How to Choose an Underlayment Pad for Laminate Flooring

Examine the subfloor in the room in which you plan to lay your laminate flooring. Purchase a combination underlayment if your floor is concrete, as moist soil beneath the concrete produces humidity that goes through the concrete and potentially damages your new laminate floor. A combination underlayment is a foam underlayment that features a layer of moisture barrier and goes atop a concrete or plywood subfloor. Purchase a large roll of the underlayment, which costs less per square foot than smaller rolls do.

Select a standard foam underlayment if your laminate flooring will be placed in an area in which moisture is not a problem, such as a room not in the basement, and when your subfloor is made of plywood. Get a 1/8-inch-thick standard foam underlayment, which commonly is available for this type of underlayment.

Choose a modified underlayment made out of fibers or rubber if laying laminate flooring on a second-story floor, because this type of flooring is especially effective for eradicating the sound that travels below the floor. Purchase either a modified underlayment or standard underlayment if simply attempting to eradicate the sound created when a person walks on top of laminate flooring, as both types of underlayments perform equally in this regard.

Buy a solid cork underlayment that is 1/4 inch thick if you are putting your laminate flooring on a second-story floor and want to drastically decrease the amount of downstairs sound a person hears while upstairs. Also, select solid cork underlayment if you want to increase the subfloor’s height in a particular room, which is necessary if the subfloors in various parts of the house are different heights and you want to put the same laminate flooring in all areas.