Yes, soundproofing underlay is an effective way to reduce sound in your home. The soundproof base works by reducing airborne or impact noise (or both), which seeps through the floor to the rooms below. Of course, the Reverso SoundMat can be used in most final hardwood floor finishes without the need for an additional top coat. If you use the SoundMat 3 Plus or SoundMat 2 Plus as an acoustic floor solution, any engineered wood floor, provided it is 18 mm or more thick, can be applied directly to the top.
For any finer hard finish, we recommend a 6mm hardboard to provide a flat, stable base. The sound-absorbing base does more than create a barrier to unwanted noise. Your carpet will last longer when you have that extra cushion between it and the floor. The carpet base is another great way to combat unwanted noise, and it's much cheaper than having your home professionally soundproofed.
If you're wondering if the acoustic base really works, the answer is yes, but not so well. It makes sense to buy the best soundproofing layer you can afford. When choosing new types of flooring, whether they are laminate, vinyl, carpet or any other type, soundproofing should be taken into consideration. Some materials are more compatible with certain types of floors than others, so it's important to select a lower one.
You'll be forgiven for not realizing that there are a lot of soundproofed floor base products available. When buying new floor coverings, especially from one of the largest national retailers, your coating options are likely to be determined by factors other than their soundproofing capacity. The thickness of the base layer is also an important factor to consider. Thicker lower layers will provide better soundproofing than thinner ones.
However, they can also be more expensive and difficult to install. When advertising a base for carpets, major retailers usually offer a range of products based largely on different levels of comfort: the more you pay, the more luxurious the carpet will feel. Sound insulation is often mentioned with the most premium carpet base types, but it's not usually the key factor. In the case of floor coverings such as laminate or artificial wood, soundproofing is likely to be a more important factor when choosing the base due to the possibility of transmission of impact sound such as that of steps on hard floors.
The best performing base for vinyl floors is an acoustic felt such as the one purposefully designed by our product team. This type of material is perfect for vinyl as it is thinner and less dense so it revives much of the “rebound” you would experience with other materials when using vinyl. Can a base layer be used when placing tiles? Luxury vinyl tiles require a thin base layer due to the nature of the way the tiles are connected and the material from which they are made. Problems can occur when the soil being worked on is not properly prepared and even the use of a thick base layer can be a problem due to the expansion and contraction of LVT.
If the surface you're installing on is level and prepared correctly, you can consider a thin acoustic felt base to facilitate sound transmission. Most manufacturers of acoustic products design complete soundproofing solutions called systems which are specific materials that when combined can provide a better result with test data to demonstrate that they meet building regulations. Simply adding an acoustic base is extremely effective in that it can improve the look and feel of your carpets but also add value to your property. At Carpet Underlay Shop we have a wide range of soundproof bases including Cloud 9 Cumulus base and Tredaire Colours red sponge rubber base which has an ultra high rating of 46 dB as well as Carpenter Deepstep polyurethane foam which also has 46 dB both offering an excellent solution for reducing noise in the home.
The only function of an acoustic floor base is to reduce impact noise that crosses floors due to falling objects steps and movement of furniture in hard surface floor finishes in any type of building. The best material for a soundproof base is foam or sponge which are excellent at blocking sound and also provide exceptional comfort with fantastic options for all tastes and budgets. For carpets you need a product that is soft but doesn't hit rock bottom like many acoustic bases on the market. You may be wondering if investing in an acoustic base or in soundproof mats will have restrictions on final floor finish you can use but by having several layers of different thicknesses and densities you can smooth out this drop in performance and achieve best soundproofing with your acoustic base layer.
