In any home, there is one area that is used every single day, but is only usually noticed when it becomes damaged.  We are of course talking about your flooring, and often the most important and hardest working component of your floor is actually hidden beneath the surface.  Your underlay may go unnoticed, but it can actually make a huge difference to the comfort, durability and insulation of your home.

As a substantial investment it is also important to protect the lifespan of your carpets, and key to this is the purchase of a quality, use-specific carpet underlay.
For instance, in places such as the hall, stairs and landings, the constant footfall often causes the carpet pile to become flattened, especially with children running up and down the stairs. A good carpet underlay provides an extra layer of protection between the carpet and the floor preventing this from occurring. A high density PU Foam underlay, such as Tredaire Sensation for instance, cushions every step to give support in essential areas like the risers of the stairs.

In the dining room or the study, heavy furniture resting on a carpet for a prolonged period of time crushes the carpet and leaves unsightly marks, often damaging your carpet irreparably. In these cases a crumb-rubber underlay such as Duralay Treadmore will provide outstanding long-term protection.

Quality underlay can also have a significant impact on the warmth of your home. Thick, high-tog underlay like Tredaire Dreamwalk traps the heat in your rooms, helping to cut down on heating bills.

Another key benefit of choosing good quality underlay is noise reduction, both between rooms and also underfoot.  A thick sponge rubber underlay beneath your carpet reduces noise by absorbing many airborne sounds; Tredaire Colours Red is an excellent example and is also one of the most comfortable underlays on the market. Similarly, underlay mitigates the harsh sound of heavy footsteps on laminate floor. Choosing a specialist low tog underlay for underfloor heating ensures that the heat reaches its destination whilst still cushioning your floor.

When it comes to purchasing underlay, many flooring shops are more interested in selling the carpet than the underlay, and do not have the specialist knowledge to help customers make the best choice. Sadly, they also often inflate the price of their underlay to increase their profit margins, leaving the customer with a large bill for low quality underlay.

All About Underlay is committed to providing the best advice and the best products at the lowest possible prices, all backed up by our price match guarantee.  So next time you change your flooring, log on to www.allaboutunderlay.co.uk and get the best underlay, at the best price.

All of our sponge rubber underlay and PU foam underlay is manufactured in the UK, and the manufacturer has had all of their products tested to confirm that they meet the US CRI (Carpet & Rug Institute) Green Label programme.

This means that the underlay is tested for total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), formaldehyde and 4-phenylcyclohexine (4-PCH). To pass the tests, the underlay emissions must be less than...
TVOCs: 1000 µg/m² • hr
BHT: 300 µg/m² • hr
Formaldehyde: 50 µg/m² • hr
4-PCH: 50 µg/m² • hr

If you want to research this further then you can find more information at www.carpetcushion.org.

These results mean that our carpet underlay and our wood & laminate underlay can be described as low odour.

The sister underlay of Contract 9, Tredaire Contract 7 is almost every bit as durable and protective in its own right. Here’s what it’s got to offer…

The Super range is our latest range of PU Foam underlay aimed at being able to deliver luxury quality carpet underlay at prices which will not break the bank.

Made from recycled sofa foam, the Super range of underlay come in thicknesses of 8, 10 and 12mm each bringing with it the acoustic, thermal and comfort benefits that foam brings.

This PU Foam underlay is a general domestic quality carpet underlay that gives you great levels of underfoot comfort. It thickness and durability makes it suitable for use in your hall, stairs or landing.

At all three thicknesses, it is medium density foam that reduces in-room noise, protects your carpet pile and gives you good heat insulation. Available under our price match guarantee.

Heavy duty, heavy protection and light underfoot, welcome to Tredaire Technics 6. 

The geeky bit…

1 mm thicker than Technics 5 at 6mm, Technics 6 gives extra-heavy contract protection yet still performs brilliantly in a domestic setting. A flat sponge underlay, it offers you impact sound reduction up to 31 dB in addition to a combination of protection and underfoot comfort unmatched by any other contract carpet underlay used over large areas. An ideal accompaniment to underfloor heating with a low tog rating of .66.

The crux of it…

Use in high traffic areas or the dining room for the best results within the home, or anywhere where your carpet needs the ultimate support. High density and high performance.

The cost of it…

£79.99* per roll / £5.33* per m²

As is always the case at All About Underlay, Technics 6 is covered under our price match guarantee.

*Ex. VAT

When we say that underlay makes your life more pleasant to live, and you more comfortable we mean it. Today an unfortunate landlord in Belgravia, London found himself in the dock over a noisy floor in his building, when a roll of acoustic underlay could have kept him a free man.

The issue surrounds the installation of a suspended wooden floor. Having not previously noticed the sound of footsteps, after the wood floor was installed, the impact sound of footsteps was harsh and marked to the ears of the couple living below. Having consulted legal advice the couple decided to sue the landlord.

Martyn Barklem, representing Mr and Mrs Faidi, said they accept the family of five who live upstairs use the flat “in a normal way”, but that the flooring creates a “noise nuisance”. Barklem added: “The appellants’ case is that the nature of the flooring is such that the nuisance arises from normal use, which would be abated by the respondent laying carpet and underlay, as required by the lease.”

So here’s the underlay expert’s final word on the matter; play it safe and buy yourself some acoustic underlay from our superb range. Whether you are a landlord or a homeowner it could save you a day in court.

As part of our new year new underlay lineup, we introduced three new underlay that were ideal for luxury domestic use and some  contract installations. Whilst being able to withstand the toughest punishment, bothTredaire Technics 5&6 and Duralay Kensington Deluxe are superbly comfortable underfoot.

