Underlayment Confusion........

[Milton]

Hi there....

Just a quick query to run past you guys...I'm no DIYer (yet ) so apologies if this doesn't make much sense.

I'm planning on putting some laminate downstairs (Balterio Senator). This will run from my hall straight through to the lounge - laid on an alright condition concrete floor (house built 2000 - should be DPM already?).

The company I'm probably going to purchase from are offering free underlay of the thin white foam type....So my question is this :-

Will the foam underlay be good enough for the job or should I not even consider using it and be looking into getting something like Timbermate Excell or Fibreboards ?

Basically I don't want too much of a spongy feel when tread on and would like the noise to be not too instrusive but is laying out the extra £60 - £100 worth it ?? What will I gain ?


Thanks in advance

 

[crazydaze]

Use the timbermate or fibre boards, there is a difference and you'll regret using the free stuff.

You'll have better joint protection, better sound absorbtion and better heat retention in winter. I can't think of any reasons not to buy he better underlay, it's a small cost of the whole installation.

 

[Milton]

Use the timbermate or fibre boards, there is a difference and you'll regret using the free stuff.

You'll have better joint protection, better sound absorbtion and better heat retention in winter. I can't think of any reasons not to buy he better underlay, it's a small cost of the whole installation.

Cheers for the response - If using the fibreboards will I need to put a DPM sheet down as well ?

 

[crazydaze]

Use the timbermate or fibre boards, there is a difference and you'll regret using the free stuff.

You'll have better joint protection, better sound absorbtion and better heat retention in winter. I can't think of any reasons not to buy he better underlay, it's a small cost of the whole installation.

Cheers for the response - If using the fibreboards will I need to put a DPM sheet down as well ?

It's best to use a seperate DPM sheeting 'just in case', you may find some underlayments already have a water resistant layer built in. The sheet dpm's are pennies and won't add much to the cost of a job.

 

[Milton]

It's best to use a seperate DPM sheeting 'just in case', you may find some underlayments already have a water resistant layer built in. The sheet dpm's are pennies and won't add much to the cost of a job.

Another question sorry - Will fibreboards cause a spongy feeling when walking on the floor ? Every shop salesman I've spoken keeps insisting that Fibreboards are meant for upstairs use mainly on floorboards ???

 

[crazydaze]

It's best to use a seperate DPM sheeting 'just in case', you may find some underlayments already have a water resistant layer built in. The sheet dpm's are pennies and won't add much to the cost of a job.

Another question sorry - Will fibreboards cause a spongy feeling when walking on the floor ? Every shop salesman I've spoken keeps insisting that Fibreboards are meant for upstairs use mainly on floorboards ???

No the floor will not feel spongy. It will have less movement in it and feel and sound better underfoot compared to the roll product though

Every floating floor will have a small degree of movement to it, but it won't be spongy, or at least provided the subfloor is level enough!!!!

the reason the salesman are saying about upstairs use is because fibreboards insulate the 'drum' sound through ceilings into downstairs rooms more effectivly than the seperate foam roll underflayments. The plus side is that they also insulate sound in the room better as well!

Fit fibreboards of timbermate style product on ALL floor surfaces, in every situation, the floor will feel better underfoot, absorb sound better and feel warmer in winter.

On all our floating floor job's, we just allow for fibreboards as a matter of course in our estimating, the quality of the job is so much better, wether the flooring comes with a built in underlay or not.