Underlay for carpet Rubber or Polypropylene?

jaxxy00 · 5 September 2007 at 9:47PM

After having rewiring done and now having to decorate we have lifted our hall, stairs and landing carpet so we can decorate (same carpet going back down) but have found the underlay needs replacing in the hall.

The reason it doesnt need replacing on the stairs and landing is because its a different underlay to the hall, which is still bouncy even though its been down 14 years (very good stuff). The piece in the hall got replaced when we were flooded back in 2000 and that particular underlay is really rubbish. Its hard and has no bounce.

Anyway, what im wondering is wether to get a piece of Duralay Supreme 100 (which ive figured from the markings thats what we have and still has bounce although wearing a bit thin on the step edges) for the hall and leave the rest down, or wether to replace all of it for the sake of the actual stairs and a piece about 6 feet x 3 foot on the landing. As we dont decorate often, only when needed, instead of like some who just fancy a change, it may be a good idea to replace it all now while the carpet is up.

The main thing im wondering is wether to get the rubber waffle type as we have already or some new type stuff (new to me anyway) called Tredaire Dreamwalk Luxury which is a compressed rubber bits type stuff, described as PU/APT rebond. Has anyone has the waffle rubber type then changed over to this other sort and if so what do you think to it?

xlt_hunter · 4 October 2007 at 2:56PM

I am going to bump this post as I am now looking to do this

I have had the rubber waffle stuff down and after a leak in the house the carpets will need to be replaced. This time I can afford to have "extra" luxury of having a underlay down in the rooms that the leak caused the damage.

Now in the main living room I had the rubber waffle and to be honest it was cheap and its was in a nice way c**p stuff. This was ripped up when a new floor went in.

Trying not to make the same mistake again, anyone know what APT Underlay is like compared to rubber waffle?

startrekker · 4 October 2007 at 4:23PM

Hi both, I sell underlay every day and can highly reccomend Duralays Treadmore see details HERE. Its a crushed crumb rubber underlay and not a nasty waffle underlay where most of the product is air. Guaranteed for 25 years..

Cloud 9 is a good underlay as well, nice and supportive of carpets and its extremely light weight..... Our fitters dont like using it so they have to lug around the very heavy bags of Treadmore

safesound · 4 October 2007 at 7:55PM

I've just had my carpets changed downstairs and my carpet fitter said that the solid (crumb) underlay was better. I wanted the waffle type but he talked me into have the solid type. Now its been down for a week or two and to be honest I'm sorry I didn't just trust my own intuition. Okay so its probably going to last longer than the waffle, years longer in fact but it doesn't have anywhere near the "bounce" and its very flat when I walk on it. I suppose it depends what you want. If you don't mind not have that lovely newly laid carpet bounce and want durability, then go for the crumb. If however you want to feel you've paid for something comfortable and luxurious then go with the waffle.

djohn2002uk · 4 October 2007 at 10:21PM

Go here http://www.tradepriced.co.uk/tredaire_carpet_underlay.html
and get the Tredaire Red. It's the same as we've had in our lounge for over 25yrs and it's just had it's 3rd carpet put on top and still as good as new.

alanobrien · 5 October 2007 at 10:02AM

Polypropylene every time. Rubber will perish and crumble in time..........sometimes way to quickly in heavy traffic areas.

ritesh · 5 October 2007 at 10:15AM

We too are in the process of having a new carpet fitted. We were going to use the duraly waffle (the good stuff, which you can buy at a fraction of the cost over the internet rather than Carpetright or Allied etc) but after doing a lot of research have decided to go for cloud 9 underlay 11mm thick.

Waffle rubber is good but as previous post mentioned this perishes over time. Also, where you have constant weight on the waffle underlay, from beds sofas etc, then the waffle in the underlay looses the air and becomes....useless.

Canucklehead · 5 October 2007 at 10:29AM

ritesh wrote: »

We too are in the process of having a new carpet fitted. We were going to use the duraly waffle (the good stuff, which you can buy at a fraction of the cost over the internet rather than Carpetright or Allied etc) but after doing a lot of research have decided to go for cloud 9 underlay 11mm thick.

Waffle rubber is good but as previous post mentioned this perishes over time. Also, where you have constant weight on the waffle underlay, from beds sofas etc, then the waffle in the underlay looses the air and becomes....useless.

Good morning: We used Cloud 9 on our last project...excellent product purchased online and delivered the next day at a very competitive price.

HTH

Canucklehead

djohn2002uk · 5 October 2007 at 3:10PM

ritesh wrote: »

Waffle rubber is good but as previous post mentioned this perishes over time. Also, where you have constant weight on the waffle underlay, from beds sofas etc, then the waffle in the underlay looses the air and becomes....useless.

Nonsense, have you not read my post above. Always had 3 seater and 2 seater settee and a chair, and in over 25 yrs, Tredaire hasn't perished and no crushing from the weight of the furniture.
Tredaire is now guaranteed for the life of the carpet and they wouldn't do that if they didn't think it would "outlast" the best of carpets.

watchitm80 · 27 November 2007 at 12:19PM

I just thought I'd add my tuppenceworth. I have to agree with djohn. Tredaire Red is the Mutt's Nuts, Dog's DooDahs and Hound's Rounds all rolled into one. I'm very pleased with mine.

davidscottishpainter19 · 30 June 2008 at 9:09PM

The rubber crumb underlay is particularly used for comercial installations, as it is very tough and dense, and is particularly good at offering higher db resistance (decibels). But for the domestic application I would advise the more bouncy and comfortable waffle or APT. The rubber crumb type is like walking on a concrete surface.

There are two main types of domestic underlay; "Waffle Sponge" (the old fashioned bubble looking stuff) and "Sponge" underlay (APT), both have similar technical; specifications and performance gradings. Sponge (APT) underlay measured in mm is becoming more popular. Waffle underlay is measured in lb's. The higher the mm or lb's the better quality the underlay. As a recommendation, your better not to go below 8 mm or 85 lb. Its false economy because the underfoot comfort is reduced, the heat insulation, the longevity and the sound reduction is greatly reduced all for a short term small saving.

Don't go by the A1 or 5 star ratings (made up), go by the technical specs (lb's or mm). also as a comparative tool check how much underlay there is in a bag. 15 Sq metres is the most common, but some retailers sell underlay rolls with 9 square metres to a bag.

also if going for sponge (APT) underlay, its best to go for no more than 9mm. Many stores sell 11mm but this is higher than the pins on the gripper rods, reducing the ability to gain a good stretch on fitting the carpet. 9 mm has all the best performance specifications, while making it perfect for stretch fits.

Underlay types

Underlay for carpet Rubber or Polypropylene?

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free