Many homeowners opt for laminate flooring as it looks super stylish, is affordable, and is easy to clean.
But just like all types of flooring, it needs high-quality laminate underlay beneath to enhance the lifespan of your floor, maintain its appearance and offer other benefits, such as increased sound absorption.
Throughout this article, our experts explore the different types of laminate underlay and the brilliant advantages each offers to your home.
Why is underlay for laminate flooring necessary?
Installed between your subfloor and laminate flooring, underlay is a sheet of cushioning that impacts how your flooring sounds, feels, and looks.
Laminate flooring underlay offers plenty of advantages, including:
- Cushioning your feet
- Ensuring your house stays insulated and warm
- Helping to shield your flooring from damaging subfloor moisture beneath
- Soundproofing your home
- Evening out the level of your subfloor and reducing bumpiness
How well your laminate performs depends on its installation, the brand you choose and whether you pick the best-suited underlay for each room.
What are the different types of laminate flooring underlay?
Many types of underlay for laminate flooring are available on the market from reliable suppliers including Cloud 9, Duralay, and Tredaire.
Typically, the underlay you select will be determined by the room you’re installing the laminate floor in and your needs e.g., soundproofing or insulating.
Foam laminate underlay
Foam underlay has fantastic moisture-resistant properties, making it an ideal choice for concrete subfloors. Moisture and dampness destroy laminate flooring as it weakens its underside, so stopping it is essential to maintaining the health and appearance of your flooring.
However, one of the issues with foam is that the subfloor must be level to prevent pressure from damaging the joints in your laminate flooring.
On the whole, this type of laminate underlay is an affordable option suited to most rooms, including conservatories and utility rooms.
Under-floor heating laminate underlay
Unsurprisingly, under-floor heating laminate underlay is engineered for use above underfloor electric and water heating systems. It helps to heat your home by increasing the efficiency of your heating system – thanks to its low tog rating, it encourages the movement of heat across your floor to keep your home cosy and warm.
Gold foil underlay
This laminate underlay is designed to insulate laminate flooring, with the gold foil reflecting heat into your house.
Plus, thanks to its incredible moisture-proof foil membrane, it repels water – this prevents the need to use moisture protection sheets, saving you more money.
Gold foil is perfect for installation in bathrooms and kitchens where there’s more chance of water reaching your floor.
Fibreboard Underlay
This type of underlay is a highly popular choice as it has many benefits.
Firstly, it’s great for evening-out subfloors that are slightly uneven, making your flooring look much neater.
It’s also excellent at soundproofing rooms such as home offices, lounges, and bedrooms.
If that wasn’t enough, fibreboard also offers a significant level of insulation and keeps your home warm in the winter.
Places that experience high traffic, such as living rooms and bedrooms, can all benefit from fibreboard laminate underlay.
Contact the team at Tradepriced
Struggling to decide which laminate underlay is best for your home? Maybe you could benefit from some advice from one of our specialists?
If so, please get in touch with our helpful and expert team on 02080 376 557 or email us at sales@tradepriced.co.uk, and we’ll get back to you.
