What Are the Different Types of Carpet Underlay?

What Are the Different Types of Carpet Underlay?

Overlooked and underappreciated, underlay is often dismissed as an afterthought, yet it’s the silent hero of any flooring design. In this guide, we’ll explore the different types of underlay for carpet and explain where and how they work best. Read on to discover the perfect option for your interior based on budget, comfort and durability.

What Is Carpet Underlay and Why Is It Important?

Does carpet underlay make a difference? Absolutely. Underlay is the invisible component that quite literally elevates your flooring. It adds softness, thickness, comfort, insulation and improves your carpet’s noise reduction qualities.

Why Underlay Matters

Underlay is great news for carpets. It’s designed primarily to add comfort underfoot, but underlay’s benefits go way beyond that and its materials actually work with your carpet to improve thermal and acoustic insulation levels in your room. Underlay improves your carpet’s wear resistance and even extends its lifespan.

What Are The Different Types of Carpet Underlay?

Underlay is commonly made from foam, rubber, felt or a combination of felt and rubber. At QA Flooring Solutions, we group our large range of carpet underlay types by need. Think about the amount of floor traffic in your room, and whether cushioning, wear and tear or sound reduction is most important in the space. We now offer a new 100% plant based underlay for those looking for an eco-friendly flooring solution – let’s examine our full offering below.

FloorSure Carpet Underlay

Designed for light traffic areas, FloorSure is light in weight yet offers heavy-duty cushioning for warm, comfortable softness underfoot. Choose from Silver, Gold and Platinum for this superior underlay that also helps with sound reduction and provides quality thermal insulation. 

SkyWalk Carpet Underlay

SkyWalk Silver and Gold carpet underlay is the high-performance choice for comfort and durability. It’s a heavy duty underlay made to handle high traffic hallways and stairs that supports your carpet to look great for longer. SkyWalk offers superb acoustic insulation and is popular for sound reduction.

Naturlay Carpet Underlay 

Made from natural cotton and fully recyclable. Vegan friendly and 100% plant based, this beautifully soft, comfortable underlay has strong eco-credientials plus the strength to withstand heavy foot traffic. 

SpringBack Carpet Underlay

Made from premium polyurethane foam, SpringBack – available in Gold and Silver – does exactly what its name suggests and bounces back into shape effortlessly. It’s a hardwearing carpet underlay designed for medium traffic that offers firmness together with spring-cushioned softness.

HeatWave Carpet Underlay 

The clue’s in the name and heavy traffic HeatWave keeps your room wonderfully cosy thanks to its thermal insulation qualities. With a tog value of just 0.96, this underlay’s superpower is working perfectly with underfloor heating. Its flame retardant properties provide additional peace of mind.

CombiFelt Carpet Underlay

CombiFelt is a dense underlay made from rubber and felt that’s known for its incredible durability and sound insulation. Its sturdy felt and rubber blend makes it extra tough and perfect for heavy traffic interiors, while its depth and cushioning add real plushness underfoot – a luxury feel that’s often used underneath Axminister and twist pile carpets.

PowerWalk Carpet Underlay

Available in Silver and Gold, high-performing PowerWalk is one of the best carpet underlays around. Its extra high-density polyethylene foam makes it super hard wearing and it provides exceptional stability, stopping carpets from moving and extending their lifespan. It’s ideal for commercial or heavy-use environments. 

Pure Carpet Underlay

Pure Super High Density and Ultra High Density is a robust collection of premium underlays that perform brilliantly in heavy traffic areas. The range’s soft polyurethane foam is hand sorted to pick out any unwanted lumps and provide a luxurious cushioned feel underfoot, while also helping with sound reduction.

QBond 65 Carpet Underlay

This commercial-grade carpet underlay is made from rubber crumb and has adhesive qualities that are useful for double stick installations. Its stability, hard wearing durability and high performance make it an ideal choice for heavy traffic, commercial locations like hotels, schools and offices.

How to Choose the Best Carpet Underlay for Your Space

With so many options to choose from, and so many needs to think about, picking the right underlay can feel like a daunting task. However, your main consideration should always be the room that your underlay will occupy – is it in an area with heavy, medium or light traffic? Once that’s been established, you can shop around according to your comfort preferences, subfloor build-up and budget. 

Why Choose QA Flooring Solutions?

Our extensive range of underlay options, not to mention our UK production, high product quality and sustainability credentials is what sets QA Flooring Solutions apart. If you’re unsure about the right underlay for your space, try using our online Traffilay System – here we’ve distilled our industry knowhow into one helpful tool. Simply pick out the underlay benefits most relevant to you and our tool will suggest the best options. Alternatively, give our Customer Service Team a call on 0151 495 3434 for some trusted, expert advice.