Here’s What You Have To Know About Floor Underlay In London Homes But Nobody Tells You

You’ve decided on laminate. You have taken two measurements of the room. You have even debated the merits of 8mm or 12mm thickness — and whether it is worth paying extra for. Then someone asks: “What underlay do you have under it?”

Blank face. Mild panic.

It’s okay — you’re not alone. One of those things that is attached to a flooring quote, mentioned in passing, and then forgotten about – underlay. But it can make all the difference between a floor that feels like you’re walking on cloud and one that sounds like the crisp packet every time your foot strikes it.

After 20+ years of experience in the installation of flooring in London the team at Best Flooring Fitters London has encountered all the flooring underlay mistakes you can imagine. The following is what really counts.

The Need for Underlay is Not an Option

There’s something to clear up. Underlay isn’t a luxury add-on. It’s load-bearing work.

It’s got impact absorption, which means it can take the thumping, footsteps, dropped mugs and so on that can reverberate through your floor to the flat beneath. It offers thermal insulation, more important than people realise in draughty Victorian and Edwardian terraces throughout London. And it will make up for little subfloor irregularities, providing your laminate or wood floor a level surface to rest on.

If you don’t, or if you don’t spend as much, then you will feel it in months. Sometimes within weeks.

Simple Terms – The Key Underlay Types.

Foam Underlay

This is an entry-level choice. Lightweight, inexpensive, thin, for a room that is not used heavily. It becomes compacted over time, however. A spare bedroom? Sure. Everyone’s shoe dumping area in a hallway in Elephant & Castle? Not your best move.

Rubber Underlay

Rubber retains its form. It is compact, robust, and much more effective in blocking sound than foam. Rubber underlay is money well spent if you live in a purpose built flat or an older flat conversion where the noise seems to echo around the place like rumour and gossip.

Best suited for fitting floors in a London home with a concrete subfloor, you’ll find that you get both comfort underfoot and noise reduction.

Felt Underlay

When it comes to solid hardwood flooring, natural felt (which is often composed of recycled fibres) is a favourite choice of the Wood Floor Fitters London crowd. It breathes. Does not retain moisture. And it provides a warm, soft texture that foam can’t compete with.

The downside? More expensive and may require an additional DPM (damp proof membrane) layer below in very wet subfloor conditions.

Combination Underlay

Most of the modern laminate floors in London are recommended with a combination product, such as foam bonded to a thin vapour barrier. It is moisture-proof, has some insulating properties and can be installed very rapidly. If you are looking for a budget friendly renovation, it does a good job.

However, ‘solid job’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘best job.

Acoustic Underlay

This is where the fun really begins. Acoustic underlay is a special-purpose product designed to meet the building regulations for flats and apartment conversions. For many properties in London, where millions of people are housed in tall buildings, this isn’t a nice to have it’s actually a requirement.

The impact sound reduction is expressed in decibels. A good acoustic underlay can improve the reduction of impact noise by 20-25dB. That’s the distinction between your neighbour remarking that your children are running around and them complaining.

When you’re hiring laminate floor installers in a flat like Elephant & Castle to Islington, request anything related to acoustic compliance prior to the project.

The type of subfloor makes a whole lot of difference

It is common to hear the following question; “Which underlay should I get?” However, the truth is, it depends on what is underneath your floor.

Breathable underlays are required for timber subfloor. Cover a wooden subfloor with a non-breathable product and you’re asking for trouble in the form of cupping, warping and an expensive conversation.

A moisture barrier is a top priority for concrete subfloors. Moisture vapour can rise from a subfloor that “seems dry”. This is a problem with concrete and particularly in ground floor flats in older London buildings.

Underfloor heating makes all the difference. Most conventional underlays are extremely insulating and would not allow heat to transfer to the floor surface effectively. A low tog underlay is required (0.5 tog or less), to allow the heat to pass through. Do this wrong and you’ll be spending more on your heating bills and your floors will remain cold. Not ideal.

Elephant & Castle: What local homes truly want

Elephant & Castle is one of the fastest changing neighbourhoods in London. The variety of challenges here involves a mixture of 1960s council blocks, modern high rises and increasing converted Victorian houses.

In the high rise flats, acoustic underlay is a must. These buildings also conduct sound differently from houses: If you have a hard floor and no acoustic protection, you’ll hear your upstairs neighbor getting ready for the day in vivid detail.

With the converted properties, it’s usually moisture that’s a bigger issue. Old buildings breathe in unpredictable ways, and ground floor or basement conversions may present moisture problems within the subfloor that is not apparent.

Best Flooring Fitters London professional flooring installers properly evaluate the subfloor and then recommend a suitable underlay. It’s not guesswork. It is 20 years of flooring installation in london, right for your room, your building and your needs.

Let’s just take a moment to talk about thickness.

Don’t always assume that thicker is better when it comes to underlay. This is what causes people to stumble.

3-5mm is ideal for most laminate floors. Make it too thick, and the floor may be unstable at the door thresholds and transitions. Always check; some manufacturers require the underlay not to be over a certain thickness or the product warranty will be void.

When it comes to solid wood, thinner and denser may be better. The goal of the floor is to provide stability, not bounce.

Make sure not to include a vapour barrier

Even if you use a standard moisture barrier as your underlay, you may need a separate damp proof membrane in many circumstances, notably in a ground floor room, a concrete subfloor, and in any older London home.

The proper DPM is 500 gauge polythene or better which is lapped up the walls and taped at the seams. It’s not sexy work, but it’s one of those little things that makes the difference between a floor that only fails after 20 years and a floor that begins to come up at the edges after year three.

The Wood Floor Fitters London workers will always have moisture readings prior to laying anything. A low cost damp meter test can be done in a matter of minutes. If a floor has to be replaced due to moisture that was not dealt with promptly, it will take days and a lot of money.

People Also Ask

What are the advantages of laminate flooring in Elephant & Castle flats, and how much does it cost to lay?

Yes – laminate is one of the most practical types of flooring for London flats, such as Elephant & Castle flats. It is sturdy, simple to clean and much less costly than solid hardwoods and yet it looks great. Best Flooring Fitters London have been installing laminate flooring throughout London for more than 20 years.

We have competitive and transparent pricing – no hidden extras, no inflated london surcharges. We correctly identify your subfloor and advise you on the correct underlay for your type of building, and fit it to a standard that will last.

Here in Elephant & Castle and all over South London, we are routinely booked to do this type of work. Laminate is a great place to begin remodeling, moving in, or simply getting fed up with outdated carpet.

Call us today on 020 3322 7001 for a free quote. Or check out flooringfitterslondon.org.uk to learn about what we do and how we work.

Dishing out the truth over the counter

Once you learn what to look for, underlay is not a difficult task to get right. The issue is that the majority don’t realize what they are seeing until something goes wrong. By that time, the floor is already down.

Whether you’re wanting laminate floors, engineered wood or solid hardwood floors in London, speak to those who have done many hundreds of installations in all types of properties London has to offer.

For 20+ years, Best Flooring Fitters London has been doing just that. From concrete subfloors to bouncy timber decks, from Victorian Terraces in Brixton to new builds in Elephant & Castle, we’ve done it all.

Want to get started? Now give them a call 020 3322 7001 or check out their website https://flooringfitterslondon.org.uk/ and talk about your flooring. This will make your downstairs neighbor happy.