The benefits of using felt underlays
May 06,2021 Diamond Carpet
A good carpet underlay can prolong the life of a carpet so the choice of what type of underlay to use for the home or commercial environments can be a critically important decision.
As choosing a poor underlay detracts measurably from the life of a carpet. Investing in a higher quality underlay is the most cost-effective way of upgrading a carpet installation.
It’s usually better to spend an additional £2 per meter on underlay, than to upgrade the carpet by the same amount. The improved underlay will provide greater support for the carpet, and thus greater wear ability. It will also give a feeling underfoot of greater quality.
An inexpensive carpet with high quality underlay may well feel better than a high-quality carpet with cheap underlay. In recent years PU underlays, have begun to dominate the market because the rolls are light and the Polyurethane Foam used is very easy to cut.
Carpet fitters tend to influence the market when it comes to underlay as PU foam is light and easy to cut, but by doing this they take away the benefits of using felt from the end-user, not to mention the carpet industry.
Replacing carpets in commercial properties can lead to downtime and ultimately loss of trade so making the right choice now can have future benefits in the future.
Combination underlays are easy to cut with a Stanley Knife and they don’t roll back on themselves like cheaper PU alternatives which helps reduce the fitting time which is a benefit on a commercial installation.
A considerable amount of combination underlay is used in commercial applications, hotels, bars, cinemas and restaurants; however, it’s increasingly being specified in domestic builds where the demand for quality and function is a priority.
Carpets are installed on various underlays and while we know that in most cases an acceptable performance of carpet and underlay may be achieved, careful choice of underlay can enhance the performance of the carpet.
We acknowledge there’s a balance to be achieved between providing the right underfoot comfort and the right support to the carpet, and from our experience and evaluation of various underlays we would make the following points:
Higher density underlays
These give added protection to the carpet against the hard subfloor during normal walking. Indentations from furniture will be less severe where the carpet is fitted on a firm underlay. Firmer underlays will prevent excessive vertical movement and stretching of the carpet in use and will therefore help prevent rucking problems.
Softer foam underlays
Soft, low-density PE and PU foam underlays don’t give adequate support in heavy wear areas as the carpet pile is effectively squashed against the subfloor, increasing wear and appearance changes.
A softer product will collapse under the pressure and allow the carpet backing to be distorted, preventing good recovery and making indentations more severe.
Thicker, softer products have been seen to create dimensional stability problems in some installations where the carpet has stretched owing to the excessive vertical movement as the underlay is compressed during normal use.
This can cause problems on seams and ultimately lead to damage and early replacement of the carpet being required.
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