Things You Should Know About Acoustic Underlayment

By Author: Kevin Richard
Total Articles: 240
Comment this article

While purchasing laminate flooring or a costly carpet, many buyers get carried away with the overall outlook that they completely ignore the acoustic underlayment.

This is a huge mistake. A top quality underlay will not only provide you that soft, bouncy feeling under your feet, but it will also safeguard your investment by strikingly enhancing carpet life. Other advantages that get enhanced are heat insulation, which should assist in reducing your utility bills, while the special acoustic underlayment is excellent in blocking out those undesired sounds.

What is the type of the acoustic underlayment?

Underlay for carpets come in different forms. The most common is the rubber waffle type, and the rubber crumb. Another popular option is PU foam, a big favorite with carpet fitters due to its light weight, and being simple to cut, manipulate, and fit. Wool felt underlay is generally found in offices, where there is a requirement for a durable HVAC silencer. Regardless of the underlay you select, it pays ...
... to buy the best you can afford and you won’t regret it.

While installing a RC clip, the underlay options are similar. The only main difference is that while laying laminate over concrete, the underlay should integrate a damp proof membrane. Some kind of underlay includes this, but it is always great to check.

Get your floors ready and install

Regardless what type of underlay you are installing, proper floor preparation is important. The floor should be smooth, clean and dry. Vacuum sweep comprehensively and if required, get rid of any kind of protruding nails. You are now ready to install the underlayment.

• Nail the carpet gripper across the edge of the room, which is wide enough so that the carpet will tuck neatly into the space.
• Rubber underlay must be laid with the waffle side on the floor and the backing uppermost. While using PU foam underlay, the colored side should face down on the floor, so that the foam meets the carpet.

• Make sure that the underlay extends a couple of centimeters beyond the carpet gripper
• The rolls of underlay should be fitted closely to one another, but not overlap

While installing underlay for laminate or wooden flooring, the preparation is even more important. The surface should be completely level and clean. On the concrete, install the resilient channel clip facing the floor. Use sufficient underlay to make sure a surplus of 3-5 cm all around the floor and extending up to the walls. The seams are then sealed with tape. Once the laminate has been laid in position, the additional underlay can be trimmed off, imparting it a neat finish.

In the acoustical industry, there have always been floor underlayments to assist in lessening impact noise. Nonetheless, O’Neill Engineered Systems is one of the first companies to introduce different kinds of underlayments for different kinds of flooring systems.