MJNewton Posted January 31, 2019 Posted January 31, 2019 Does anyone have any knowledge/experience of underlay for floating engineered wood flooring on a concrete base? From some cursory reading it seems that there are varying thicknesses, tog ratings, sound insulation etc and of course price. My initial thoughts are that a decent thickness and tog rating could be beneficial on a ground floor, however I wondered if this would lead to sponginess/springiness underfoot? Perhaps it's a good thing having some 'give' and it may make it a bit quieter to walk on? Speaking of sound, I am assuming the 'sound deadening' underlays are more to minimise transmission of noise *through* the underlay (to rooms below) and not for reducing floor-related noise within the room itself?
PeterW Posted January 31, 2019 Posted January 31, 2019 Any reason you want to float it rather than bond it down ..? How thick is the flooring ..?
newhome Posted January 31, 2019 Posted January 31, 2019 We decided to glue ours to the floor (screed). Next door has a floating floor and it is noisy and moves a bit. That might be the way that it was installed but it put us off TBH.
MJNewton Posted January 31, 2019 Author Posted January 31, 2019 (edited) We haven't picked the flooring yet (some way off that to be honest) however I was expecting it to be around 15-18mm. To be honest I'm not sure what drove my down the floating road... I think I may have been thinking it might be beneficial should I ever need to re-lay some of it (e.g. due to damage)? Noise it arguably a more day-to-day issue though and so perhaps I should re-think that. Edited January 31, 2019 by MJNewton
Jeremy Harris Posted January 31, 2019 Posted January 31, 2019 I had a similar experience of a noisy floating floor, so in this house I bonded our bamboo flooring down. Makes for a really solid floor, with no noises at all. The only downside is the cost of the adhesive. I used Sikabond 95 and it was around £80 a tub.
newhome Posted January 31, 2019 Posted January 31, 2019 11 minutes ago, JSHarris said: I used Sikabond 95 and it was around £80 a tub. We used Rewmar MS - similar sort of price I think.
MJNewton Posted January 31, 2019 Author Posted January 31, 2019 (edited) Okay, glue-down it is! Would an underlay still be required (noting this will be engineered wood if it makes any difference)? I thought perhaps the adhesive does away with the need for an underlay but I see that specific-for-glue underlays are available. Edited January 31, 2019 by MJNewton
Ferdinand Posted January 31, 2019 Posted January 31, 2019 15 minutes ago, MJNewton said: Okay, glue-down it is! Would an underlay still be required (noting this will be engineered wood if it makes any difference)? I thought perhaps the adhesive does away with the need for an underlay but I see that specific-for-glue underlays are available. I am a fan of floating, but I put my services underneath the floating round the edges of the room. For floating floor I draw 2 lessons 1 Do not skimp on underlay, and think about your required bounciness, 2 The only floor known to me that will relay is Quick Step uniclic. Others may agree or not. I have done several of these floor, but they were all laminate. And they murder saw blades. Ferdinand
Jeremy Harris Posted February 1, 2019 Posted February 1, 2019 10 hours ago, MJNewton said: Okay, glue-down it is! Would an underlay still be required (noting this will be engineered wood if it makes any difference)? I thought perhaps the adhesive does away with the need for an underlay but I see that specific-for-glue underlays are available. No underlay should be used if bonding flooring down, unless you opt to use the Sika system that uses a membrane with large holes in for the adhesive, with that adhesive being applied with a gun. The Sikabond I used is a modified silicone polymer, that cures to a fairly soft rubber-like consistency, not that different to an underlay. The stuff will take up a certain amount of unevenness in the floor.
MJNewton Posted February 2, 2019 Author Posted February 2, 2019 Thanks for that I do prefer the sound of a bonded floor (no pun intended), and whilst the floor is flat there are some areas of slight unevenness so an soft adhesive bed would be ideal.
Mr Punter Posted February 2, 2019 Posted February 2, 2019 Stick down is more expensive and time consuming, but a much more solid feel. If you DIY, do three rows at a time, loose lay first with everything cut to size, mark the area and remove the boards. Apply adhesive to the marked area and lay the boards into it. Keep everything clean.
newhome Posted February 2, 2019 Posted February 2, 2019 1 hour ago, Mr Punter said: Keep everything clean Really good tip! The OH didn't even notice that some of the glue had made its way on top . By the time I got home and noticed it had dried. Cue MANY hours of me trying to get rid of it after the event!
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