Hello All,
I am installing some Bamboo flooring (floating) as seen below and would like some guidance in choosing a good underlayment. It will be on a concrete slab.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Natural-Floors-by-USFloors-5-in-Dark-Java-Bamboo-Engineered-Hardwood-Flooring-14-85-sq-ft/50217945?AID=10935405&PID=6158626&SID=jgn12ydjej00zey500e43&cm_mmc=AFF_CJ-_-6158626-_-2470763-_-10935405


I was looking at Pergo Gold, Silent Stride by MPGlobal and Bellawood Premium Underlayment. All of those are a little pricey though but have a vapor barrier. However, the vapor barriers seem minimal (3mil) so I have decided to install a separate 6mil vapor barrier.

Anyhow, can you recommend anything as good or better than those but affordable?



This is what we desire:

* Most importantly we want a solid feel or stable flooring. We do not want a spongy feeling.

* I want something that will help with minor imperfections so I think 3mm would be best? I've leveled the flooring as best as possible (1/8-1/16 at 10ft) but there will still be some minor issues.

* Some underlayment's offer microbial protection so anything with extra benefits such as that would be nice.


God Bless,
Ralph

What about Eco Cork Foam underlayment for a bamboo floating floor? It reads up very well and has a 6mil vapor barrier!


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Eco-Cork-Fo ... /205791580


Ralph

With a flat floor the more dense underpayments work well and this one should help with sound. Some of the foam underpayments will flatten out where the sub-floor has a slight rise to help with making the flooring flat.

Will that work really, I do not think so..

We use foam a lot in our installs. Tend not to float over cork.

I can say for sure that foam is better for dealing with little highs and lows in the concrete, you can double up to fill low spots, or cut it back over the highs - of course, you want as flat a starting base as possible.

Rubber underlay is also good - I've used a lot of that in the past as well.

Hello All,

Thanks for the replies! After much research and feedback, I indeed went with the Eco Cork Foam Underlayment.

1) Eco Cork Foam is the only patented class 1 "combination" underlayment and comes with a full 6mil vapor barrier. All the other quality underlayments only offer a minimal vapor barrier and state an additional vapor barrier may need to be added for adequate protection. It is the only one that I read that specifically claims it is good for both above ground and below ground applications.

2) The Eco Cork has microbial protection. Some of the others do not claim such.

3) It offers equal or superior sound protection and R-value as compared to the others.

4) It is 1/8in thick so it can correct minor imperfections as well.

5) It is also quite a bit stronger than all the other underalyments that I looked at. I could easily tear some of those whereas it would take some serious effort to tear the Eco Cork. Consequently, I see it holding up well for many years.

6) The product is highly rated and I couldn't find any real negatives.

7) It offers a transferable warranty whereas many other top brands would not. To me, this is pretty significant because it shows confidence in a product or a lack thereof. In fact, they make the following claim

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Anyhow, Eco Cork had all the benefits the other quality underlayments offered and more. None of the others could lay claim to having all the same benefits. They also offer full specs and independent testing results. Again, many of the others made no such claims. I was really impressed with the features and confidence in the product that they exhibited. After getting the product in, I can confidently say it was the right choice for me.

God Bless,
Ralph