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Flooring underlayment

29020 Views 53 Replies 23 Participants Last post by  Steven Nuckles
Any suggestions on what underlayment to use under a floating laminate floor over concrete?


I need to provide some significant shock absorption. I got one suggestion of cork, but that appears to be awfully expensive.
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...and cork would not provide what you want from an impact point of view.


Look at http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/ac...s/acoustik.pdf
I got QuietWalk underlayment from Lumber Liquidators, it was $50 a roll for 100 sq ft. I'm putting it down under my engineered hardwood. Not sure how well it works, but I'll know in a week or so.
7/16" OSB over 1/4" panel fold pink foam (4' x 50' bundle). Roof clips hold the sheets together, power nail them down, they won't move. Put your floor down. Very inexpensive, warm, and compliant under your feet.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Erskine /forum/post/0


...and cork would not provide what you want from an impact point of view.


Look at http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/ac...s/acoustik.pdf

Thanks Dennis. I just spoke to them on the phone. It certainly looks like this would do what I want, but it ain't cheap (and what ever is?).


$3/sf + $150 for adhesive.


I'll keep them on my short list.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twojciac /forum/post/0


I got QuietWalk underlayment from Lumber Liquidators, it was $50 a roll for 100 sq ft. I'm putting it down under my engineered hardwood. Not sure how well it works, but I'll know in a week or so.

Hmm, that looks promising. Any idea how think it is?


Would you mind checking back in on this thread and letting us know what you think after the install? I have a LL not too far from me, and was very pleased with their product/service when I bought from them previously.

Quote:
Originally Posted by PAD /forum/post/0


7/16" OSB over 1/4" panel fold pink foam (4' x 50' bundle). Roof clips hold the sheets together, power nail them down, they won't move. Put your floor down. Very inexpensive, warm, and compliant under your feet.

Does the OSB supply any additional shock absorption value? If I'm putting laminate floating floor over it, would it be ncessary?


As silly as it sounds, I'm trying to preserve every last bit of headroom, and would like to not soak up another ~7/16".
for sound, not shock absorption in a situation where sound isn't a concern.


rubber mat > cork for basically all applications, especially floors that aren't concrete or gypsum concrete (i.e., most floors) where the weight of the rubber mat is a benefit.


pink foams can be cheap, and can be white and yellow and all of those, and they are more resilient than cork, but they aren't without drawbacks relative to rubber mats. Basically, they contain alot of air, and are as such softer and that can lead to a more defined resonance due to the spring effect. and, again, they don't contribute mass.
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Brian


Are you saying that 1/4" rigid foam under OSB could cause serious acoustic problems?


I am in a similar situation, where I am trying to plan out flooring options for the basement. My goal is to get off the cold concrete with a minimal effect on acoustics in the HT. I am thinking of using Planton or Dricore but the cost is a little difficult to justify. 1/4" RF would be a lot cheaper, but not if it would be a serious hit to room acoustics.


Thanks

Skipp
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skippard /forum/post/0


Brian


Are you saying that 1/4" rigid foam under OSB could cause serious acoustic problems?


I am in a similar situation, where I am trying to plan out flooring options for the basement. My goal is to get off the cold concrete with a minimal effect on acoustics in the HT. I am thinking of using Planton or Dricore but the cost is a little difficult to justify. 1/4" RF would be a lot cheaper, but not if it would be a serious hit to room acoustics.


Thanks

Skipp

Skipp,


it won't cause problems with sound inside the room, and it will help with higher frequency impact noise, particularily on concrete or something extremely heavy/hard, where high frequency noise is more of an issue.


but, yes, it could cause loss of performance over some freq range due to a resonance. when you put air cavity or something springy into a structure to decouple it, you get this resonance as a side effect. unavoidable reality of the situation.


in this case i think rubber mats with mass + generally less prone to this resonance are a better choice in lightweight floors. in heavy (masonary/gypsum concrete, etc.) floors, the choice of underlayment is less important.


so no, it won't hurt room acoustics, the considerations are only sound isolation. and in situations it can be helpful for that, but its not a universally beneficial product.


Brian
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OK, I'm not sure how my question got turned in to an accoustical one.


As I mentioned in my original post, I'm looking for "shock abosorption" for a laminate floor going over concrete.


This is going to be a dance studio for my wife, and concrete is hard on the ol' knees.


Any recommendations from that standoint? I'm thnking seriously about the 1/4" foam from Lumber Liquidators...
Sorry


Didn't mean to hijack your thread.


Skipp
steve,


i also meant no hijacking.



with respect to shock absorption, perhaps you could experiment with that foam option under a single board of OSB/drywall and see if it yields the desired results? I am unsure what to recommend other than thicker/softer materials will yield more cushiness.


Brian
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I'm looking at Delta-FL. It's supposedly sold at Lowes. I think about $.51 per sq foot.


Good luck
You could use the costco Harmonics (re-branded Quick-Step) underlayment. Its about $30 for a 150 sq/ft roll. Just finished putting down about 800-1000 sq/ft of the stuff and it turned out great!

Quote:
Originally Posted by bcrawfo2 /forum/post/0


I'm looking at Delta-FL. It's supposedly sold at Lowes. I think about $.51 per sq foot.


Good luck

I just took a look at their web site... that looks to be interesting stuff, and appears that you can install a laminate floor over the top of it by just using the "laminate foam" included in the kits and not need to install plywood subfloor.


If Lowe's really does sell it for that price. I'll take a good look. Thanks!

Quote:
Originally Posted by mmmkam /forum/post/0


You could use the costco Harmonics (re-branded Quick-Step) underlayment. Its about $30 for a 150 sq/ft roll. Just finished putting down about 800-1000 sq/ft of the stuff and it turned out great!

Thanks.. I saw that the other day, and looks to only be 1/8" thick or so... I question how much absorption that would really provide.


Have you used it?
Steve,

If you get info from Lowes, let me know what you find out. I called twice and was on hold for about 15 mins each time and gave up. I haven't made the drive to the store yet.


Scott
So I'm half way done with putting down my floating engineered hardwood with the quietwalk product. So far I really like it... it's a vapor barrier and dense pad built into one product. I used a similar product with my Pergo laminate floor in my last house, but quietwalk seems to perform much better.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bcrawfo2 /forum/post/0


Steve,

If you get info from Lowes, let me know what you find out. I called twice and was on hold for about 15 mins each time and gave up. I haven't made the drive to the store yet.


Scott

Sure thing...
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