Which are the best underlays for the hall and landing?
Halls and landing carpets take a lot of pounding, and need a hard wearing and durable underlay. This is especially so if wheeled traffic such as wheelchairs or mobility scooters drive across the carpet.
In terms of durability the very best underlay for the hall and landing is a crumb rubber. This environmentally friendly underlay is made from recycled car tyres so it is incredibly springy and resilient. Technically, it has 100% ‘retention of work of compression’.
The two domestic crumb rubber underlays are System Ten and Treadmore. System Ten is thicker than Treadmore, and both score 6* (out of a maximum of 6*) for durability. System Ten scores 5* for comfort, and Treadmore scores 4*, again out of maximum of 6*.
There are also two heavy-duty contract crumb rubber underlays - Durafit 650 and Durafit 500. They are thinner than System 10 and Treadmore, but are just as strong.
What are the alternatives to a crumb rubber underlay?
The next best thing to a crumb rubber underlay in terms of durability is called Contract 9. This is a PU Foam underlay, made from recycled or offcut foam pieces, and is one of the densest foam underlays. Although it is hard wearing enough to score 6* for its toughness (its retention of work of compression is an incredible 98%), it is softer than a crumb rubber and is more comfortable (scoring 5*).
Other PU foam underlays worth considering are Dreamwalk, Softwalk and Cosywalk. Slightly less dense than Contract 9, they are very hard wearing but are softer and are very comfortable.
Finally, if you have little foot traffic and you don’t need the toughest underlay but want the highest levels of comfort, then consider a dense sponge rubber underlay such as Colours Red or Elite. They are incredibly luxurious.
Underlay for the Hall, Stairs and Landing
Carpet underlay for your stairs really must be hard wearing to absorb the punishment from consistent foot traffic. The underlay has to protect the carpet on the edges of each stair, and has to be flexible enough to bend around the riser of each step. We recommend our heavy duty, environmentally friendly, crumb rubber underlays, made from recycled car tyres, which are engineered to stand up to the toughest of uses. They will protect your carpet year after year. Alternatively a sponge rubber underlay or PU foam underlay will also suffice in this area but make sure you don’t use a light domestic underlay as they will not protect the edge of the carpet on each step and can be flattened by the heavy pounding of feet on the staircase.
If you have a wooden or laminate floor in the hall then you need to use a specialist laminate flooring underlay such as Timbermate Excel DIY. Even more important is the choice of underlay if you have under floor heating – use a low tog underlay to let the heat through, such as Duralay Heatflow Carpet or Duralay Heatflow Wood & Laminate. Buy underlay for carpet and laminate underlay that won’t let you down from approved retailers at All About Underlay.
Which are the best underlays for the hall and landing?
In terms of durability the very best underlay for the hall and landing is a crumb rubber. This environmentally friendly underlay is made from recycled car tyres so it is incredibly springy and resilient. Technically, it has 100% ‘retention of work of compression’.
The two domestic crumb rubber underlays are System Ten and Treadmore. System Ten is thicker than Treadmore, and both score 6* (out of a maximum of 6*) for durability. System Ten scores 5* for comfort, and Treadmore scores 4* again out of maximum of 6*.
There are also two heavy-duty contract crumb rubber underlays - Durafit 650 and Durafit 500. They are thinner than System 10 and Treadmore, but are just as strong.
What are the alternatives to a crumb rubber underlay?
The next best thing to a crumb rubber underlay in terms of durability is called Contract 9. This is a PU Foam underlay, made from recycled or offcut foam pieces, and is one of the densest foam underlays. Although it is hard wearing enough to score 6* for its toughness (its retention of work of compression is an incredible 98%), it is softer than a crumb rubber and is more comfortable (scoring 5*).
Other PU foam underlays worth considering are Dreamwalk, Softwalk and Cosywalk. Slightly less dense than Contract 9, they are very hard wearing but are softer and are very comfortable.
Finally, if you have little foot traffic and you don’t need the toughest underlay but want the highest levels of comfort, then consider a dense sponge rubber such as Colours Red or Elite. They are incredibly luxurious.