Does my British Wood Flooring Need Underlay?
This is a question we get asked time and time again. Does my British wood flooring need an underlay? Usually, we don’t advise using an underlay and we explain why further down in this post. However, there are a few circumstances where it is a useful product to invest in.
Using an underlay can be costly and unnecessary, so it’s worth checking whether you truly need one before spending more money that you need on your wood flooring.
Traditionally, there would not have been any underlay used with wood flooring, and in general houses were damper 100 years ago than they are today. However, some houses still hold damp areas and walls and where this is excessive, you may which to put a barrier between this area and your floor in the form of an underlay.
Our flooring is kiln dried to 10 % (+/-1%) moisture content. If this floor is then introduced to a much damper area, then the floor will pick up some of this moisture. Using an underlay can mitigate against this. However, it is important to use a breathable underlay so that the moisture can still escape somewhere.
Without being breathable, you can end up pushing the damp into other areas of your home, into walls etc. We’d only advise using an underlay for really excessively damp areas (and possibly wood flooring isn’t a good option in these areas). Usually, in an older property, we don’t advise an underlay as wood is a breathable material and will allow the moisture to escape naturally.
Does Underlay Help with Sound Insulation?
Your wood floor may need an underlay if you’re wanting extra sound insulation. This is especially common in hotels and flats where the occupants of one floor are different to the occupants of a floor below. Sound insulation and underlays are particularly good at masking the sound of walking across a wooden floor. However, when fixing these underlays with a wooden floor, careful thought must be given to the fixing method, as fixing with a screw into the underlay can compromise it’s impact noise rating. We advise fixing the underlay below batons or ply, and then laying the flooring on top of this.
Will Solid Wood Flooring Feel Warm Underfoot?
In much colder climates, a thermal underlay can be used under the wood floor boards. However, in Britain, we don’t reach cold enough temperatures for this to be necessary. As wood is an insulator and not a conductor, walking across the our natural wood flooring with bare feet is a nice warm feeling, rather than that of a stone cold floor.
Will my Floorboards be Squeaky with Underlay?
Here we explore some the reasons we don’t typically advise using an underlay for solid wood flooring. Some use underlay as a cushioning and to help maintain the longevity of wood flooring. This is a method that has increased popularity with the rise of engineered flooring. However, with solid wood flooring, underlay can lead to squeaky floorboards. Squeaking floorboards are often a result of loose fixing and can be caused by the use of unnecessary underlay.
Will Underlay Impact Head Room Height?
Often when designing the floor makeup of our home, we want to create maximum head room height. For older properties where head room can be restricted, adding an underlay further decreases head room. If you don’t need one, then we wouldn’t advise adding extra unnecessary layers into your home.
Eco-Concious Flooring .....
Our floors are 100% natural and contain no chemicals or toxins. If you’re looking for a natural home environment with a low carbon footprint then sourcing an underlay with the same ethos can be restricting. Cork is an option for an eco conscious underlay material, but it is not compatible with underfloor heating, and so if using our natural wood flooring over underfloor heating, this is not an option.
