Do You Need Padding For Vinyl Flooring

If you ve chosen to go the vinyl path you re probably wondering about the best underlayment for vinyl plank flooring.

Do you need padding for vinyl flooring.

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. 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. In general you do not need any padding under a vinyl plank floor. They mimic hardwood yet offer the ease of maintenance of luxury vinyl.

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. Keep in mind that this 100 heat pressed felt product is not a non slip pad. Do you need underlayment for those. Installing new flooring is a costly enterprise so you want to get it right the first time around.

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 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. Actually you may not even need underlayment depending on the product and where you plan to install it. 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.

One of the most popular products on the market are easy to install click and lock vinyl plank tiles. The higher the number the better the sound proofing is. If you are a condo or multi family sound ratings do matter. 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.

Bumps or dips in an old floor eventually will show through the new floor. 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. If you have a hardwood embossed cushioned buckled or uneven floor it will require an underlayment.

So it looks like you ll need to lose that laminate padding. It may also be a requirement in certain hoa or apartment complexes to have a sound barrier with your flooring. The definition of delta iic rating performance gain in sound reduction between two sound test. With our quietwalk luxury vinyl underlayment designed for luxury vinyl plank achieving delta iic rating of 28 was achieved.

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