Flooring Outlet: Engineered and Laminate Guide
Friday, June 5th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
For any laminate floor, underlayment is necessary. Engineered wood floors are prefinished which means they are sanded and sealed. The advantage of engineered wood flooring versus laminate is that engineered wood can be sanded after scratches and dings develop.
Both engineered and laminate floors are installed by a “floated,” or “free-floating,” method. They are not actually attached to the sub-floor.
The boards are only glued to the mated tongue and groove or by clicking together special made joints.
The underlayment is placed on the sub-floor first. After this the new floor is assembled above the underlayment.
A floating floor is like a jigsaw puzzle in that the pieces are connected to each other. The big advantage of the floating floor method of installation is it allows for the floor to move and expand in response to changes in a room’s humidity.
Engineered and laminate floor boards are much more stable than solid wood flooring. The (very minor imperfections are absorbed by the underlayment. This helps deaden the sound since it is not attached to the sub-floor.
There are basically 3 types of floor underlayment available from flooring stores. You have the standard foam underlayment, foam/film combination underlayment, a floor muffler modified/upgraded underlayment.
A combination underlayment has a vapor barrier attached to one side. A standard foam underlayment has no moisture barrier attache.
Technorati Tags: No Tags
Related Tags: No Tags
Possible Related Posts