Flooring underlay

[muckylugs]

Hi
Going to fit a laminate floor down and want to use a high quality underlay/dpm with high thermal properties as i am laying on concrete.Anyone give some advice on good products out there.
Thanks in advance

Andy

 

[WoodYouLike]

Hi Muckylugs.

If it's normal concrete in a normal house then there is no need to use underlay with high thermal properties, waste of money.
You can purchase 2 in 1 underlay nowadays: DPM on 2,5 mm Polypron foam with 'self-adhesive' overlapping DPM strip, very handy.

 

[JIM456]

Hi,
I think you'll find the standard laminate underlays have excellent insulating properties. There are some on the market which have a silver foil backing if you want.
If your looking for more than that then I would suggest the acoustic fibre board panels which are sold in most of the big DIY stores. They are easy to lay, but it all adds to the cost and will raise the height of your floor by around 8mm...thats in addition to your laminate which may also be 8mm
One thing you have to remmeber with laminate is that the T&G joints arn't very strong so you need a fairly firm base...which is provided by either the thin standard styrofoam lining...or the thick acousti-boards...anything softer and the joints will split.
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Jim.

 

[carpetpaul]

I would say, try to avoid raising the height of the finished floor a little as you can, as this only creates a bigger problem when you come to plating or finishing to your surrounding flooring /carpets - and buy the door trims from the same place as you get your wood, they usually match and fit best