UNDERLAYMENT

Sound Control Underlayment, Cork Underlayment, Acoustic Underlay

RubberFlooringInc.com 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.

Laminate Flooring

Recommended Underlay

• Foam

Vinyl Flooring

Recommended Underlay

• Cork

Tile Flooring

Recommended Underlay

• Rubber Cork

Engineered Wood Flooring

Recommended Underlay

• Cork

Hardwood Flooring

Recommended Underlay

• Cork

Cork Flooring

Recommended Underlay

• Cork

Carpet Tile Flooring

Recommended Underlay

• Rubber

Hard Plastic Tile Flooring

Recommended Underlay

• Rubber

Foam Underlayment >>

Rubber Cork Underlayment >>

Cork Underlayment >>

Rubber Underlayment >>

Underlayment

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.

Types of Underlayments

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.

Best Underlay For Flooring Type

• 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

Underlayment Delivery

Most underlayment orders are shipped through FedEx Ground. Some extremely heavy orders may ship via freight delivery. For more information on freight delivery, please contact one of our sales representatives to get the low down, as it varies on a case by case basis. Don’t worry though - you will not be asked to take your new underlayment off the truck. We cover the cost of lift-gate and curbside. You are only responsible for getting the underlayment inside and enjoying how quiet your new floor is!

Customer Photo of the Month

Love your new floor? Snap a photo and send it over to reviews@rubberflooringinc.com to be entered for a chance to win a $50 AmEx Gift Card! OR share on Facebook or Instagram and tag @RubberFlooringInc with hashtag #RubberFlooringInc, then send your shared URL to reviews@rubberflooringinc.com. Want to win? Check out these tips!

1. Clean it up. Put away the stray objects, and get that room looking ready to impress to get the cleanest, most attractive shot of your floor.

2. Lighting, lighting, lighting! Is everything! Dark, evening shots will not get you the winning photo. Open the blinds and let that natural light shine in! If you really want to get fancy, take a look at where your light is coming from. Shooting directly into the light can come out harsh and blown out - try experimenting with different angles.

3. Action. We love photos of people enjoying our products and voters do too. We'd love to see the flooring in action.

About RubberFlooringInc

RubberFlooringInc is committed to making your healthy life achievable, accessible and fun. We offer the best prices on rubber gym flooring because we want fitness to be a possibility for everyone. If you find a price that’s better, we’ll match it. Simple as that. RubberFlooringInc is a small, culture-based company. We pride ourselves in giving customers the best knowledge, while still keeping it real. We offer the fastest lead times because, well, we wouldn’t want to wait either! Our mission is to help you achieve your goals with style, ease and efficiency. We are a team, a community, and we’d love to have you join us.