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Why Underlay Matters: Comfort, Longevity and Thermal Performance
Homeowners often get caught up in the visuals of the floor when planning their flooring.
What often gets overlooked is the flooring underlay, which directly impacts the comfort, insulation, and longevity of your floor.
Skip it, or use the wrong type, and the floor of your dreams may end up looking the part, but not feeling like it. And this is true whether you’re installing carpets or exploring hard flooring solutions beyond carpets.
But don’t worry — this post is your one-stop guide to all things underlay and how to ensure you choose the right one!
Underlay Explained: What it Actually Does
Underlay is essentially a support layer that’s sandwiched between your flooring surface and the foundation of your house, the subfloor. You can compare it to the insole of your shoes, as it’s also typically made of rubber or some type of foam.
And just like your insoles, it’s not visually important to the design. But trust us, it serves way more purpose than it initially seems.
Just like shoe insoles, flooring underlay:
- Absorbs impact to make steps more comfortable.
- Dampens noise to avoid creaking floors.
- Provides insulation to avoid cold flooring.
That said, if your flooring of choice is a traditional premium carpet, the underlay becomes a non-negotiable component.
See, carpets on their own are way too thin and lack adequate warmth, cushioning underfoot, and support. You could say underlay does half the job in delivering a carpet’s iconic plush properties.
However, to be absolutely clear, underlay is not just for carpets.
For hard flooring options like laminated flooring and engineered timber and oak flooring, adding an underlay is optional but highly beneficial for ensuring the flooring is quiet and stable.
And really, underlay is so important that some materials, like cork flooring and certain floating floors, typically have an underlay built in to ensure optimal performance.
Heads up: Different flooring requires different types of underlay. And you can customise your underlay properties depending on the quality you prioritise.
But good news — this doesn’t mean taking on the mental load yourself.
Hiring flooring experts like our team here at Middletons Carpets for your installation ensures you get the best underlay installed to achieve your desired outcome. All without you personally stressing over the nitty-gritty details and technical specifications.
Key Roles of Underlay in Your Flooring
Now that we’ve got the general gist of underlay out of the way, it’s time to get into the specifics of the benefits or roles an underlay plays in your flooring.
To start, it serves as your…
Flooring’s Safety Net
The number one role of an underlay is to provide a safety buffer for your flooring, especially carpets.
If you’ve shopped around or installed a carpet before, you’ll know the underside of this flooring material is often rough and sandpaper-like. Placing an underlay between this rough surface and your subfloor, which is typically made using concrete or timber, is essential.
This way, your carpet won’t grind itself thin against the hard subfloor.
And, of course, this principle doesn’t just apply to carpets. For hard flooring, an underlay can help bridge minor imperfections and serve as a final levelling layer to even things out. That way, your floor looks not only flawless but also lasts much longer.
Comfort Underfoot
Underlay serves as a shock absorber for your floor.
Instead of letting your joints take the impact every time you take a step at home, it spreads the force, making walking comfortable even when you’re barefoot. And, yes, even when your home has hard flooring.
Thermal Insulation
As we talked about in our blog post about Why Your Home Feels Cold Even with the Heater On before, most Australian homes have concrete or timber subfloors that aren’t the most effective at retaining heat.
So, to remedy this issue a bit, you can use high-quality underlay to block warm air from escaping. And, hey, it won’t just be your feet appreciating the warm floors. Your energy bill will quite literally show its appreciation through a lower cost, too.
Sound Absorption
Underlay can significantly reduce footstep noise and echo throughout your home. And this benefit is particularly crucial if you’re planning to install hard-surfaced flooring.
Without a proper underlay, hard flooring can create a clicking or hollow-ish sound. Especially if your subfloor was not prepped well beforehand.
3 Tips For Choosing the Best Underlay for Your Flooring
Convinced now that underlay is a must-have for your space? Here are three tips to keep in mind while choosing underlayment for your flooring project.
1) Don’t Let Price Be Your Only Guide
It can be incredibly tempting to save a few dollars by choosing the cheapest underlay available. Especially since it’s something you’ll never actually see.
But trust us, your feet will feel the difference, and your wallet might feel it later, too.
See, cheap underlay flattens out and degrades quickly. And when that foundation gives way, your carpet or hard flooring loses its essential support and wears out much faster. Treat your underlay as an investment in the long-term lifespan of your floor. Because it is!
2) Figure Out Your Room’s Top Priority
Every home is unique, and different rooms have entirely different needs. Before deciding on an underlay, think about what matters most for that specific space.
Are you installing hard flooring in a second-story bedroom? You’ll definitely want an acoustic-rated underlay to stop those heavy footsteps echoing downstairs.
If you’re laying carpet in a chilly family living room, you’ll want to prioritise a dense, high-quality underlay for maximum thermal insulation.
3) Always Match the Underlay to the Flooring Type
When it comes to installing underlay, carpets and hard floor comparisons play by completely different rules.
See, a plush bedroom carpet thrives with a soft, bouncy underlay to give it that cloud-like feel. However, if you put that same soft underlay beneath laminate or engineered timber flooring, you’re asking for trouble.
The hard boards can flex when walked on, causing the click-lock joints to snap and break. Always ensure your chosen underlay is strictly designed for the exact type of flooring you are installing.
And if this seems kind of overwhelming, you can always just…
Let the Experts Handle Your Flooring’s Safety Net
Here at Middleton’s Carpets, we know every underlay like the back of our hands. So, whether you choose carpets or any type of hard flooring, rest assured that we will recommend and install the best underlay to give you the most bang for your buck.
We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all flooring assessments. We listen to your specific needs, budget, and lifestyle, and ensure your entire flooring solution caters exactly to you.
That said, whenever you’re ready for perfect floors—and the perfect underlay to support them- reach out to us!
You can drop by our Albury-Wodonga showroom to have a chat with our friendly team in person. Or, you can shoot us an email so we can discuss your project even when you’re busy.
Our goal is to make flooring projects as seamless and stress-free for our community. So, no pressure- get in touch whenever you are ready!