The Kensington Deluxe is a milestone for us in that it is All About Underlay’s first ever crumb-rubber felt underlay bringing with it all the benefits of a combination underlay. It is said to be the underlay they use in Buckingham Palace. As we have always said, our underlay is fit for royalty.

What is it? Tredaire Technics 5

Why should I care? Tredaire Technics 5 is a supple and hard-wearing underlay that is just as effective used under carpets as when used under laminates. The ’5′ in the name denotes the thickness of this flat sponge. Coupled with its durability, this makes it suitable for use in contract settings or your hall, stairs or landing at home. Technics 5 is acoustically impressive high-density sponge providing impact sound reduction up to 28dB, as well as being ideal for use with underfloor heating systems with a tog rating of just 0.56. Using this Tredaire underlay extends your carpet replacement cycle over and above other underlay.

What is it? Tredaire Technics 6

Why should I care? 1 mm thicker than Technics 5, Technics 6 gives extra-heavy contract protection yet still performs fantastically in a domestic setting. Also a flat sponge underlay, it offers you impact sound reduction up to 31 dB in addition to a combination of protection from traffic and underfoot comfort unsurpassed by any other contract carpet underlay used over large areas. Also an ideal accompaniment to underfloor heating with an ultra-low tog rating of .66. Use in high traffic areas or the dining room for the best results within the home.

What is it? Duralay Kensington Deluxe

Why should I care?  Our first combination underlay, we have made sure it is one of the best ones available on the market. The mix of crumb-rubber base and felt top makes for a fantastically tough yet soft and comfortable underlay solution. The crumb rubber gives a durability and high work of compression of 121J/m2. At 1.7 Tog it gives good warmth underfoot in addition to providing sound suppression up to 30dB, a benefit of the felt top.

Fantastic underfoot luxury PU foam, Tredaire Sensation is one of the market leading PU Foam underlay. It gives you almost as good performance as Dreamwalk. 

The geeky bit…

Why should I care? – Sensation is high-density, PU (poly-urethane) rebond underlay, very much at the luxury end of our offering. In terms of comfort, warmth and acoustic properties, this seventh heaven underlay is outstanding. It has noise suppression up to 43dB as well as a tog rating of 2.89 giving superb heat insulation. Lightweight and easy to handle,Sensation’s recovery qualities make it suitable for all luxury domestic use areas.

The crux of it…

For those considering a Cloud 9 product, Sensation is an ideal alternative for anyone planning to buy Cirrus. Sensation’s superior density gives a better underfoot feel, and it also is a more effective acoustic option.

The cost of it…

£.39.99* per roll / £2.67* per m²

We don’t and never have put a premium on quality of product and quality of service. We have arguably the most competitive prices around and will always continue to do so.

*Ex. VAT

After listening to requests from some of our customers, we decided to introduce a budget range of underlay for wood and laminate flooring. Although it is an entry-level offering, this Steplite range meets British Standards, and performs admirably in a number of domestic situations.

This new budget underlay range from Steplite is made from polyethylene foam, (PE Foam) a strong and resilient closed-cell foam. It is impervious to the effects of rot, damp and mildew and thus is ideal for using as a ground-floor laminate underlay. In our range here we have one without a vapour barrier (Plastifoam White) and two complete with a vapour barrier (All-in-One Blue & Silverlay). 

What is it? Plastifoam White

Why should I care? – Plastifoam White is a basic entry-level, PE foam underlay, recommended for use in low to medium-traffic areas. It has noise suppression up to 18dB as well being very low tog means it suitable for use with underfloor heating. Lightweight and easy to handle Plastifoam White is 1.8mm thick.

What is it? All in One Blue

Why should I care? – Just 3mm thick, All-in-one is a light PE foam with an integral damp-proof membrane making it impervious to water damage from beneath when used with a vapour tape along the seams. It does remain dense enough to provide up to 20dB of impact sound reduction. Suitable for use anywhere but the stairs provided traffic isn’t heavy.

What is it? Silverlay

Why should I care? The attached foil backing on Silverlay underlay means its suitable for use in ground floor conversions as it provides protection from damp beneath your flooring covering. Helped by its 2mm thickness, acoustically it is a capable underlay providing up to 18dB of impact sound reduction. It is can also be used with underfloor heating systems with a low tog rating of 1.

All these underlay are eligible for our Price Match Guarantee offer.

Duralay Multitex is a tremendously tough underlay for wood and laminate flooring that works in harmony with the natural undulations of your sub-floor. 

The geeky bit…

Multitex is a classic heavy-duty rubber underlay for use under laminate, solid timber and engineered wood floors. This underlay is perfect for use on suspended wood-based floors where moisture damage is not an issue.

However this product does not come fitted with a Vapourstop barrier and so is not suitable for use over concrete or ground floor installations without polythene sheeting or vapour barriers. You must also tape the joins to ensure full moisture protection.

The crux of it…

The flip side of this is that Multitex offers flexibility. If your sub-floor already includes a moisture barrier then Multitex is a more cost-effective solution than underlay which include a vapour barrier. Multitex is suitable for contract and domestic installations.

If your existing sub-floor already has a vapour barrier then this Duralay underlay is ideal. If not then you will require separate polythene sheeting and remember to tape the joins. It can level up uneven sub-floors. Suitable for underfloor heating, but be sure not to use over wood block or parquet sub floors.

The cost of it…

£25.67* per roll / £2.57* per m²

*Ex. VAT