Hicksville, N.Y.—How can underlayments protect the consumer’s investment? How much emphasis needs to be placed on underlayments by salespeople? According to several executives, it should be considered part of the sale, not as an afterthought, as the proper underlayment will only enhance the performance of the flooring which covers it, including reducing excessive noise. And, with the popularity of laminates, it only behooves both the salesperson and dealer to make the end user understand the importance of quality underlayment.
“One of the most common complaints for floating floors is the constant clickity clack, especially when you have small children,” said
Ray Rodriguez, president of
Starline Associates. “Imagine spending thousands of dollars on a new floor and never knowing you can really reduce the noise with the appropriate type of underlayment, so many people I run into where never told.
“Our underlayments have really differentiated us from our competitors,” he explained. “We carry four types. The basic foam and film, for the price conscience, then an upgrade. Star Silver provides a little more acoustic value and even more moisture protection when needed. And, finally, our best pad,
Silent Blue, with the highest sound ratings available and closed cell construction. We also carry cork underlayments for tile and hardood floors.”
According to Bob Cummings, marketing manager for PakLite, the answer to how underlayments can protect the consumer’s investment is “two fold, economical and emotional. From an economic perspective, underlayments, if constructed properly with a real moisture/vapor barrier and features like lip and tape, keep destructive moisture away from the floor and, in addition, deter mold and mildew.
“From a psychological or emotional level,” he added, “an underlayment like Solid-Black HD from SolidSound makes your laminate floor sound closer to real hardwood. There is nothing worse than installing a new floor and having people comment derogatorily about the sound.”
“Underlayment will absolutely add value under any laminate, engineered, or solid hardwood installations,” said Jeffrey Castor, national sales manager, Diversified Flooring Products Division. “The product chosen for under the floor will affect the effectiveness and the integrity of the flooring system.
Noise Reduction
“In multi-level applications,” he explained, “it will help to lower the transfer of noise from one floor to the floor below. Therefore, the underlayment that is chosen will affect the quality of the living conditions.
“It is also important to understand that you can protect your flooring investment from moisture vapor transmission through the proper underlayment selection,” Castor added.
“The best way a consumer can protect her laminate flooring investment is to use an underlayment that offers good acoustical sound reduction and is able to withstand compression,” said Erik Arnold, director, sales and marketing for
Foam Products Corp., maker of The Silencer underlayment. “It is extremely important the product is able to withstand compression experienced through weight and traffic, because acoustical properties can be permanently lost once an underlayment is compressed. Not only can acoustical performance properties become significantly compromised or lost, but the floor may sag and buckle at the joints due to a lack of support which is a primary function of an underlayment.”
“Other underlayments claiming to have comparable acoustical properties dramatically lose their ability to perform acoustically and support the floor as they compress under traffic and weight,” he added. “So, while others may claim to have sufficient performance acoustically, this will not be applicable after compression occurs under time and traffic, which can also allow the floor to fail in as little time as a few months. Not only do both of our Silencer underlayments offer outstanding acoustical performance properties, they resist compression unlike many of the lightweight plastic-based products that aren’t designed to last for the long term.
“Furthermore, unlike many of the lightweight plastic-based underlayments,
Silencer Superior incorporates an attached moisture barrier and tape strip to lock out moisture, a feature that most OEMs require on or below grade,” explained Arnold. “Its ability to resist compression enables a floor to perform to its fullest potential, last longer and avoid sagging and buckling over time (which are typical problems associated with inferior, weaker underlayments that easily compress over time). Foam Products makes very unique underlayments in that we have had hundreds of millions of square feet of Silencer underlayments installed worldwide, and we have never received a claim or complaint on any of them.”
Selling What’s Underneath
The role of the salesperson in selling underlayments remains key, as it is critical the consumer know how important they are to the floor. But Rodriguez believes the dealer needs to play an increased role as well.
“Some of my local clients have already started offering the best underlayments included on every job,” he added. “I believe a united effort between the salesperson and the store owners should promote higher quality underlayments.”
“More emphasis needs to placed on underlayments by salespeople,” said Cummings. “They sell a great floor but when it sounds bad because the wrong underlayment was used, they get a negative referral.”
“The underlayment that you use underneath your system can also drastically affect the integrity of the floor system itself,” said Castor. “Using a low grade underlayment could eventually affect the wear layer of the boards themselves.”
“It is vitally important salespeople stress the necessity of quality underlayment,’ said Arnold. “When the underlayment fails to resist compression, the floor will likely fail and the acoustical properties will be lost. Once salespeople get the floor sold, they have had a tendency to not push the consumer for the final and most important upgrade, the underlayment. Accessories are one of the biggest money makers at the retail level, and quality products are truly the only choice once a consumer is properly educated about the pitfalls of using inferior underlayments.”
—Louis Iannaco
