Do You Need Underlay For Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl underlayment is an optional add on to click lock vinyls that are 4mm or thicker.

Do you need underlay for vinyl flooring.

For vinyl flooring installations over wood subfloors you will not need to worry about a moisture barrier but you may want an underlayment for added cushion or sound reduction. They mimic hardwood yet offer the ease of maintenance of luxury vinyl. Vinyl flooring by its very design is very stable. It s inexpensive flat smooth and bonds well to the vinyl adhesives.

On the downside particle board underlayment has very little structural strength. Most vinyl floors don t need an underlay. Actually you may not even need underlayment depending on the product and where you plan to install it. If you re planning to install new flooring it s important to give some thought to the underlayment an intermediate surface lying between the structural subfloor and the surface flooring.

Most vinyl flooring or luxury vinyl tiles do not require underlay. Our luxury vinyl click flooring is laid using the same as technique as laminate options in that it s loose laid creating a floating floor. A vinyl floor usually features a base layer which serves the purpose of an underlay thereby removing the need for an additional underlay. A vinyl flooring underlayment will not be as thick as a laminate or hardwood underlayment.

Installing new flooring is a costly enterprise so you want to get it right the first time around. One common underlayment for vinyl floors is 1 2 inch particle board. This baselayer makes the vinyl flooring incredibly durable and comfortable to walk on. It may also be a requirement in certain hoa or apartment complexes to have a sound barrier with your flooring.

Vinyl flooring is highly affordable. If you re laying the lvp over an existing cushion backed vinyl floor or a below grade tile floor then you won t need to use an underlayment. Vinyl floors that are glue down or loose lay will not need a vinyl underlayment as these floors will be installed directly over the subfloor. Given these reasons an underlay is rarely necessary.

However you ll want to use one in every other application including covering existing hardwood floors vinyl flooring that isn t cushioned and concrete floors. One of the most popular products on the market are easy to install click and lock vinyl plank tiles. If the surface you re laying on is level and smooth a well cushioned vinyl floor should be fine on its own. Virtually every type of flooring except for some types of vinyl requires an underlayment and its purpose varies with the flooring material.

Do you need underlayment for those. In the case of a kitchen or bar area you need to know the cabinet layout so you can make the floor break at the edge. The only time a vinyl floor may need underlay is when the surface beneath is uneven or has issues with damp.