Fitting Underlay

Use the Right Tools

When installing flooring or underlay it’s vital you have the right tools. Here’s a little check list.

• Utility Knife – for cutting the underlay.
• Tape Measure – a good quality, domestic metal tape measure will do.
• Knee Pads – (not always necessary, depends how strong your knees are)
• Spirit Level – to ensure the subfloor and the laminate/wood flooring is level
• Ruler – to ensure the wood/laminate flooring is cut to the correct size
• Saw – to ensure you cut the laminate or wood flooring properly and square so it fits snuggly
• Knee Pads, Goggles, Mask – to ensure safety throughout the installation – especially laminate and wood
• Damp Proof Membrane – to help stop the moisture coming through the sub floor – if it is not part of the underlay
• Threshold Strips – to join your laminate or wood flooring to the next room
• Laminate Trims – to ensure a quality finish around the room

Preparation

Preparation is key and will make the job of laying your floor and underlay a whole lot easier if you have prepared correctly. You need to check that the sub floor is smooth, clean and dry before you attempt to lay any laminate or real wood flooring. A moister barrier must be used on concrete, asphalt, vinyl, quarry tiles or subfloor similar. We recommend buying an underlay which has a built in moister barrier, to save the extra work in lay both. If you are worried and want to be extra cautious, you can use both a membrane and moister barrier under you flooring.

Installing the Underlay

Underlay is usually the afterthought once the style and type of flooring has been chosen. Making sure you fit your underlay correctly is almost as important as getting the installation of the floor right. Manufactures each have their own installation requirement that you must follow when installing their brand but you can see the general rules of installation just here. If you are struggling or don’t feel confident, then you should consider using a professional fitter. Most floors are designed to be a DIY product so here’s what you need to do when fitting the underlay.

Measure out how much you need and make sure you’ve selected the right type. You should make sure that the underlay extends up the wall by at least 5cm.

Make sure everything is dry, clean and smooth. On concrete, lay the underlay with the vapour barrier side down and tape the seams of the underlay on the top side with vapour tape.

On wooden and other types of floor lay the underlay with the rubber side down, and again tape the seams with an appropriate underlay tape.

When fitting the underlay leave a 5-10mm gap around pipes.