Many homeowners love hardwood floors for a number of reasons. The flooring type is strong and durable, offers better air quality, and is easier to clean and maintain.
Unfortunately, hardwood flooring tends to be cold and noisy. If you’ve ever walked barefoot in the early mornings or heard someone’s footstep in a house with this type of flooring, then you know how unpleasant the experience is.
So should you change your floor type? Well, not exactly. All you have to do is to invest in the best underlayment for hardwood floor to fix the problem.
Whether you wish to install a new hardwood floor before moving into your new home or you have plans to renovate your home and wish to give the floor an upgrade, the best underlayment for hardwood floor can make a big difference.
An underlayment is an investment that creates a layer of cushioning between a subfloor and hardwood floor. The layer absorbs sound coming from the flooring and at the same time provides a level of insulation that protects your feet from cold.
In this guide, we look at the three top-rated underlayment specifically designed for hardwood flooring.
- Roberts Unison Underlayment
- First Step Underlayment For Hardwood Floors
- Roberts 70-193A Underlayment for Hardwood Floor
Best Underlayment for Hardwood Floor
1. First Step Underlayment for Hardwood Floors
First Step is another underlayment specifically designed for hardwood flooring. It can cover up to 630-square foot space, a size that makes it a good deal for the price point.
We recommend First Step underlayment because it enhances air circulation to protect your floor from damages.
Infused with Styrofoam cushioning, this underlayment keeps moisture from the subfloor from getting into contact with your hardwood flooring, so you don’t have to worry about floor repairs or replacements all the time.
That’s not all.
Infused in the underlayment is an anti-microbial property that keeps mold from appearing on your floor, which is a feature that many underlayment options don’t have.
The noise that you hear when someone walks around the house isn’t deafening, but it can be undeniably irritating.
Adding the First Step underlayment can fix this issue because the layer added between the subfloor and the hardwood floor absorbs the noise, after which you’ll never hear the sound of those footsteps again.
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Pros
- This underlayment is designed specifically for hardwood floors
- Protects hardwood floor from moisture and prevents the growth of molds thanks to the anti-microbial property
- It’s versatile enough to use with other floor types such as vinyl
- This underlayment is affordable and easy to install
- It’s a durable make, which also helps to correct the imperfection in subfloors
Cons
- Not as thick as other options in the same price range
- Compression of the balls in the underlayment causes a crackling sound
2. Roberts 70-193A Underlayment for Hardwood Floor
Roberts designs some of the best underlayment for different floor types. And they always make sure that every piece is a high quality built that can give you the best value for your money.
Their 70-193A underlayment is a versatile option, which means you can place it between a subfloor and hardwood floor and get better performance.
We love how versatile Roberts 70-193A underlayment is. It blends well with wood and concrete subfloors and provides a great deal of insulation and protection to your hardwood flooring.
With 70-193A, you even get a decent level of floor cushioning, so the hardwood flooring will go easy on your feet, especially if you walk barefoot around the house.
One of the best features of Roberts 70-193A underlayment is its noise reduction ability.
Many models in the market only add cushioning to the floor but lack the noise reduction quality. When someone walks in the house, you hear the sound of his or her feet as if the floor never had an underlayment in the first place.
Roberts solve this problem with the 70-193A underlayment. So if you choose to have this installed in your home, you can bit noise form the hardwood floor an eternal goodbye because you will never again have to worry about the irritating noise.
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Pros
- A well-built underlayment that insulates hardwood flooring
- Great for its ability to reduce noise to its very minimum
- Good for bedrooms and private spaces where silence is a priority
Cons
- The adhesion could be better
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3. Roberts Unison Underlayment
Roberts has been in the flooring business long enough to know what someone like you needs.
And with their Unison model, an underlayment that has received positive reception from many homeowners, you can add a new flooring layer between the subfloor and hardwood to improve the comfort and the quality of your home.
Roberts Unison 70-025 isn’t just another standard underlayment in the market. It’s a high quality durable product that will give you the value for your money.
Speaking of durability, Roberts Unison 70-025 features a 3-inch film overlap teamed up with adhesive strips for a long lasting effect.
The purpose of Roberts Unison 70-025’s polyethylene foam is to add a layer of thick cushioning between the subfloor and the hardwood floor.
The cushioning has two advantages. First, it provides a generous layer of insulation so that cold air from the subfloor doesn’t get to the hardwood floor.
Second, it absorbs the poundings that come from every step you take, so you never have to worry about that irritating noise ever again.
There’s even a top film included. This is important because it helps to make sure that your floor gets the most protection against vapor.
Pros
- Rolls out nicely for easy installation
Cons
- The adhesion could be better
Why You Need An Underlayment for Hardwood Floor
Many homeowners never take underlayment of their hardwood floors seriously until it’s too late. You don’t have to wait until the subfloor and foot traffic start to lower the quality of your flooring to take action. Instead, consider installing an underlayment now for the following benefits:
- It creates a moisture barrier: Installing an underlayment keeps moisture from the subfloor from penetrating upwards. Thus, your hardwood flooring won’t crack, rot, or weaken because humid air can’t pass through the underlayment
- An underlayment reduces noise: An underlayment helps to reduce noise to a significant level because it provides a decent level of cushioning that absorb the forceful impact from your feet as you walk.
- Insulation: Hardwood floor can be quite chilly in the winter, making them the most uncomfortable in the extremely cold days. Installing an underlayment helps to fix this problem because the layer keeps heat in.
Some people argue that an underlayment is necessary for some type of flooring. While that’s true to some degree, it isn’t really a solid conclusion in the case where hardwood floor is concerned.
This floor type needs the best protection possible so that it serves you for a very long time to come.
While an underlayment means addition cost and time to upgrade your flooring, it does go a long way to reduce moisture, eliminate noise, and increase the value and comfort of your home.
We’ve shared some inexpensive yet high quality underlayment that you can include in your hardwood flooring. So we hope that this guide has been useful in helping you decide which underlayment to pick.
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