Underlayment for laminate

I am in the middle of a laminate install job. I have done half the area (3 rooms) and need to do half more (open layout). For the three rooms I bought some Shaw's laminate at a good price that looks decent and I went with the retailer's recommended underlayment. This was a 2-in-1 moisture barrier and foam padding.

For the rest of the house, I am thinking about buying a better looking laminate. I have my eyes on a Tarkett Solutions product (shiny finish) and should be buying it sometime next week. Any opinions on this are welcome.

However, I am thinking about going with a different underlayment for this part of the project. I read the following article and it seems to weigh in favor of floor muffler brand underlayment.

http://www.fastfloors.com/articles/Underlayment_Types_Uses.asp

Does anyone here have any experience with it? Specifically, I am trying to eliminate the hollow clatter sound I get with the current install (the house had solid wood glued to concrete slab so the sound in laminate areas is annoying)

Other areas of concern are:
- Good moisture proofing (house gets quite humid in summer)
- Thermal insulation (floor get cold in winter)

Also, is separate moisture barrier and foam padding better in any of these three areas?

Thanks very much in advance.

 

are you sure you want to use 2 different laminates in the same house like that? and why, if i may ask, are you covering up solid hardwood with laminate?

 

Never put a moisture barrier over a gluedown wood floor over concrete!!!!!!!!


You are tearing up the gluedown wood, I hope!!!!


It is always best to use the underlayment the manufacturer makes just for that flooring that they make.

You are going to need a moisture barrier because of the concrete issue, and that is the same reason, the existing wood, has to be removed, or you will be crying the blues, shortly. When the concrete moisture vapor emissions play havoc on the existing wood flooring.

 

First off, I have pulled out the glued hardwood, so no problems there.

Next about the two different laminate comments; I just picked out a decent looking cheap laminate in the beginning. Since I wasn't even sure if this DIY project was going to work. But after I had success with these three rooms, the idea occurred to both me and my wife that maybe we can spend some more on the laminate and get a really good looking floor for the rest of the house. In fact, if I were to go with the original laminate, I would be done by now. The delays in getting the new laminate are causing me untold aggravation. But thats another thread

Since posting here, I have looked at some other super expensive underlayments. Sound Off and Quite Elegance by Leggett and Platt (www.lpurethane.com). These things cost alot (about 55c/sqft) and add some R-Value too. Is there any value to these or should I stick with the cheap foam 2-in-1 given by the original installer?

 

I have a question about the difference between these two HD products. the 2n1 product costs .25 per sq ft and the 3n1 costs .66 per sq ft. The 2n1 already has a built in vapor barrier. the 3n1 does not.

I felt the thickness of the 2n1(blue stuff) and compared it to the 3n1 (green stuff) and the green stuff felt a little more dense. does anyone have an opinion about these two underlayments. If the 3n1 is better, I'll get it. I'm covering 400 sq ft, so the extra cost will not break the bank. I want to know whats best for the laminate floor to perform the best.

thanks, JB

 

I looked at the home depot stuff you are talking about. I think the 3-in-1 seems nice but expensive. I am no real expert but my local flooring guy is giving me a nice underlayment with a documented R-value and density for 50 cents/sqft. The HD one does not have these things written on the packaging so I could not compare.

I have also looked in Lowes and they have a 46 cents (I think) underlayment which _seems_ like a good option. It does not have any r-value written but it looks like cellulose insulation material.

If anyone on these boards has any experience with the Lowe's or HD underlayment (how can they not?) then please share with us. The cheaper foam padding at HD or Lowes is the same as what I have used (in three rooms) and I can tell you it does NOT give any insulation or sound reduction.

 

can i get any cheaper underlayment than 25 cents per sqare foot?

it is a rental so i dont care

and you guys said that the cheap stuff offers no sound reduction, so why get it at all?

i put laminate in my br and lr, no underlay

little noisy but not bad.....

will underlay help with noise if it is cheap stuff.....i mean help at all?


thanks,

al

 

1. I haven't come across anything cheaper
2. Moisture barrier is required by the manufacturer and the foam padding evens out small imperfections in the subfloor
3. It maybe fine for now but I don't know how long it will last (it is like driving your car without an oil change. It will go way over the manufacturer's recommended schedule but it WILL damage your engine)

 

I bought some Anderson brand underlayment from Lowe's at 42 cents. It does not mention any R-Value but looks to be made of the cellulose insulation material. It claims to provide some sound reduction too and has a very thin (3 mil) moisture barrier underneath.

It seemed to be best bang for the buck so I purchased it. Lumber Liquidators has a Quite Walk (?) for 50 cents. That one looked the same as this.

If anyone has any experience with the Lowe's brand and can give me their opinion of it, I would really appreciate it. Also, would 3 mil moisture barrier be OK or should I buy some additional moisture barrier with it?

TIA.