Soundproof mats create invisible silence

Not everyone realizes that the sounds produced when walking on the floor can be disruptive not only for neighbors one floor below but also for the room's occupants themselves. As explained by the expert from Kratochvíl parket profi (KPP), Milan Mrkáček, there is unfortunately no general advice, such as that glued flooring is quieter, since the noise level of the floor is influenced by numerous factors. Perhaps only one recommendation, if you want to have a quiet home in the true sense of the word – do not underestimate the choice of soundproof underlayment for your flooring. Although you won't see it (unlike the surface decor of the flooring), you will hear the silence.

Vinyl flooring Wineo 400 - Joy Oak Tender decor

“I would split the topic of flooring noise into two parts. The first is the noise that travels from the flooring into the building's structure, mainly affecting the neighbors below, and the second is the noise of the flooring within the interior itself,” says Milan Mrkáček, the regional sales manager at KPP, a manufacturer and importer of various types and brands of flooring. “The so-called noise reduction, or sound insulation, is influenced by many factors, primarily the flooring itself, the construction of the flooring, the way it is installed, adherence to the technological conditions of installation, and also adherence to the technological procedures when preparing the subfloor for installation. You may have a relatively quiet flooring, such as glued vinyl, but if the underlayment under the flooring, for example, self-leveling compound, is not done correctly, noise can still transfer within the building's structure. A lot of factors do indeed influence noise levels.”

Noise levels are therefore significantly affected by non-compliance with installation technology. “It is a relatively common problem that we discover violations of the installation technology not only of the flooring but also of the preparation of the subfloor. When you lay a floating laminate floor on uneven subflooring, you increase its noise level, and the flooring rattles when stepped on. Or if the leveling compound is not separated from the walls by a joint, it transmits vibrations into the walls and into the vertical structures,” lists possible issues Milan Mrkáček from KPP.

Glued flooring for the neighbors, floating for quiet at home?

In general, it can be said that the softer the flooring, the less sound it transmits. In this regard, carpets lead the way, and among the so-called smooth floorings, vinyl is quieter, followed by wood and laminates, and when it comes to SPC, the answer is not straightforward – there are SPC floorings where aggregate forms the entire structure, and then there are hybrid SPCs, which may only have an aggregate core and a vinyl surface or bottom layer. These hybrid SPCs are quieter than pure SPCs.

From the perspective of flooring installation, one slight simplification can be allowed: glued flooring is more considerate to neighbors, while floating flooring considers acoustic comfort at home. “It is indeed a very simplified statement because there are many other factors independent of the flooring itself. For example, the soundproofing of the building, the materials used in construction...” Milan Mrkáček from KPP clarifies and explains: “With glued flooring, we achieve better acoustic values in our interior, but there will be greater transmission of sound waves into the building's structure because the glued flooring is firmly attached to the subfloor. Sound waves created by vibrations (e.g., the falling of an object) transfer to the structure thanks to direct contact with the subfloor, which then serves as a transmission medium, making the flooring potentially noisier for people occupying the room below the flooring. If we take floating installation, the flooring will be somewhat noisier in the room it is installed in, but with the use of quality soundproof underlays, noise will not spread to other areas, reducing the risk of vibrations transferring to other parts of the building.”

You don't see the underlay, but it ensures silence

Manufacturers have recently been focusing significantly on soundproof underlays, continuously coming up with new ideas. “This applies, for example, to the WINEO 400 collection of fully glued vinyl planks, for which we have a special soundproof underlay called Silent Premium. To explain, the standard way of laying the planks is for the flooring installer to apply glue to the subfloor and insert the planks into the glue. The system for the WINEO 400 collection is different – the installer does not use glue at all, but only places the underlay loosely on the subfloor, which has a film on top, under which there is an adhesive layer. The film is removed just before laying the flooring, and the planks are applied directly to the adhesive layer of the underlay. After rolling and drying, the planks hold directly onto the underlay. This solution significantly increases the acoustic comfort of the flooring,” continues Milan Mrkáček from KPP and adds specific details: The impact sound reduction level with the Silent Premium underlay is up to 15 dB; without the underlay, this value for the WINEO 400 vinyl floor for full glue application is about 4 dB.

Air can cause noise

Similarly, vinyl or SPC flooring from the KPP HOME collection, Kährs WOOD DESIGN, Kährs STONE DESIGN, and others can be installed. Some of them have a soundproof underlay integrated directly from production. “Integrated underlays significantly help reduce the noise of the flooring. If you take one type of underlay and place it loosely under the flooring and compare it to the same underlay integrated into the floor, the flooring will already be slightly quieter just because of the integration, as it eliminates air gaps. And since air is a medium that transmits sound, having the underlay integrated makes the flooring always quieter,” explains the expert from KPP and reiterates that underlays really have a significant influence on the noise level of the flooring.

“The underlay is something I would definitely not skimp on as a user. Because we purchase flooring for decades, and the underlay should last the entire lifespan of the flooring. There are numerous types of underlays on the market, with a vast price range, and there are significant differences between them,” warns Milan Mrkáček from KPP. The quality of soundproof underlays depends on the composition and raw materials from which they are made. For instance, Silent Premium Wineo underlays or underlays from the manufacturer Desono are made from high-quality bio polyurethanes. You can already feel by touch whether it is just a soft foam that will compress under the flooring and become almost unrecognizable in two or three years, or if you are holding a chunk of substantial underlay. The technical data sheet usually indicates only the noise reduction of the underlay at the start of its lifespan. And it is certainly not true that the thicker the underlay, the better, or that two underlays will result in a quieter floor. On the contrary, layering underlays can lead to damage to the flooring. So how can customers identify quality material? “They should rely on the advice of a professional in the flooring center and also touch the underlay themselves and, based on their life experiences, assess which one looks like it will last for many years and which does not seem so from the beginning,” adds Milan Mrkáček from Kratochvíl parket profi.