Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering 1 May 24, 2010 7:21 am Howdy I am just pricing laminates and looking around, i like em ..... but i dont like the sound when i walk on them , sounds like i am walking on a piece of foam , very tinnie if that makes sense. I seen the underlay , the foam type , which I dont like , but there is also a plastic .2mm underlay , anybody used that ? Maybe i can use a sealant on the concrete and ditch the plastic lay down stuff altogether? thanks Noremac Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 3May 24, 2010 4:09 pm I too would be interested, for all you people who have used laminate, are you happy with them - what have you used as underlay? does it still sound "tinny"? I have just seem some laminate at Bunnings which is 12mm thick, do you think this would sound better? Also can anyone let me know of any good laminate showrooms to check out in Melbourne area? Many thanks Site Start: 10th September, 2010 PCI : Friday 27th January, 2011. Handover: 3rd February, 2011 Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37677 Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 4May 24, 2010 4:38 pm Quote: 1. Use real wood. 2. Directly glue it. Unfortunately, this is about your only answer. Laminate will sound "tinny" because it's not wood, it's plastic. It won't matter how thick it is, it will still sound like you are walking on plastic. Engineered timber has become popular because it's only 15mm, and is real timber, and when laid directly on a concrete slab it sounds as though you are walking on a timber floor. Blog is now up - http://www.jbdave.blogspot.com/ Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 5May 24, 2010 5:32 pm As I understand it, laminates contain mostly wood the bulk of the plank is MDF/HDF, the decorative printed layer and protective top layer are only a few mm thick. I have had laminate installed recently through most of my house on a 2mm foam underlay - the drumminess is there but having furniture and other solid objects in the room cuts down a lot of the noise. I don't find it too bad, but I know that it is considered one of the drawbacks of laminate. Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 6May 24, 2010 5:55 pm Quote: As I understand it, laminates contain mostly wood the bulk of the plank is MDF/HDF, the decorative printed layer and protective top layer are only a few mm thick. You are correct. But that top few mm is the drawback when compared to other timber floors (even though engineered timber is only about 6mm thick of real timber). Blog is now up - http://www.jbdave.blogspot.com/ Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 8May 27, 2010 6:29 pm There is no plastic in laminate flooring champ. The surface coating is generally 45 grams per square metre of resin impregnated aluminium oxide fused to a decor paper. No plastic in sight. In actual fact, if it was indeed PVC then it would be significantly quieter than both laminate OR timber! Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 10May 27, 2010 10:16 pm I'll try to answer everyone at once, so here goes: Karndean is a vinyl flooring supplier, so it is quiet, especially as it is glued directly to the floor. There are a number of suppliers in this market including Amtico (usually a better wear layer for the same $) and Allure (better again, as it is quiet but no gluing down required). As for the laminates. I have a 12.3mm laminate on my floor and have no problems with it. I don't find the tinny sound, but if you are concerned about it, buy HDF board product (ask the retailer, if they don't know, don't buy it) and go for 12mm. The thicker the laminate, the better the sound will be. If you are still concerned, get an acoustic underlay (again ask for it) which will help reduce the sound even more. The advantages of laminate for me are the indentation resistance (due to it being a compressed product) and scratch resistance (aluminium oxide coating as per Anthony's response) over timber flooring (and I've had both). If you have dogs/ children the laminate will serve you better if scratches or indentations are our concern Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 11May 27, 2010 10:25 pm I've heard that the acoustic underlay is only really applicable to sound transmission between floors, so is only applicable for two story houses? Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 12May 31, 2010 4:39 pm I had Parador 1040 laminate installed last week with acoustic underlay. Flooring installer advised it makes a huge difference to the sound of the flooring. Having walked on it for a couple of days I have to agree, there is none of the hollow druminess sound normally associated with laminate. Our electrician on Saturday actually asked what type of wood the flooring was!...so it not only looks real but also sounds real. We are very happy with the result. Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 13Jun 01, 2010 3:18 pm I also have been advised that the acoustic underlay is only good for inbetween floors so the second story noise doesnt go downstairs, was told that on concrete slab single story not to waste my money - who's right?????? as I would like to use it, thinking it would reduce the tinny sound, was quoted around and extra $5 per metre for sound underlay over normal, so dont want to spend the money if not useful. Site Start: 10th September, 2010 PCI : Friday 27th January, 2011. Handover: 3rd February, 2011 Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37677 Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 14Jun 01, 2010 6:14 pm The information below was on the acoustic underlay brochure I have. Seems to be no doubt they are saying it can reduce flooring noise in the rooms the flooring is laid, which has certainly been my experience. LAMINATE/WOODFLOOR UNDERLAY This is a superb, heavy duty, heavy weight, acoustic underlay designed specifically to reduce the transfer of impact noise (walking/footfall) through floating laminate, engineered wood and solid timber floors. It also has an excellent Sone rating which means it also damps and reduces the amount of reflected walking around noise being thrown back into the room. The main problem with wooden/laminate floors is that when you walk on them much more impact as well as airborne noise is produced (due to the hard surface) and this can often be a nuisance to the people living below as well as inside the room where the flooring is laid. Re: laminate flooring , how do I get the sound of real wood 15Jun 01, 2010 9:51 pm Thank you skyblue Site Start: 10th September, 2010 PCI : Friday 27th January, 2011. Handover: 3rd February, 2011 Build Thread: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37677 Just about completed a renovation project and hit a small issue that we didn’t see We have laminate floors now where we had tiles before (turned out it was actually 2… 0 3771 Hi We have a road close to our place and only an old flimsy wooden fence between us and the Neighbour closest to the road. Any ideas on a sound proof modular fence. Like… 0 5684 Grate, thank you! RexChan if thats the reason i could sleep well without thinking about additional cost. 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