the underlayment dampens sounds and feels comfortable.

The good news is that vinyl floor products often ship with attached cork underlayment. Meaning if you re going to install vinyl plank flooring over tile vinyl flooring and even.