More is not always better, and with underlayment, too much can compromise the integrity of your floor's locking system. Adding additional underlayment under vinyl with an attached pad can create too much cushioning, which causes the floor to come apart through use over time.
The short answer is that doubling up on underlay is not recommended and, in fact, can cause more harm than good.
If something doesn't feel quite right when you walk over it, it's highly likely that the underlay is wearing out and needs replacing. There may be spots that feel flat, lumps and visible signs of damage, or perhaps you can feel the hard floor beneath as you walk across in your stocking feet.
However, be aware that extremely thick underlays aren't best suited to high-traffic areas such as stairs and hallways. For these spaces we would recommend a medium thickness product with a high density rating. That said, you'll never regret picking a thick underlay for your lounge or bedroom.
To work out how many you need, divide the total surface area of your room (e.g. 100m2) by 15.07 and round up to the nearest half or full roll. i.e. 100 ÷15.07 = 6.6 – therefore 7 full rolls would be required.
More is not always better, and with underlayment, too much can compromise the integrity of your floor's locking system. Adding additional underlayment under vinyl with an attached pad can create too much cushioning, which causes the floor to come apart through use over time.
For example, if you have a staircase with 13 steps and 1.2 metres by 1.2 metres landing, you will need to calculate the total square metre coverage of the stairs and add this to the total square metre coverage of the landing to get your total - you would be looking at 10 square metres of carpet.
Cut underlay into strips and braid them into tug toys, or create crinkly balls for them to chase. Warm and comfy pet beds: Upcycle larger pieces of underlay into snuggly beds for your pets. Add a layer of soft fabric for extra comfort.
With time and wear, underlay will become compressed and here at Leader Floors, we recommend using new underlay each time you change your flooring. Adding new underlay on top of the old underlay will impact the performance of the new underlay and can be harmful to your new flooring.
In steep-slope conditions -- that is, 4:12 and steeper -- upper courses of felt underlayment should overlap lower courses by at least 2 inches. Here, you can see the difference between the underlayment overlapped 2 inches on the upper roof, and overlapped 19 inches on the lower, less steep roof.
Underlay can last anywhere between 5 and 20 years. Foam and Felt underlay can last up to 8-12 years. However, if foam underlay isn't properly installed or maintained, it lasts only 5 years. Acoustic and rubber underlay have the longest lifespan, lasting 10-20 years.
' Underlays do vary in quality and suitability, but generally speaking, when comparing ranges, the more you pay for the carpet underlay, the better the quality it will be, giving extended life to your carpet.
Thicker underlay will last better than thinner underlay as it will take longer to flatten down. Underlay will wear down quicker in rooms where there's a higher footfall. Moisture and heat will also have an impact on the life of your underlay.
No subfloor is perfectly level, but any signs of unevenness and high or low spots must be remedied. Please follow these requirements: Subfloor unevenness cannot be greater than 3/16 of an inch over a 10-foot span or 1/8 inch over a 6-foot span. Subfloors must not slope more than ½ inch per 6 feet (25 mm per 1.8 m)
For added strength and stability, a double-layer subfloor is often recommended. In this configuration, two layers of plywood are installed, with the top layer offset from the seams of the bottom layer.
Very often, particularly in a below-grade installation on a concrete basement floor, a vapor barrier is recommended in addition to the underlayment. That vapor barrier would go between the subfloor and the underlayment.
Underlayment is manufactured and meant to be used as only a single layer to allow your floor to be balanced and float properly. If you install any additional underlayment, the base for your flooring will end up being too soft and could jeopardize the integrity of the locking system.
Sometimes people read online or forums that a thick underlay or carpet can be too thick for the grippers or stairs, but this is usually a carpet fitters bad spread of word as thicker underlays can be harder for them to fit, so they don't like to recommend them.
You have the top layer that is your floor covering (Hardwood, Laminate, Vinyl, Carpet, etc.), next you have the underlayment (usually a thin layer of fiber, foam, rubber), below that you have your subfloor (plywood, OSB, concrete), and lastly you have the joists which are the foundation to your floors.
Ball & Young supply underlay from 3mm all the way through to 11mm; the thicker the product, the more travel of compression there is, which makes the product feel more comfortable and gives better heat insulation.
In general, carpets without underlay have a much shorter lifespan and are more at risk of rapid wear and tear. Underlay is especially important if you're planning on laying carpet over concrete as it will help make walking across the room much more comfortable.
In short yes, absolutely. Underlay will help cushion the laminate flooring from shocks and impacts caused by general movement and furniture.
On stairs, run the underlay from gripper to gripper on the tread and riser to prevent premature heel and toe wear. A good combination underlay will prevent premature wear as it goes over the stair nosing better.