Couple Laying Flooring Questions

[comfortably_numb]

I'm considering changing the carpet in our lounge to a wood/laminate flooring but have a couple of concerns.

First one is insulation. I looked around DIY store yesterday & notice can get square 3 or 5mm thick "spongy" underflooring whch apparantly aids insulation, sound proofing & flattens out the floor
Can anyone give me an idea if its an efficient form of floor insulation & does it compared well to traditional underlay & carpet ???

Secondly : With my current carpet, its easy to hide the wires under it around the room, telephone extensions, speaker extension cables etc ... Is there a common solution to hiding these cables when using wooden/laminate flooring that will allow access to the cables at a later date if needed ???

Any feedback appreciated

 

[WoodYouLike]

Hi there

What is the underfloor? Concrete, chipboard or concrete? And is it level?
That depends on what you really need for insulation reasons, plus don't forget that quality wood products add to the insulation too.

As for cables: two things really. You could use the expansion gaps around the perimeter of the floor only if the cables aren't too thick. But... some cables next to each other could effect the correct working of the equipment. Phone and electric wires could give interference.

 

[comfortably_numb]

The underfloor is concrete & pretty level though not completely.

 

[WoodYouLike]

If you plan to install your floor floating don't use too tick underlayment - it could cause your floor to 'bounce'.
3mm is normally enough and make sure you select one that has a DPM layer in it.

A floor can sloop 1 - 2 mm per meter as long as it's a gentle sloop - not dips and hills.

 

[comfortably_numb]

thanks ... i'll check that out