Importance of Underlayment for Wood Flooring

02/11/2019

The quality of wood undoubtedly plays a major role while installing a new wooden floor. However, the success of any wood floor installation depends on many little things that must not be forgotten. A new hardwood floor can provide you years of high performance and incomparable beauty, but only if proper measures are taken to protect it from the wear and tear of regular use. Adding an underlayment is one of the most effective ways to make your wooden floor last for a long time.  After the floor has been laid down, underlay performs a number of extremely important functions.

Mentioned below are the most important reasons to use an underlayment for wood flooring.

• Correction of minor imperfections: Everyone wants to build a smooth and stable flooring system. Any damages, dips, or flaws in the subfloor may lead to serious instability issues. Application of an underlayment to the hardwood floors can help create a surface that is level and stable.
• Noise reduction: Though durable and beautiful, wood is not efficient in terms of muffling sounds. As a result, the sound of the footsteps on a wooden floor easily gets transferred throughout the home. This can be a serious concern for households with kids and pets. However, this noise can be stopped or reduced to a great extent with an underlayment.
• Moisture damage prevention: This is one of the most important reasons to have a wood floor underlayment. A wooden floor develops numerous problems when water vapour and moisture from underneath comes into contact. This can accelerate the expansion and contraction rates during changes in temperature, resulting in adverse issues such as crowning and cracking. In extreme cases, exposure to water may even cause the hardwood floor to buckle. Moisture damage, however, can be controlled by adding an underlayment.
• Floor insulation: During the cold winter nights, everyone wants their feet to remain warm. An underlay of good quality ensures that the damp cold stays away from the floor board. This additional insulating layer between the subfloor and the hardwood floor also keeps the floor cooler during the summer.
• Cushioning agent for the floor: Functioning as a cushioning agent, the flooring underlayment increases the comfort factor while walking across the floor. Cushioning plays a significant role in ensuring user comfort every day, throughout the wooden floor’s lifespan.
• Floating Floors: Underlayment becomes an absolute necessity while installing an engineered or laminate flooring system designed to float over the subfloor without making use of any nails. The underlay will support the floating floor, without which, you may experience buckling of the boards and separation of the seams. In general, this type of an underlay is made of plastic foam.

Finding the best wood flooring underlayment:

Selection of the correct underlayment for wooden floors often makes a serious difference to the finished floor. Quality underlayment not only enhances the lifespan of the floor, but also increases the comfort of the users in many different ways. On the other hand, the selection of wrong underlayment may result in the creation of flooring that is unattractive and even hazardous.

Mentioned below are some simple tips for choosing the correct underlayment.

• Subfloor type: The selection of underlayment depends heavily on the subfloor type. In case of plywood subfloors, the most recommended choice is any closed cell or impermeable underlayment. Wooden subfloors require semi-permeable (with the rating of 0.7 to 2.9) and permeable (with the rating of 3 or higher) underlayment. On the other hand, all concrete subfloors need an impermeable (rating of 0.15 or less) underlayment.
• Wood flooring type: The type of wood flooring should also be taken into account while choosing the underlayment. If you have a solid hybrid floor or a floating engineered floor, use of padded underlayments is recommended. On the other hand, paper underlayments are more effective for nail-down hardwood.
• Radiant heating: Underlayment is required for wooden floors with radiant heating. However, in these cases, avoid all underlayment products containing asphalt because an unpleasant odor may be created by the heating system.
• Guidelines from the manufacturer: Go through the manufacturer’s instructions in detail because you may find useful product-specific warnings and tips related to your flooring.

Installation of Underlayment: Before you start installing a suitable underlayment, the subfloor must be levelled properly. Make use of a levelling compound to fill out the depressions and sand down the ridges. Once the floor is levelled, make use of a floor sander to ensure that it is actually flat. Whether you are using plastic sheeting, vinyl, tar paper, or polyethylene foam, try to lay the underlayment from wall to wall in full lengths.

If you have any other questions about the underlayment for your hardwood floor, please contact us without any hesitation. With over two decades of industry experience, we can help you with all your hardwood floor related requirements.