Vinyl flooring can give your home a new, breathtaking look without breaking the bank. But the flooring can get noisy and uncomfortable if you don’t add an underlayment underneath.
That’s why we’ve reviewed four of the best underlayment for vinyl flooring, which you can use to a layer in between the plank and the subfloor to keep the flooring in the best shape. Here’s an overview of the products reviewed in detail farther in this article.
Best Underlayment for Vinyl Flooring Reviews
1. FLOORLOT Underlayment for Vinyl Floor
FLOORLOT underlayment is the best for vinyl floor because it features a double vapor barrier that offers twice as much protection from moisture.
It isn’t just effective in eliminating the hollow sound that comes from floating floors. It also reduces footstep from foot traffic, making it an ideal option to consider because everyone loves a quiet environment.
The best thing about FLOORLOT underlayment is that it’s perfect for all types of vinyl flooring. So you can expect it to work well with vinyl planks, luxury vinyl tiles, and vinyl roll flooring.
FLOORLOT’s construction is rather thin. While that means it can easily tear, you don’t have to worry about the material wearing out during installation if you can be extra careful.
FLOORLOT is a millimeter thick. That’s both a good and bad thing. Good in the sense that it can easily smoothen out the small imperfections in the subfloor.
Bad because it won’t fix those bigger imperfections should there be any that you have to deal with. A good way to get the most out of this would be to add a similar fabric on top, but that’s just an opinion you might want to consider.
We like that it’s an affordable underlayment that’s lightweight enough to maneuver on your own. There are even grid lines, which makes it easy for you to keep it in straight line, especially if you’ve opted to make this a DIY project.
A single roll of FLOORLOT should cover up to 200 square meters. You’ll need to buy another roll if you live in a bigger house. Then you can use a seaming tape to join the two rolls together.
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Pros
- The double barrier easily keeps out moisture
- The line grids printed on the underlayment help with easy installation
- A roll is easy to join to another with a seaming tape (included in the package)
Cons
- Poor adhesive
- It’s thin and can easily tear
2. Quiet Walk Plus QW100PLUS Underlayment
Quiet Walk Plus QW100PLUS is a versatile underlayment that you can install under vinyl, laminate, or hardwood flooring. Before you fix this under a vinyl plank, though, make sure the flooring is at least 5 millimeters thick.
Note that each roll is 3 feet wide and 33.4 feet long. So you may have to buy more rolls depending on how much floor space you wish to cover.
Quiet Walk Plus QW100PLUS has recycled fibers. These add a solid tough to the floor and you can feel the difference with every step you take.
The fibers also help to deaden sound, keeping noise to the lowest point so much so that someone in an adjoining room won’t hear the sound of the steps you take.
Another benefit of the Quiet Walk Plus QW100PLUS’s recycled fiber is that they provide a good level of insulation. If you think about it, subfloors made of materials such as concrete can get extremely cold and make it difficult for you to walk especially in cold weather.
Quiet Walk Plus QW100PLUS solves this problem by simply adding a layer of insulation to the vinyl flooring, making the space comfortable to walk on.
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve nailed, glued down, and floated your vinyl flooring. Vinyl planks use clock and system. And that means once you have the underlayment installed, it should provide the necessary insulation to keep your feet in good condition.
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Pros
- A high quality, eco friendly underlayment made from recycled fibers
- Deadens sound and insulates the floor
- You can use it with an under floor heating system for even heat distribution
Cons
- Won’t work well for vinyl flooring under 5 millimeters thick
3. Roberts First Step 630-Square Foot Roll Underlayment
The first thing you need to know about Robert First Step 630-square foot roll is that it’s a versatile underlayment. So while it was originally designed for engineered wood and laminate floors, you can also use it for any type of vinyl flooring.
From a performance point of view, this roll works well for vinyl flooring the same way it does for the intended floor types.
It does provide a good level of cushioning for a more comfortable walking experience while deadening sound that would otherwise be noisy and disturbing.
Roberts First Step underlayment feature Styrofoam beads between the bottom layers and plastic top. And they do two things extremely well.
First, the beads ensure proper air circulation. That’s important because it ensures the floor never gets damp at any point in time.
Second, the beads creates springs in your step so you walk comfortably without worrying about your feet catching cold or making a creaking sound with every step you take.
Moreover, the cushioning you get from this is good enough to correct flaws on the subfloor, which is definitely an added advantage.
This underlayment is so good and well rated that we wish it were thicker than it comes. Given how thin it is, you do have to be very careful during installation otherwise it’s easy to tear the roll apart if you’re not careful.
Roberts First Step doesn’t lose its thickness after installation no matter how many pounds of weight you apply on the vinyl floor.
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Pros
- Gold Guard microbial protection enhances air circulation and prevents mold from forming
- An overlap film included just in case you want to join up another roll
- Reduces sound and cushions your steps
Cons
- Can be challenging to cut to size
- This underlayment is thin and might tear during installation if not handled with extreme care
4. Wood Fiber Flooring Underlayment
It’s hard to come by an underlayment that reduces noise from vinyl flooring to a great degree. But STEICO has tried to work around this on its model, making it the first ever option for people to whom extreme sound reduction is important.
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This underlayment features 100% wood fiber construction. And given that there’s no glue added to the construction, you never have to worry about toxic chemicals getting into your home.
The 21.32 pounds per square inch of the high compression system is one of STECO’s best feature, mostly because it gives you a solid feel underfoot.
STEICO underlayment uses Vapor Open technology to absorb as much moisture as possible to keep mold from growing and protect your floor from damages.
One thing that’s different about this underlayment is that it comes in packs of square panels. Unlike the ones that come in rolls, this one will take longer to install because it takes time to position each panel.
Pros
- STEICO underlayment has a higher for sound proofing
- This underlayment is easy to install
- No bounce and squeaks even when installed under clock and lock vinyl flooring
- A single pack is enough to cover a floor space of 180 square meters
Cons
- It doesn’t come in a roll but in panels, which are time-consuming to install
- Gets a little dusty when cutting, so you might have to do some cleanup
While there are many underlayment options that you can use for vinyl flooring, these are the best ones in the market right now. Designed to deaden noise and insulate the floor, these underlayment rolls can maintain the quality of your floor and make walking around the house comfortable.
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