How to choose the right underlay

Not sure which is the right underlay for you? Just choose the column with the room you are updating and you can quickly find the right underlay, and can even choose which level of comfort or durability you need. When you have chosen your underlay you can click on the image and go straight to the product.

Our star ratings are relevant to the room where you want to use the underlay. So, an underlay will be rated differently for the lounge where comfort is the priority compared to the hall, stairs and landing where durability is the priority.

If you have specific needs, such as comfort, durability, warmth, underfloor heating or noise suppression, we have listed the best underlays in each of these categories underneath this table.

Alternatively, you might have a particular feature of underlay in mind - perhaps you want maximum comfort, or maybe you just want to know which underlay is most appropriate for underfloor heating. In which case, the following tables will help:

Comfort

The comfort of a carpet depends hugely on the underlay underneath it - it's what's underneath that counts! It is true to say that a premium underlay under an average carpet will feel far superior to an average underlay under a premium carpet. The following are our most comfortable underlays:

Tredaire Colours Red Carpet Underlay    ****** 
Tredaire Dreamwalk PU Foam Carpet Underlay    ****** 
Tredaire Elite Carpet Underlay     ****** 
Tredaire Softwalk PU Foam Carpet Underlay    ****** 
Duralay Heatflow Carpet Underlay   ***** 
Duralay System Ten Carpet Underlay    *****

Durability

Some parts of the house need carpets that will last a long time or have to be particularly durable. They might have lots of traffic, such as the hall, stairs and landing; they might have very heavy furniture on them, such as dining room tables; they could have sharp corners which get scuffed, such as the edge of a stair; or they might be prone to rucking if heavy items move across the carpet, such as wheelchairs, mobility scooters or wheeled furniture. For these situations you need our most durable underlays:

Duralay System 10 Carpet Underlay    ****** 
Duralay Treadmore Carpet Underlay    ****** 
Duralay Heatflow Carpet Underlay    ****** 
Tredaire Dreamwalk PU Foam Carpet Underlay    ***** 
Tredaire Softwalk PU Foam Carpet Underlay    *****

Warmth

A good underlay will help to keep the warmth in and make the room more cosy. These underlays are the ones which have the highest thermal insulation:

Tredaire Dreamwalk PU Foam Carpet Underlay    3.13 tog 
Tredaire Softwalk PU Foam Carpet Underlay    2.69 tog 
Tredaire Colours Red Carpet Underlay    1.65 tog 
Duralay System Ten Carpet Underlay    1.55 tog

Underfloor heating

If you have under floor heating then the last thing you want is good insulation, instead you want the lowest tog you can get to let as much heat through to the room as possible. These underlays have the lowest tog in our range:

Duralay Heatflow Wood & Laminate Underlay  0.35 tog 
Duralay Timbermate Excel DIY Wood & Laminate Underlay   0.55 tog
Duralay Heatflow Carpet Underlay   0.75 tog

Sound insulation

Carpet underlay also helps to suppress noise and sound in a room, and to produce a cocoon of calm and quiet.

Wood & Laminate underlay is even more important when it comes to acoustic suppression – our rubber underlays can significantly reduce in-room noise by up to 30%. The thin polyurethane 'underlays' sold by DIY stores can often increase the noise level. The following underlays have the highest sound suppression performance:

Carpet 
Tredaire Colours Red Carpet Underlay    46dB 
Tredaire Dreamwalk PU Foam Carpet Underlay    44dB 
Tredaire Softwalk PU Foam Carpet Underlay    41dB 
Duralay System Ten Carpet Underlay    32dB 
Duralay Treadmore Carpet Underlay    32dB

Wood & Laminate 
Duralay Timbermate Excel DIY Wood & Laminate Underlay    23dB 
Duralay Heatflow Wood & Laminate Underlay  21dB

Vapour barrier

Laminate floors are vulnerable towards moisture or dampness. This is a particular risk with concrete floors as they are capable of absorbing water very effectively. It is always important to ensure that the laminate floor and concrete floor never come into contact, otherwise the dampness from underneath can be transferred to the laminate floor and lead to warping.

When installing a laminate floor we always recommend using a quality underlay with a built in vapour barrier, such as Timbermate Excel. This will not only protect against moisture but its dense sponge rubber will also reduce in-room noise by up to 30%. This product should be laid with the silver vapour barrier down (and rubber side up) against the sub floor and the joins should be sealed with Gripperrods Vapour Tape .

Duralay Timbermate Excel DIY Wood & Laminate Underlay