Underlay, Underlay!

April 27, 2016

At QCF Bournemouth, we’re proud of the products we sell and we’re dedicated to ensuring that they give you lasting satisfaction from the moment our expert fitters finish laying the flooring in your home.

One of the ways to enhance durability and longevity is to use quality underlay but, you’d be surprised how many people are prepared to miss out on its benefits, just to save a few pounds in the short-term, without realising that in the scheme of things, a good quality underlay will help your flooring last.

The only covering that we would recommend NOT using underlay on is vinyl.

Contemporary vinyl flooring is cushioned, meaning that by fitting underlay, you could actually increase the risk of puncture damage to your flooring – the exact opposite of what you intended. That said, you’ll need to make sure that the surface the vinyl is sitting on is as smooth as possible – might be time to put down the plywood, or if possible, get the floor screeded by a suitably qualified contractor.

Laminate flooring is another situation where you need to make sure that the floor is level, and even though some laminates don’t require underlay (according to the manufacturer’s fitting instructions), it can make a massive difference to the overall feel and finish of your floor, and most installations benefit, whether underlay is specified or not.

Ask one of our friendly staff for advice.

We all know (hopefully) that underlay for a carpet is a necessity. In short, no matter what carpet you buy, it will always be enhanced by the quality of what’s laid underneath.

By buying a great underlay for your new carpet, you get benefits that perhaps you hadn’t thought of, as well as the aforementioned durability.

Here are just some of its benefits:

  • If you want to keep that luxurious, just laid feel, that feels gorgeous on your feet, whilst putting a spring in your step, then we can’t recommend high-quality underlay enough.
  • Carpet is sometimes avoided by people with allergies. Underlay can help to control dust in the air by trapping it before it gets in the air to cause you problems (see our previous post of picking an allergy friendly carpet here
  • You may be surprised to find that as well as losing heat through your roof, it can go through your floor too! Underlay acts like insulation, keeping the heat you generate in the room, enabling you to turn down the thermostat a few degrees – and save money!
  • Nobody likes a noisy environment, so to help keep any tranquility you may have, an appropriate ‘undergarment’ for your carpet is advised – especially for upstairs rooms where the children probably play.

We’re happy to answer any of your flooring and underlay questions – it’s part of our service and one of the reasons why we’ve been in business for over 40 years.

QCF Bournemouth are your local commercial and domestic flooring specialists, serving Bournemouth, Poole and surrounding areas.

About

We are Quality Carpets and Flooring, who specialise in carpet and vinyl flooring. We cater for both commercial and residential floor coverings in Bournemouth.