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3 Reasons to Install Underlayment for Your Basement Floor

When installing your basement floor, one of the essential aspects you need to consider to finish it is to establish an underlayment properly. Also often referred to as padding, the underlayment is a closed-cell plastic foam sheet that’s rolled out between the laminate flooring planks and the subfloor. In some cases, you may also need a vapor barrier to go between the underlayment and the subfloor, where some underlayment does come prebuilt with a vapor barrier.

That being said, underlayments and subfloors are two of the most essential aspects of laying floors. Proper installation of the two helps to ensure that the floor above is stable and durable.

Today, let’s delve deeper into underlayments, sharing precisely why you will want to have them installed:

1. Reduces Noise

Floors without any underlayments and subfloors can produce incredibly annoying sounds. This becomes more pronounced when other people live with you, and they walk on such untreated floors. Without the soft, spongy underlayment, the entire floor essentially becomes a drum.

On the other hand, if you had built the floor correctly with underlayment and even a subfloor, the sound can be muffled significantly. Everything from footsteps to music will be dampened, creating a much quieter atmosphere perfect for any home.

2. Improves Smoothness

When building floors, you’d want to make sure the floor is as smooth as possible. This could be pretty difficult to do if the floor wasn’t built on something smooth in the first place. Any major or minor imperfections can affect your floor’s smoothness, and achieving a smooth floor is incredibly challenging without a smooth subsurface.

With a subfloor and underlayment, this challenge is made easier to tackle. That’s because a subfloor and an underlayment can help smoothen out minor implications that would otherwise affect your floor’s smoothness. In essence, thanks to the smoothened subsurface, the floors become much flatter. In addition, the floors become more stable and durable, ensuring you can enjoy smooth floors for many years to come.

3. Enhances Comfortability

One problem with floors is that, even with floor materials like wood, they’re typically a little too hard to be called comfortable to walk on. This might not be apparent to you at first, but after walking thousands of steps, you may be finding yourself wishing you had a more comfortable surface to walk on.

Fortunately, with subfloors and underlayment, a softer floor is indeed possible. With softer footsteps taken, it will feel like you are walking with your comfy shoes on. In the long run, your feet will thank you for treating it well!

Conclusion

Put simply, if you are interested in installing a floor in your home, always be sure to consider installing the subfloor and underlayment first. These two aspects will ensure that the final installation is of excellent result, that you can enjoy a high-quality floor in your home for many years to come. That said, we highly recommend that you reach out to professional services to install the subfloor and underlayment for you. This way, the installation process can be done without compromise, ensuring your project is a successful one.

Handyman of Rockville is your go-to handyman service in Montgomery County for quick, hassle-free home improvement and time-saving services. If you need basement finishing services, reach out to us today!

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