Browse Forums General Discussion 1 May 26, 2018 5:32 pm hi We are looking for flooring options for our attic bedroom and have narrowed down on a laminate flooring for its cost effectiveness. The laminate will be laid on yellow tongue boards and i am now looking to see what is the best underlay for this situation. Idea is to minimise footfall noise and vibrations etc across the room to the structure. Was initially thinking of regupol cork 5mm underlay but couple of flooring shops have recommended quiet step green combilay instead. They say the premium for regupol is not worth it as both achieve similar results. The green quietstep is only 2-3mm is not sure how much will it reduce vibration being transmitted. The regupol on the other hand emits "noxious chemicals and gases" as someone told us. Not sure how far it is true, but they would have been banned if that was the case. Looking for some advice on anyone experienced in either of these products. cheers Re: Quiet Step underlay or Regupol cork underlay 2May 26, 2018 9:19 pm I can't speak to the Quiet-Step, but the "Regupol emits noxious chemicals and gases" is rubbish. We've just finished our low-VOC build, and went with Regupol because it's a low-VOC green-building-compliant GECA-certified product. Sounds like somebody's telling porkies about at least one thing, and if they've been caught out on this, who knows how reliable or truthful their other advice is? That being said, the Quiet-Step is also a low-VOC product with a good reputation, especially for floating floors, and may be suitable for you. If you're only doing an attic bedroom (compared to, say, an upstairs living area) then a quick look at the specs suggests that it'll do the job well enough. Re: Quiet Step underlay or Regupol cork underlay 3May 26, 2018 9:35 pm From what I see, both products will be reducing impact noises in 25-30% range max (which is around 5-6 dB range) (I mainly used data from here: http://www.floormania.com.au/acoustic-u ... combi-lay/), with QuietStep providing 30% improvement when comparing to only 25% improvement from Regupol Cork (insignificant difference). I would suggest that suspended ceiling (on resilient soundproof clips/furring channels) will be by far the greatest differentiator when it gets to the acoustics (e.g. you can easily reduce impact noise by 15 dB+ or more than 65%). Alternatively, you can also consider using Green Glue product between OSB layers, this set up can also provide improvements of up 10 dB+ and higher (http://www.greengluecompany.com/test-da ... ts_tid=All). Also, if you are worried about off-gases, check your laminate flooring and OSB for formaldehyde first. Re: Quiet Step underlay or Regupol cork underlay 4May 31, 2018 11:04 pm thank you alex. The joists and particle boards have been laid already so may not be further flexibility to add anything more. I might just go with quiet step then considering difference not material. For a moment i though regupol or any cork+rubber underlay would reduce vibrations, but maybe i am mistaken. Re: Quiet Step underlay or Regupol cork underlay 5Dec 17, 2018 10:34 pm I have to decide what underlay to use under laminate flooring we plan to install in January. It is quite a task. We have a single level home and concrete foundation so no "downstairs" noise to worry about but I definitely want to eliminate hollow foot traffic and creaking noise sounds - this is my no 1 requirement. The best acoustic properties I have found are claimed by a 3mm "sound block" rubber foam underlay (15% natural rubber, 65% Calcium carbonate - I a bit difficult for me to understand this formulation), followed by "Quiet Step" a 2mm polyolefin foam. I am concerned about the service life of the rubber product since I know natural rubber has a relatively short work life, so I'm leaning towards the Quiet Step. I will be happy to hear any 'expert' opinions about what the best choice will be to eliminate hollow "drum sound". the step up is 30mm and wanting it to be flat . how much does the concrete have to be lowered .we plan on removing bath and lenghten shower and adding seat. the old bath… 0 11839 Do I need to concern about this pattern of crack? Is this crack showing some signs of bigger problems? Thanks for any suggestions! 1 1921 Take a pick with a level sittingo n the slab and a pick with a level sitting on the sill please. This will help us diagnose the issue and therefore a solution. RE,… 8 9407 |