How to Reduce the Echo on Laminate Flooring

Although laminate floors are attractive in any room of your home, they may produce an annoying echo when you walk across them. This is because they are "floating" floors, which do not actually attach to the plywood or concrete subfloors beneath them. Instead, laminate flooring planks are installed using glue along their edges but none underneath, leaving a slight space between the laminate floor and subfloor. Adding to the problem, laminate floors are hard surfaces, which naturally cause noise to bounce around. But there are ways to soften the echo effect, making it much less noticeable.

Laminate flooring
Solid cork underlayment
Vacuum cleaner
Mop
Bucket
Water
Household cleaning product
Cork adhesive
Floor roller
Utility knife
Underlayment tape

Instructions

- 1
  Choose a laminate floor material that is thick. When shopping for laminate flooring, ask the store’s salesperson for the thickest brand or style of the particular type of laminate flooring you want. A thicker piece is generally heavier, depending on the actual material, and more likely to firmly lay against the subfloor due to gravity.
- 2
  Select a solid cork underlayment -- a thin foam padding -- to go on top of your concrete or plywood subfloor and beneath the laminate floor. Consider solid cork, because it is designed for areas that require a high amount of sound reduction. Note that this type of underlayment typically is 1/4-inch thick and likely will increase the height of your floor, so make sure the height change will not interfere with areas such as doorways before purchasing.
- 3
  Vacuum the floor on which you plan to lay the laminate flooring, to remove any debris that will keep the underlayment from attaching appropriately. Mop the floor, if necessary, to remove excess dust.
- 4
  Apply glue to the subfloor, and spread the underlayment on top of it -- when using solid cork underlayment, which must be secured with glue. Use a weighted roller to roll down the underlayment so that the subfloor, glue and underlayment press firmly against one another.
- 5
  Butt up the edges of the underlayment along the walls. Cut off the perimeter of the underlayment so that it fits against the walls snugly. Spot all seams in the underlayment sections across the floor, and secure them together with tape.
- 6
  Lay your laminate flooring, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

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