Flooring underlays: Pay attention to what’s underneath

Day in day out, floors need to with­stand all sorts of stresses and strains. This makes it all the more import­ant to have a floor­ing sys­tem with per­fectly matched com­pon­ents. The under­lay, an addi­tion­al lay­er between sub­floor and top floor­ing, plays a par­tic­u­larly import­ant role. It not only pro­tects the floor sur­face from daily wear and tear but also from the con­stant load caused by heavy fur­niture.

If you want to enjoy your beau­ti­ful par­quet or vinyl floor­ing for as long as pos­sible, you should also pay atten­tion to the choice of under­lay.

Tip 1: The floor components must be perfectly matched

The under­lay­ment is an indis­pens­able part of the floor con­struc­tion. It rests on top of the sub­floor and pro­tects the floor­ing above from dam­age, e.g. by fall­ing objects or by fur­niture being moved around. Even minor uneven­ness of the floor can be leveled out with the right under­lay. In addi­tion, walk­ing noise and impact sound are dampened, thus redu­cing the noise level both in your own home and for the neighbor(s) below.

Tip 2: Soft underlay beneath hard flooring

Depend­ing on the floor­ing sys­tem, dif­fer­ent mater­i­als can be used as under­lays – from wood to card­board, cork and rub­ber to foamed or non-foamed plastics. As a rule of thumb, soft under­lays should always be used under hard floor cov­er­ings such as par­quet. They pro­tect against noise and reduce heat loss. This, in turn, has a pos­it­ive effect on the cli­mate and on your heat­ing bill. Due to the thermal com­fort they provide, thick, soft under­lays are par­tic­u­larly recom­men­ded for use in rooms above the cel­lar. How­ever, they can also impede the flow and trans­fer of heat. So be care­ful with under­floor heat­ing!