engineered wood, soundproofing help

[KEMPO34]

Hey all,
After doing weeks of research and reading this forum i'm stuck with a lot of conflicting information.
so now i am writing to see if some of you can help.

Im about to move in to a mid terrace house, top floor flat and i want to put in some engineered wood floors in the living area and carpet in the bedroom.
At the moment ther is cheep lino in all rooms over the floorboards.

What i want is to put some soundproofing under the egineered wood floors
and something under the carpet to raise the level so it matches the wood.

this is where im stuck,
how do i go about sound proofing between the floorboards and wood?
I ahve read so many ways and im confused now.
do i take the lino out first?

i was thinking of using timbermat gold for wood and something like quite floor or cloud 9 for the carpet.

then i have read that i shouldnt use DPM over floorboards.
yet most soundproofing pruducts i have seen come with DPM .

Can anyone give sound advise on my problem,

also, still looking at where to buy my wood , carpet and underlay.

what would be great is to find a reliable company who will come to sw6 London who have all i need and can fit it all.

anyone know of a good place.

thanks

 

[mac391]

To clarify, it's not a good idea to use a DPM under timber sub-floors as it can cause mousture to collect beneath the sub-floor.

But......... You have a top floor flat and the conditions below you are nothing like that of a ground floor flat where there is nothing but damp, cold air circulating on top of soil or rubble.

I don't think you will have any problems with Timbermate Gold at all.

Having said that, there are plenty of floor shops that supply 5/6mm underlay for floating floors without a DPM.

There are also fibre boards for sound proofing, again from most wood floor shops/internet etc. These are more solid than underlay and good sound proofing.

 

[KEMPO34]

thank you for the quick reply.

so what your saying is that there is no need for a vapor barrier?
when would one use dpm then?

I have read that I should sill all gaps between the floor joints, then add 2 layers of accustic mats, then foam, then engineered wood.
is this right?

wouldn't laying underlay & floor be just as bad as something with dpm?

could you give your opinion on the way to do it please. what stuff in what order. also the best makes in your opinion.
thanks

anyone else please feel free to advise, that way I can make a calculated decision & idea of what to do

 

[WoodYouLike]

If your existing floorboards are level you can just install Timbermate Duratex (3.6mm rubber underlayment with excellent sound-insulation) IF you remove the lino floor covering that's there.

If you want to leave the lino than you have to use Timbermate Excel (which includes DPM) because the lino can "sweat" and effect your new wood floor.

Mac391 is right, you're on the top floor so hardly any effect from moisture underneath your existing floorboards. In your case you do need a DPM for different reasons - namely if you keep the lino.

Two articles for you:
Type of underfloor is type of underlayment
Find out more about all the choices you have

 

[Deluks]

If you want to go the distance, you could lift up the floorboards now while you have the chance, and install some rockwool insulation between the joists. This will upgrade not just soundproofing but also fire resistance between floors. Bin the lino and cover the floor in hardboard or ply instead to seal the gaps.

 

[KEMPO34]

CHEERS ALL,

Well the lino has gone and it has been rplaced with quite thin ply..I think.

SSo it no to DPM

i will use Timbermate Duratex but should i use anything else with it.
should i use accustic mats or will that be ok on its own.


thanks.

 

[mac391]

Just the underlay is fine. Too much insulation under the new floor will just make it bounce, probably defeating the object of sound insulation!!

 

[WoodYouLike]

Duratex IMHO on its own would give you sufficient sound-insulation

Update after posting: You beat me to it one 1 minute

 

[ajrobb]

Also consider Acoustilay http://trimacoustics.co.uk/Acoustilay .pdf