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.

Do you need underlay for vinyl flooring.

Most vinyl flooring or luxury vinyl tiles do not require underlay. Installing new flooring is a costly enterprise so you want to get it right the first time around. Vinyl flooring is highly affordable. On the downside particle board underlayment has very little structural strength.

There are several types of underlayment for this type of flooring and we ve seen brands with a thin layer of foam pre attached as well. One common underlayment for vinyl floors is 1 2 inch particle board. If the surface you re laying on is level and smooth a well cushioned vinyl floor should be fine on its own. One of the most popular products on the market are easy to install click and lock vinyl plank tiles.

If you ve chosen to go the vinyl path you re probably wondering about the best underlayment for vinyl plank flooring. A vinyl floor usually features a base layer which serves the purpose of an underlay thereby removing the need for an additional underlay. It may also be a requirement in certain hoa or apartment complexes to have a sound barrier with your flooring. A vinyl flooring underlayment will not be as thick as a laminate or hardwood underlayment.

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. 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. 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. That doesn t mean you don t need underlayment for sheet vinyl however.

Vinyl floors are designed with a base layer making the addition of underlay pointless. Given these reasons an underlay is rarely necessary. Vinyl underlayment is an optional add on to click lock vinyls that are 4mm or thicker. This baselayer makes the vinyl flooring incredibly durable and comfortable to walk on.

The only time a vinyl floor may need underlay is when the surface beneath is uneven or has issues with damp. As a result vinyl floors do not wobble or buckle under your feet. 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.

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. If your subfloor had dips or damage it could show through the vinyl over time. They mimic hardwood yet offer the ease of maintenance of luxury vinyl.