luxury Vinyl Flooring Underlayment | Plank Flooring Underlayment | Laminate Flooring Underlayment

Using underlayment beneath your vinyl plank, engineered hardwood, or laminate flooring is often essential — and sometimes required — for several key reasons:

🔊 1. Sound Reduction
Underlayment absorbs impact noise (like footsteps) and airborne sound, reducing noise between floors — especially in condos or multi-level homes.

🏡 2. Improved Comfort
It adds a slight cushion underfoot, making the floor more comfortable to walk and stand on, particularly with harder flooring materials like laminate.

📏 3. Subfloor Imperfection Coverage
Underlayment helps smooth out minor subfloor imperfections and uneven spots, allowing the flooring above to lay flatter and more securely.

💦 4. Moisture Barrier (if applicable)
Some underlayment's have built-in vapor barriers that protect your flooring from moisture coming up through concrete or crawlspace subfloors — critical for areas like basements.

🪟 5. Thermal Insulation
It can help insulate your floor, making rooms warmer in winter and cooler in summer by adding a thermal break between the floor and subfloor.

🧩 6. Flooring Longevity & Performance
Underlayment provides added support that can reduce wear and tear on the locking mechanisms of click-together floating floors, improving their lifespan.

⚠️ Important Notes by Flooring Type:
Vinyl Plank (especially rigid core/SPC): Some already have a pre-attached underlayment — do not double up unless manufacturer-approved.

Engineered Hardwood: Floating installations often need underlayment; nail-down installs may not.

Laminate Flooring: Always needs underlayment for noise control and protection — unless pre-attached.


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