Do You Need Underlay For Vinyl Flooring

They mimic hardwood yet offer the ease of maintenance of luxury vinyl.

Do you need underlay for vinyl flooring.

The only time a vinyl floor may need underlay is when the surface beneath is uneven or has issues with damp. 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. If your subfloor had dips or damage it could show through the vinyl over time. As a result vinyl floors do not wobble or buckle under your feet.

Vinyl underlayment is an optional add on to click lock vinyls that are 4mm or thicker. One common underlayment for vinyl floors is 1 2 inch particle board. On the downside particle board underlayment has very little structural strength. Vinyl flooring by its very design is very stable.

Vinyl flooring is highly affordable. A vinyl floor usually features a base layer which serves the purpose of an underlay thereby removing the need for an additional underlay. There are several types of underlayment for this type of flooring and we ve seen brands with a thin layer of foam pre attached as well. Most vinyl floors don t need an underlay.

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. If you ve chosen to go the vinyl path you re probably wondering about the best underlayment for vinyl plank 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. Most vinyl flooring or luxury vinyl tiles do not require underlay.

It s inexpensive flat smooth and bonds well to the vinyl adhesives. Do you need underlayment for those. It may also be a requirement in certain hoa or apartment complexes to have a sound barrier with your flooring. 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.

Vinyl floors are designed with a base layer making the addition of underlay pointless. Installing new flooring is a costly enterprise so you want to get it right the first time around. That doesn t mean you don t need underlayment for sheet vinyl however. Actually you may not even need underlayment depending on the product and where you plan to install it.

This baselayer makes the vinyl flooring incredibly durable and comfortable to walk on. 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.