Choosing the right underlay for your new flooring is almost as important as choosing the floors themselves. While you’ll be walking on and looking at your chosen floorboards each day, the underlay that you install beneath them is what will support them in their quest to make your home beautiful and comfortable for years to come. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to selecting the right underlay for your floors to help you work out which option is best for your home.
What Benefits Can Underlay Provide?
Before you can select the right underlay for your floors, you’ll need to decide on what benefits are most important to you. While some benefits of underlay are universal, and many underlays provide multiple perks, products tend to specialise in a certain aspect, so you’ll first need to decide which will have the largest impact within your space.
Increased Longevity
All good underlays will work to increase the longevity of your floors. They do this by helping to prevent unwanted movement and providing an additional barrier between your flooring and the outside world.
Enhanced Stability
While floating floors are designed to shift ever so slightly, this doesn’t mean that you want them slipping and sliding about. This is why proper installation is so crucial, and a vital part of installing your floors properly is the addition of an underlay to help enhance stability.
Acoustic Benefits
Noise pollution can be hazardous to your health so anything you can do to make your home a quieter space is a good idea. Many multi-residence buildings also have strict requirements around acceptable noise levels, so you’ll want to select an underlay that offers acoustic properties in line with the regulations in your building. We have a handy quick reference chart for the acoustic ratings of our floors when paired with our underlays, but it is important to remember that this should be used as a guide only as to get accurate acoustic readings you must measure things in-situ as a system.
Thermal Properties
While underlay is not insulation, and should never be used as insulation, it can offer some of the same benefits. A significant portion of heat transfer within the home happens through the floors, so selecting an underlay with thermal properties is highly recommended in climates where you’ll want as much insulation as possible.
Moisture Protection
Moisture and vapour can rise from the subfloor and cause issues with your flooring if they are present in large amounts. To help prevent damage, we recommend selecting an underlay that features a moisture barrier which will effectively reduce the chances of running into any problems.
Comfort Underfoot
Another benefit of installing underlay beneath your floors is that it can help enhance the way that they feel underfoot. This is because you have an extra layer between your flooring and the subfloor, therefore you’ll enjoy a warmer, softer and more comfortable feeling.
The Best Type Of Underlay For Your Floor
Now that you’ve got a better idea of why underlay is a vital part of your flooring system and how it can enhance your space, it’s time to get a bit more specific about which option is best for your home.
Laminate Flooring
Finding the right underlay for Laminate floors really comes down to what you want your underlay to do. For example, if you’re looking for a solid all-rounder, our Timbermax underlay is a good option, while those looking to maximise acoustic benefits will want to select ThermaTread, an underlay that provides 6-star acoustic results.
Those who live in a particularly wet or humid environment may also wish to consider installing Airstep Moisture Barrier beneath their chosen underlay for enhanced protection.
Hybrid Floors
If you’re installing Hybrid flooring in your home, you do not technically need to install an underlay beneath it as all Hybrid floorboards within the Imagine Floors by Airstep range come with pre-adhered acoustic underlay as standard. Having said that, it is still important to protect your investment, so the installation of a moisture barrier such as our sister company’s product (pictured) is strongly advised.
Although Hybrid floors have a waterproof surface, this doesn’t protect them from moisture that can rise up from the subfloor, and you don’t want to run the risk of having this cause damage. The good news is that Airstep Moisture Barrier is super quick and simple to install thanks to printed gridlines and a self-adhesive strip so it’s an easy way to add some extra peace of mind.
Airstep Moisture Barrier
CODE: 2100829
CATEGORY : UNDERLAY
THICKNESS: 200μm +/- 5%
LENGTH: 50M
WIDTH: 1M + 60 mm overlap
METRE PER ROLL: 50M²
Airstep Moisture Barrier PE film moisture barrier which has an Sd rating of 290.
Protect y…
Luxury Vinyl Plank Floorboards
As a direct stick flooring option, Luxury Vinyl Plank has different underlay needs to the other products in our range. We have two options that are suitable for installation with Luxury Vinyl Planks – Acoustalay and Helix 700 – with both options offering a range of benefits for both your flooring system and the space as a whole.
Carpet
If you’re looking to install carpet in any areas of your home, we suggest the installation of an underlay from our sister company, Airstep Underlay. Airstep has been providing top quality underlay to the Australian market for decades and are experts at crafting the right product to suit any needs. We particularly love their StepSupreme underlay for a luxurious feeling in master suites, as this underlay is designed with optimal underfoot comfort as the main focus.
Want to learn more about our range of underlay options? Head over to our Flooring Accessories page where you’ll also find our collections of colour match Scotia and Stair Nosing which are must have finishes for that polished look. Or, if you know which floors and underlay you want to install in your home, make your way to our Store Locator to find your closest Imagine Floors by Airstep stockist.
