No, carpet underlay is not a suitable underlay for laminate flooring. The carpet underlay is too thick and will be too bouncy underfoot. Carpet underlay will also reduce the lifespan of your laminate flooring by 30-40%.
Replacing Carpet with Laminate Flooring
When replacing a carpet with laminate flooring you should always begin with removing both the carpet and underlay in its entirety. Your new flooring will require an underlay that is much thinner than your current underlay.
Laminate flooring underlay is often only 3mm – 5mm thick whereas carpet underlay is much thicker, and is usually approximately 12mm thick.
In addition, laminate flooring underlay has been designed to ensure your flooring remains relatively solid, stable, and accurately mimics the feeling of a real hardwood floor. It will also increase the lifespan of your laminate floor.
Carpet underlay’s main purpose is to increase the softness of the carpet underfoot and prolong the lifespan of your carpet, by preventing the carpet pile from flattening.
However, my main objection is that a soft bouncy wooden floor (even of the fake kind) just feels strange.
The 6 main reasons you should NOT use carpet underlay for laminate flooring.
- Carpet underlay can add up to 10mm extra height to your floor.
- Carpet underlay will decrease your laminate floorings lifespan by 30-40%.
- Carpet underlay will feel bouncy underfoot.
- Carpet underlay will increase movement, which can damage the click-lock system and lead to issues that may have otherwise not occurred.
- Installing the laminate is much more difficult on a bouncy surface than it would be otherwise.
- Any guarantee offered with your laminate flooring is likely to be null and void.
Choosing the rights underlay for your laminate flooring project.
A while ago a published an article on how to choose the right underlay for your laminate flooring project, you can read that here.
Check out our full guide on how to install laminate flooring.
