Do You Need Underlay For Vinyl Flooring

Vinyl floors are designed with a base layer making the addition of underlay pointless.

Do you need underlay for vinyl flooring. If you ve chosen to go the vinyl path you re probably wondering about the best underlayment for vinyl plank flooring. If the surface you re laying on is level and smooth a well cushioned vinyl floor should be fine on its own. It s inexpensive flat smooth and bonds well to the vinyl adhesives. A vinyl flooring underlayment will not be as thick as a laminate or hardwood underlayment.

Actually you may not even need underlayment depending on the product and where you plan to install it. 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. The only time a vinyl floor may need underlay is when the surface beneath is uneven or has issues with damp. One common underlayment for vinyl floors is 1 2 inch particle board.

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. 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. Virtually every type of flooring except for some types of vinyl requires an underlayment and its purpose varies with the flooring material.

On the downside particle board underlayment has very little structural strength. Most vinyl flooring or luxury vinyl tiles do not require underlay. This baselayer makes the vinyl flooring incredibly durable and comfortable to walk on. 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.

They mimic hardwood yet offer the ease of maintenance of luxury vinyl. One of the most popular products on the market are easy to install click and lock vinyl plank tiles. As a result vinyl floors do not wobble or buckle under your feet. 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.

A vinyl floor usually features a base layer which serves the purpose of an underlay thereby removing the need for an additional underlay. It may also be a requirement in certain hoa or apartment complexes to have a sound barrier with your flooring. Installing new flooring is a costly enterprise so you want to get it right the first time around. Given these reasons an underlay is rarely necessary.

Do you need underlayment for those. Vinyl underlayment is an optional add on to click lock vinyls that are 4mm or thicker. Vinyl flooring by its very design is very stable.