If you’ve chosen LVP as your new flooring, you’ve made a great choice! Most luxury vinyl planks on the market today are water resistant or waterproof, durable enough to resist scratches, dents, and stains, and whatever else your family might throw at it! No, literally. While you might hear a lot about luxury vinyl plank, you don’t hear as much about the underlayment’s that go underneath it. Here are five reasons why it’s important to include this product with your next flooring purchase.
1. Underlayment allows for a soft cushion underneath your feet
There is a reason carpet is so popular. Everyone loves something soft under your feet. But what if you hate carpet? Using a good underlayment underneath your LVP flooring will give it that little extra cushion you are looking for while still allowing you to use a hard surface for your floors. This is especially great to use in areas like kitchens because not only is LVP waterproof, but you’ll feel better when you’re standing for long periods of time while you’re cooking.
2. Underlayment provides a great moisture barrier
When you don’t use an underlayment underneath your luxury vinyl plank flooring, those planks sit directly on the plywood or concrete leaving them exposed to whatever could be on that subfloor, like moisture. By installing an underlayment underneath your floors, you are giving them an extra layer of protection against anything harmful.
3. Underlayment helps reduce sound
If your house is like mine and you slept in the basement, you were woken up every morning by the sound of people stopping around upstairs. If my parents had used an underlayment underneath their floors, it probably still would have happened because they’re loud walkers. But the noise could have been slightly reduced. Underlayment’s underneath floors help reduce the sound of people walking on them, and the thicker the underlayment, the more sound is absorbed. For example, many condos require a certain underlayment thickness for this reason.
4. Underlayment helps protect against the cold
You know what’s not fun? Waking up in the middle of winter, being cold once you throw your blankets off, and then being even more cold when your feet hit the floor. But it’s a good wake up call, I guess? Using an underlayment underneath your LVP will help insulate it, leaving the cold air outside where it belongs.
5. Helps work around imperfect subfloors
Just like no human is perfect, no subfloor is perfect. There will be slight dips or raises that you just can’t seem to get rid of. Using an underlayment underneath your flooring will help compensate for these light imperfections. If there are serious issues, that will obviously have to be resolved separately, but these are issues that Mr. Hardwood can help you with!
As you can see, there are many great reasons why you should always install an underlayment underneath your luxury vinyl plank. The next question is, what kind of underlayment should I use? I have great news for you! Many luxury vinyl planks come with pre-attached padding, so you don’t even have to think about it, allowing you to put your focus elsewhere while we take care of the job.
Call your Mr. Hardwood flooring experts at 770-880-6431 to talk to an expert today!
