Whether you’re just changing your carpet in your home or doing a full room renovation, it’s easy to dismiss the importance of choosing a good subfloor.
However, you could be doing yourself a great favor by understanding the following features and benefits of carpet underlay. For example, if you are living in an apartment or your home gets quite cold in the Winter, you want to choose the right products depending on your needs.
This article explains these benefits so you can easily make the right decision when choosing your underlayment.
Insulation
Yes, that’s right, keeping the warmth in your home can be achieved by choosing a high tog rated Carpet Underlay. The tog rating levels can range between 0.8 tog at the lowest and 2.86 tog at the highest. This difference could provide your new floor with added insulation so that you can even save on your bills during the Winter.
When scouring the web for your choice, be sure to check the tog rating of each product on your shortlist.
On the contrary, if you’re installing underlay for underfloor heating, you will need to choose a very low tog product so the heat can be transmitted to your feet. After all, you don’t want to lose the benefit of a large investment in heating.
Sound proofing Underlay
Some products on the current market offer super high sound proofing, which is measured in decibels (or DB).
The decibel sound reduction properties can vary from 33db at the lowest to 46db at its highest. This doesn’t sound like much but when you lay the flooring down, it can make a huge difference.
Often the products with higher sound reduction are installed in apartments where there is an increased need to keep the noise down.
Another good use for high sound reduction properties is in a children’s bedroom where there’s likely to be a lot of banging around.
Thickness
The comfort of your new carpet under your feet will be highly impacted by the thickness of your underlay.
The thickness levels range from 5mm to 12mm. Be careful here though. It really depends on where your new floor is going when determining the best thickness.
For example, if it’s going on the stairs, then you don’t want to go too thick because it won’t wrap around the steps easily.
If it’s going in the bedroom, you’ll likely want a thicker product so it’s more comfortable under the feet.
Density, Size & Weight
The density of an Underlay product can often determine its durability.
For example, some of the thinner high-density rolls are used on commercial properties where there will be super high foot traffic every day.
A high-density underlay can also be a great investment for a gym floor.
Explore what high-density underlay can do for you. It will improve how well sound travels and help keep your flooring clean as it minimizes dirt accumulation by up to 50%.
You’ll also be able to enjoy less noise from outside sources like traffic if they happen to be louder than inside noises due to its acoustic properties.
Remember though, a high density can significantly increase the weight of the product making it harder to fit. Something to bear in mind if you plan to do the renovation yourself.
To Summarise
Remember to think about the type of underlay you want for your needs and get the right one. Make sure it is dense enough, has a high tog rating, and has sound insulation if necessary so that you can have the optimal living experience!
We hope this article has helped you understand the importance of underlay.
Whether it is for your new carpet or a renovation project on an existing flooring surface, we suggest using quality underlay to get the best results and reduce any potential problems that could arise from poor installation.
The Underlay 4 U team is ready and waiting to help with anything related to carpet underlay – whether it’s choosing one, installing it in your home, or taking care of its maintenance down the line!
