Do You Need Padding For Vinyl Flooring
The salesperson insisted i ll need to spend 250 on their foam pad because the vinyl floors which we re installing over beaten parquet hardwood floors will be loud without the pad.
Do you need padding for vinyl flooring. If you are a condo or multi family sound ratings do matter. 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. The higher the number the better the sound proofing is. Actually you may not even need underlayment depending on the product and where you plan to install it.
Bumps or dips in an old floor eventually will show through the new floor. The definition of delta iic rating performance gain in sound reduction between two sound test. 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. Keep in mind that this 100 heat pressed felt product is not a non slip pad.
If you ve chosen to go the vinyl path you re probably wondering about the best underlayment for vinyl plank flooring. It may also be a requirement in certain hoa or apartment complexes to have a sound barrier with your flooring. But another salesperson who seemed more handy at that same place said the padding makes the vinyl move too much and noise isn t an issue. With our quietwalk luxury vinyl underlayment designed for luxury vinyl plank achieving delta iic rating of 28 was achieved.
A vinyl flooring underlayment will not be as thick as a laminate or hardwood underlayment. 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. 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. All of that said definitely check the specific instructions for the flooring you have to.
As time passes the new floor will acquire the texture of the floor below. If you want one though you should only use a pad which has been made for vinyl plank or lvt different terms same stuff. Do you need underlayment for those. They mimic hardwood yet offer the ease of maintenance of luxury vinyl.
Installing new flooring is a costly enterprise so you want to get it right the first time around. In general you do not need any padding under a vinyl plank floor. Damaged or loose vinyl flooring should be removed. The only two pads i recommend for luxury vinyl flooring are anchor grip if you need grip to keep rugs in place and eco plush if you have a larger rug.
Vinyl underlayment is an optional add on to click lock vinyls that are 4mm or thicker.