Best noise reducing underlay for Laminate / wood floor.

[j1979]

I will be laying some new wooden (laminate) flooring. I really need the best sound proofing for my flat. Airborne and impact are a big worry due to my hyper sensitive neighbors below.

I was looking at the stuff in the link below. 31db reduction. Or maybe i need to try a multi layered approach.

http://www.allaboutunderlay.co.uk/C...re+Technics+6+Carpet+Underlay+15m2_UL0068.htm

The floor is concrete and at the moment you can hear a lot of noises from below (conversation, baby crying, TV).

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance

 

[mointainwalker]

I see it is what is written but 31 dB seems an enormous reduction.i I would get clarification as I have sometimes found that suppliers make mistakes in technical matters that they do not understand.

If then neighbours are hper-sensitive. I would guess that the underlay might not be what you hope as noise is very difficult to eliminate. What do uyou currently have on the concrete ?

 

[j1979]

thanks for the quick reply

on the floor at the moment there is old laminate installed by the last owner and what looks like fiberboard as the underlay. i don't mind sacrificing some height and resizing doors ect if thats whats needed and installing 2 layers of underlay.

 

[UncleD]

Technics 6 is really a carpet underlay, so unless you put an extra firm layer on top of it (such as MDF or chipboard) then there is some danger that the laminate will flex as you walk across it, which could damage it.

On the other hand, the amount of noise reduction you get between floors depends on the density and thickness of the materials used, so using a dense sponge rubber underlay such as Technics 6 and then a dense layer of MDF will really help with airborne noise reduction.

I've spoken to All About Underlay myself about something like this exact issue. If you ring their call centre then they give you the name and number of their technical expert. He can tell you which is the densest underlay to use for the best noise reduction. They also said they are adding some specialist noise reduction products, so it might be worth asking the expert about that too.