And one of the more crucial layers is one that is rarely seenthe underlayment.
Foam, cork, and rubber are common soft underlayments.
Hard underlayment materials include plywood and hardboard.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Tip
Underlayment and subfloor are easily confused because both act as bases for the floor covering.
Think of subfloor as a structural base and underlayment as more of a stabilizing base.
Where Underlayment Fits in a Floor Structure
Most floors in residential homes consist of four layers.
The Spruce / Kevin Norris
Because underlayment is a catchall term, it can take different forms depending on the flooring material is supports.
The primary purposes of underlayment are:
Soft Underlayments
Foam and cork underlayments do two things.
Foam and cork underlayments can smooth out imperfections, such as barely protruding screw heads and small knot holes.
This means that they are not attached to the subfloor at all.
Rigid Flooring Underlayments
Many floor coverings are best installed over a rigid underlayment applied over the subfloor.
Plywood and hardboard such as luan are common rigid underlayments.
With laminate flooring, the trend is now for the underlayment to come pre-attached.
Laminate flooring manufacturers typically state that loose underlayment should not be used with pre-attached underlayment.
For example, it is common for laminate flooring to be laid directly on existing sheet vinyl.
And new luxury vinyl can often be laid over old vinyl without problems.
Carpeting is often laid over existing hard floors with no underlayment at all, other than the carpet padding.
Consult the instructions for your new flooring material for advice on what kind of underlayment is adequate.
Special Considerations
Keep your underlayment as thin as possible.
Thicker underlayments will begin to pose problems since they can create offset issues between rooms with different flooring materials.
Transitions can be problematic if the floor level is substantially higher in one room than in the adjacent room.
Inc, Algoritmi Vision.
Flooring Underlay - Summarized by Plex.Page | Content | Summarization.
Accessed August 10, 2021. https://plex.page/Flooring_Underlay.
