Underlayments
Sound Control Underlayment, Cork Underlayment, Acoustic Underlay
Rubber Flooring Inc has all of your underlayment needs. We offer a variety of acoustic underlay for hard wood floors, wood flooring, engineered wood floors, laminate flooring, bamboo wood flooring, and even cork flooring. Cork underlayment is perfect for underneath floating floors, hardwood flooring, wood floors, vinyl flooring, ceramic tiles, and more. Rubber underlayment can be used as residential underlay or commercial underlay and comes in many thicknesses. Rubber underlay offers high sound resistance but cannot be used underneath vinyl floors. Foam underlayment offers a low cost solution for underneath vinyl flooring, laminate flooring, wood floors, and more. Not sure what you need? Editor's Blog >>
| Options with Vapor Barrier | Safe with Vinyl | Installation | Crack Suppression | Fun Fact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rubber Underlayment | No | No | Floated or adhered to subfloor | Yes | Not for use underneath vinyl |
| Cork Underlayment | Yes | Yes | Adhered to subfloor | Yes | Favorite in condos |
| Rubber Cork Underlayment | No | No | Floated or adhered to subfloor | Yes | Superior crack suppression |
| Foam & Felt Underlayment | Yes | Yes | Floated or adhered to subfloor | No | Most popular low cost underlay |
Shop By Flooring Type
Laminate Flooring
Recommended Underlay
Vinyl Flooring
Recommended Underlay
Tile Flooring
Recommended Underlay
Engineered Wood Flooring
Recommended Underlay
Hardwood Flooring
Recommended Underlay
Cork Flooring
Recommended Underlay
Carpet Flooring
Recommended Underlay
Hard Plastic Flooring
Recommended Underlay
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Available in rubber, cork, rubber cork & foam.
Why Do I Need Underlayments?
Underlayment is an amazing invention created by the flooring gods out of necessity. Underlay has an impressive list of benefits, including: adding warmth to your floors so your feet aren’t so cold on new tile flooring, adding comfort and a slight ‘give’ underneath wood or vinyl floors, reduced sound transmission (great for houses with noisy teenagers!), as well as reducing in room step noise. This image is a very simplified example of using underlayment versus not using it, but as you can see the benefits greatly outweigh any reason not to.
IIC / STC RATINGS
IIC stands for Impact Insulation Class, which refers to impact sounds such as shoes hitting the ground, dropping a cell phone, or other scenarios where something it dropped or impacts the floor. STC stands for Sound Transmission Class, which refers to any audible noise (not an impact) such as music playing aloud, a conversation, or a loud television, for example. With both of these ratings systems, the higher the number rating is for the underlayment, the better it will suppress sound, and the quieter a room will be. You may want to pay close attention to these ratings when shopping for underlayment if sound reduction is important to you.
Underlayments
Hollow Man...Great movie! Hollow floor...Not so great. Underlayments are one of the key pieces to making a great floor great. Many people think a great floor is made from great materials or excellent craftsmanship, but none of that can be appreciated without the proper underlay. Underlayments help to add comfort and warmth under your flooring while reducing the hollow sounds that can come from floating floors. Underlayments are offered in many different materials including Rubber, Cork, Rubber Cork and Foam.
An underlayment’s main job is to insulate against sound. To ensure they can do their job, most underlays undergo a series of tests. We don’t need to go into specifics of these tests, just like we don’t need to know the specifics of the alien tests they do in Area 51. There are two numbers that come from these tests that you will want to pay attention to: the STC and IIC ratings. STC stands for Sound Transmission Class and IIC stands for Impact Insulation Class. STC evaluates the ability for the underlay to reduce room noise. This would be noise from talking, TVs, radios and the like. And who wants to hear their neighbor playing Europe’s “The Final Countdown” on loop? IIC evaluates the ability for an underlay to block impact sound, which would be footsteps, children dropping toys or adults pretending to be the Ultimate Warrior and dropping suplexes all night. So what do these mean to me, you ask? Well what you need to take from these is that the BIGGER the number of either test, the better the underlay is at insulating against sound. Bigger is better in the underlay world.
- Rubber Underlayment Rubber underlayment is one of the best underlays for most flooring types. This underlay features some of the best sound resistance and one is of the most versatile underlays we offer. This underlay can be installed in areas where water may be an issue and is great over wood and concrete subfloors. When installing rubber underlay, it is recommended that it be loose laid, but you can install it with double sided tape, glue, nails, or staples. Rubber underlay is mold and mildew resistant and helps keep the cold air from down in the subfloor from coming up to your feet.
- Cork Underlayment Cork underlay is the most popular underlayment used in condos, apartments and other high rise buildings. This is because cork is great at inhibiting sound from floor to floor and it can be installed under any flooring type. Cork underlayment is typically adhered to the subfloor, but can be installed with double sided tape or floated. We do not recommend putting nails or staples through the underlay since that will diminish the cork’s acoustical value. Cork is naturally resistant to mold, mildew, and water. However, on ground floors or in basements, it is recommended that the cork be installed with a vapor barrier underneath. This is due to moisture being able to flow through the cork underlay which can damage your beautiful new flooring. Cork underlay also has great thermal properties, keeping the cold air from coming up from your subfloor.
- Rubber Cork Underlayment Rubber Cork underlay is composed of cork and rubber. Just like Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, these two materials make great music...I mean, a great underlay...together. Rubber cork underlayment is great for crack suppression. Have you ever installed a tile floor on the first level or in a basement and then, after a year, you start noticing cracks appearing in your floor? This is due to your foundation settling. Homes are meant to move, but this movement can spell trouble for your floor. This is where rubber cork underlay comes to the rescue. It will help to prevent the subfloor cracks from affecting your floor. Rubber cork underlayment can be installed under most flooring types, but it’s great under hardwood and tile floors. These rolls are mold and mildew resistant and feature the same thermal properties that cork has. Rubber Cork rolls are typically installed loose laid, but can be installed with double sided tape or adhesive.
- Foam Underlayment Foam underlay is the most popular underlayment for flooring. This is due to the fact that foam is the cheapest underlay option, but still provides excellent sound reduction properties. Foam is very easy to install and is popular under carpet and floating floors. Many foam underlays have an attached vapor barrier which helps protect both the floor and underlay. Some foam underlays come with attached adhesive strips which makes installation a breeze, while others have to be glued, nailed, stapled or taped. Foam is mold and mildew resistant and has thermal properties.
- Laminate Flooring - Foam, Cork
- Vinyl Flooring - Foam, Cork
- Tile - Rubber Cork
- Engineered Wood - Foam, Cork
- Hardwood - Foam, Cork
- Cork Flooring - Cork
- Carpet - Foam, Rubber
- Hard Plastic Tiles - Rubber