By Louis Iannaco
Overcome and adapt. That’s exactly what dealers and installers must do whenever they encounter a problem in the field. Whether it’s putting down underlayments for laminate flooring or laying down carpet cushion, a solid foundation must be in place before the finished product is ready to take on traffic.

“The biggest problem retailers and installers encounter is what we refer to as ‘the silent problem,’ ” said Bob Cummings, marketing manager for Pak-Lite. “It is spawned by the dissatisfaction with the way laminate floors sound after installation.” Cummings recalled a common scenario where the customer comes into the showroom, picks out a beautiful floor and then has an installer come out. The installer completes the job and all is good from a visual perspective.

“But over time, in many cases the homeowner realizes that acoustically the floor does not perform as well as it looks,” he said. “Hardwood floors generally display decibel levels similar to laminate floors. What we are talking about here is the psycho-acoustic levels that measure the quality of the sound emanating from laminate or wood floors when walked upon.”

Cummings noted that poor quality translates into that “clicky, plastic sound” commonly associated with laminate floors. “Lets face it, hardwood is not quiet, but the quality of the sound emitted from hardwood is considered acceptable at a psycho-acoustic level,” he said. “So much emphasis is placed on IIC and STC rating, which quite frankly doesn’t address quality. They mainly address decibel levels in the room and the transmission of sound to adjacent rooms.”

Training, or lack thereof, is another issue inherent in laying down underlayments, manufacturers say. Ray Rodriguez, president of Starline Associates, noted that a lack of knowledge is a huge issue. He cited a recent incident where he hired three different crews to install laminate flooring—one for Starline’s new conference room, one for another office and hallway, and yet another for his home.

“I noticed some rips in the underlayment in one of the offices, and when I asked if they were going to tape them, they used masking tape, which is not moisture proof,” he said. “I was amazed they didn’t know this was the incorrect tape to use. They had no idea a polyethylene tape must be used to keep the moisture out of rips and seams.”

Rodriguez added that the retailer is then faced with the problem of the floor failing. “Any ethical installer must then replace a job or make a ridiculous statement like: ‘Nobody told me,’” he said.

Meanwhile, the second crew did not roll the edges 2 inches and then trim the u n d e r l a y m e n t prior to installing the quarter round or base boards. Some of the edges were not even reaching the edge of the wall or doorways.

Robert Fastow, national program manager of flooring for underlayment and subfloor prep product manufacturer Dayton Superior, has a background in the flooring industry with Armstrong (Henry, Ardex). He said the biggest installation problems go much deeper than the actual underlayment.

“Subfloor prep is probably the most overlooked part of the job,” he said. “A properly prepared substrate is the key to a successful flooring installation. [The problem is, it’s] overlooked or it’s taken for granted. They’ll say, ‘We’ll sweep it up, patch it up and it’ll be good to go.’ They don’t look at, if it’s an existing structure, for example, what kind of condition the plywood is in, or what kind of condition the concrete is in, if it’s going on-grade. Say someone is putting down a laminate floor. They just assume, ‘It’ll hide it; it’s a floating floor.’ Your finished floor is only as good as your substrate or subfloor. The second part of that is when it is looked at, it’s brushed off as not being that important to the job.”

What’s the best way to get these problems solved? Education is huge, Fastow noted. He cited organizations like INSTALL. “It’s doing a great job of trying to educate flooring installers,” he said. “A self-levelor solves the problem where a floor is not perfectly smooth, and rather than get down on your hands and knees and spread a feather-finish type product to do that, mix a couple bags of self-levelor, pour it out, walk away and then come back. It’ll be completely smooth and dry.”

According to Starline’s Rodriguez, “reading informative Floor Covering News articles such as this one is a good first step.” Aside from that, when installers are at the store picking up materials or taking care of other matters, they can ask questions of manufacturer or distributor sales reps, sales staff and/or store owners.

“Retailers should ask all the sources they purchase from for written information on proper installation techniques, then give the installation crews a copy and have them sign a simple agreement acknowledging they have read and understand the appropriate installation of the product and will be responsible if product failure comes from the result of their failure to comply,” Rodriguez said.

He added that silentbluepad.com is currently working on adding pages to it’s Web site with proper installation procedures and tips that will work on almost all underlyaments. “Be sure to check with each individual manufacturer’s rep and ask for their proper installation instructions. We expect to have laminate underlayment installation pages added by the end of the year.”

Pak-Lite’s Cummings said, “At SolidSound, we have developed an underlayment called SolidBlack HD that tests very high from an IIC and STC perspective, 71 and 73 respectively. But, more importantly, it addresses the unpleasant clicking annoyance that is so closely associated with laminate. The bottom line is that SolidBlack makes laminate sound more like real hardwood.

“So, with all that said, why do we call it ‘the silent problem?’ Because nine times out of 10 the customer will never address this issue with the retailer or installer, but she will address it to friends and family in the form of a negative referral. Why sell someone a great floor and a lesser underlayment? Car dealers found out long ago that cheap tires on a new car result in the majority of customer complaints. Laminate floors should also be sold with this same concept in mind.

“Quality floor, plus quality underlayment, plus quality installation makes for a quality job and a happy customer. Remove one of these three components and you have a dissatisfied customer.”