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.

Do you need underlay for vinyl flooring.

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. 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. Actually you may not even need underlayment depending on the product and where you plan to install it. Vinyl floors are designed with a base layer making the addition of underlay pointless.

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. It s inexpensive flat smooth and bonds well to the vinyl adhesives. Vinyl flooring by its very design is very stable. Virtually every type of flooring except for some types of vinyl requires an underlayment and its purpose varies with the flooring material.

Do you need underlayment for those. A vinyl floor usually features a base layer which serves the purpose of an underlay thereby removing the need for an additional underlay. Most vinyl floors don t need an underlay. 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.

This baselayer makes the vinyl flooring incredibly durable and comfortable to walk on. On the downside particle board underlayment has very little structural strength. As a result vinyl floors do not wobble or buckle under your feet. Most vinyl flooring or luxury vinyl tiles do not require underlay.

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. In the case of a kitchen or bar area you need to know the cabinet layout so you can make the floor break at the edge. The only time a vinyl floor may need underlay is when the surface beneath is uneven or has issues with damp.

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. It may also be a requirement in certain hoa or apartment complexes to have a sound barrier with your flooring. If the surface you re laying on is level and smooth a well cushioned vinyl floor should be fine on its own. One common underlayment for vinyl floors is 1 2 inch particle board.

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. Vinyl flooring is highly affordable. Given these reasons an underlay is rarely necessary.