best underlayment for hardwood flooring

Lots of times we asked the concern what is the right kind of underlayment to be used in the hardwood floor setup. The normal products that are constantly readily available to a client is rosin paper or 15 pound felt paper. like it explains here red oak unfinished

Let me ask you another question why do you even require a moisture retarder or a moisture obstacle in the wood floor installation?

The response is very basic: wood flooring concerns your house and has a wetness or relative wetness of 6 % to 9 % optimum. Brand-new construction has a relative wetness much greater as high as 25 %, due to the many products simply introduced to the the building that have to do with water: plaster, paint, new wood, plywood, concrete in the basement.like it explains here Best underlayment for hardwood flooring

A wetness obstacle, or retarder has the function of slowing the absorption of wetness to the new hardwood flooring. If the wood floor absorbs wetness too fast it will cause it to broaden in a really unnatural means causing cupping.

So, which underlayment is finest fit to retard wetness absorption in a brand-new wood flooring installment?


As I was stating before the two main materials readily available to installers are rosin paper, and 15 pound felt roof paper.

Wood installers generally utilized rosin paper, that pinkish paper utilized as an underlayment. Does rosin paper have any wetness retardant on wetness barrier properties? Not.

In the old days rosin paper was utilized mostly as the dust barrier. That’s why they utilize rosin paper as the dust retarder more than a wetness retarder. We always presumed installers are professionals and know why they use rosin paper.

More recently I saw installers utilizing 15 pound felt roof paper as an underlayment. Initially it seemeed a counterintuitive kind of step. Roofing paper as a flooring? I checked out it in even more depth and I really see the value of using roofing paper as an underlayment. Wetness is not trapped is enabled to pass through however at a very sluggish rate, for that reason it does not cause cupping, it will not lead the wood to an abnormal development.

The National Wood Flooring Organization (NWFA) accepts using 15 pound felt and even 30 pound felt paper as a suitable wetness barrier under brand-new wood flooring setup. Will you overlap the joints in felt paper? it’s up to you, but if you use 30 pound felt you will just butt the joints.

What about Visqueen or plastic as a wetness obstacle under wood flooring?

Using plastic of Visqueen is absolutely not suitable. It will trap moisture and will not permit moisture to go through hence creating the right circumstance for the development of mold.

Some of the various other products that are very popular nowadays are Aquabar, Elastilon.

Wood installers usually made use of rosin paper, that pinkish paper used as an underlayment. Does rosin paper have any wetness retardant on wetness barrier homes? That’s why they utilize rosin paper as the dust retarder more than a moisture retarder. More recently I saw installers making use of 15 pound felt roofing paper as an underlayment. The National Wood Flooring Organization (NWFA) accepts the use of 15 pound felt or even 30 pound felt paper as a appropriate moisture obstacle under brand-new wood flooring installation.