What thickness underlay

emmielou

Hi,

I am looking to purchase underlay online as it is so much cheaper than from the carpet shops:eek:!

My questions is, what thickness to buy? I am looking at the pu type and it is for the lounge, hallway and stairs.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!:beer:

Emmielou

emmielou

No-one that can help?

I would really appreciate the advice as this is my first carpet purchase and I was shocked at how much it cost!

x

Mojisola

Do these help? - https://www.discounted-carpet-underlay.co.uk/faqs_carpet_underlay.html
and https://www.tradepriced.co.uk/pu_carpet_underlay_info.html

It looks as if pu rebond underlay only comes in two weights so there's not a lot of choice.

firesidemaid

search on this forum for other threads on carpet also.

when i got my first carpets i had underlay with everything - now i don't bother at all x

morg_monster

We had 11mm PU under our 50oz carpet and it feels amazing! but most of our doors don't really have enough clearance over this thickness, so we have had to do a bit of DIY to sort this out. TBH I would have had 8mm but the fitter offered to fit 11mm for the same price. it does feel lovely!

TomsMom

Our carpet fitters over the years have always recommended 9mm and they have been very good. We recently had a house carpetted and used Cloud 9 Cirrus. 11mm sounds more luxurious but our fitter said it's too thick for the gripper to grip carpet properly over the top of 11mm stuff.

If you do some googling you can get Cloud 9 at under £3 per sq.m. Try and buy by the 15 sq.m. roll for the best price. A quick google just found it for £31.62 + VAT for a 15 sq.m. roll.

tomfun

Have a look on ebay, you will find much cheaper 9mm underlay with the same feel as cloud 9 .

We have cloud 9 in 9mm downstairs and a cheaper 9mm from ebay in the loft and there is no difference .

The thicker the underlay the more luxurious your carpet will feel

suisidevw

Yup, 9mm cloud 9 underlay over here too. Top top stuff. 11mm too thick IMO.

morg_monster

Re the grippers not gripping 11mm properly, I would ask your fitter - I did and ours said that "it's not a problem for experienced fitters.". Our carpets are very firmly gripped! Since he was charging the same good price for the thinner stuff as 11mm i would tend to believe him - but at the end of the day if you decide you want 11mm and your fitter doesn't seem confident about using it I would stick with the thinner stuff (or get another fitter).
Anyway I agree with the others that 11mm is really an unnecessary luxury!

Red_Cat

We have 9mm allround and it is pretty good stuff. It feels fine underfoot.

underlay_guru

Hi there,

Everyone seems to be offering advice on which thickness of PU underlay to choose, which is a consideration in the comfort of the product, but most do not seem to be aware that the density of the sponge in the underlay plays a more integral part in both the comfort and the lastability of the underlay. The underlay should not only provide comfort underfoot: it should also support the backing of the carpet. Without this support, the appearance of the carpet is affected.

In my humble opinion:

- Yes, go for a PU sponge underlay between 9 & 11mm thick. Any product 8mm thick or below should really be avoided, as it doesn't really create any extra luxury or bounce underfoot. Also be aware that if you have selected a saxony-type carpet you should avoid anything over 10mm thick (The extreme thickness of the product twinned with the carpet can cause fitting issues).

- Secondly (and in my opinion is more important than the thickness factor) ask the seller of the density of the product,which is measured in kg's of sponge per cubic metre of product. In a domestic environment, a density between 80-105 kg/3 is ideal, however, although a product below 80kg/3 will feel very soft for a short period of time, it does not offer any support underneath the carpet and should be avoided. A low density PU underlay is a primary cause of premature flattening/wear in carpets because the underlay does not offer any support to the backing of the carpet.

...Online retailers however, do not appear to publish the densities of their products, so it would be wise to ask them. You can lay a really thick underlay, but if the product has a low density to it, it will be flat extremely quickly (a 70kg/3 product for example would fail to retain 50% of its original thickness after just 12 months of normal domestic use).

- Thirdly, ask if the product is a recognised brandname, and where it is manufactured. There are loads of budgety and unbranded underlays being imported from China at the moment, and most of it is substandard, inconsitent in its quality, and have questions about whether they have passed British Standards. In my opinion avoid any underlays which are sold as 'unbranded' or 'Our own label', as these are very likely to be low density, low quality products manufactured in China! Stick to these recognised UK brands: Cloud 9, Step from Carpenters, Tredaire, Hyper from Floorwise.