Difference between Acoustic underlay and Carpet Underlay

Carpet underlay is mainly fitted underneath carpets as an extra layer for comfort, and more importantly carpet under;ay helps against wear and tear and thus giving longevity to your carpet. Although some carpet underlays do offer soundproofing preoperties like our kosikush supersoft carpet underlay, but they do not perform anywhere near as good as the Acoustic underlays, as they are designed specifically for soundproofing and carpet underlays are specifically designed for Carpets. The acoustic underlay is tested rigorously for soundproofing and the material used as well as the techniques used in making these are specific to Acoustic Underlay. Carpets are tested but not as rigorously as the Acoustic Underlays as the main function of the Carpet underlay is to provide for comfort and protect against wear and tear. Here at kosiproducts, we offer the best of both Carpet Underlay and Acoustic Underlay.

Kosikush Supersoft 10mm and 8mm Carpet Underlay

Carpet Underlays' like the Kosikush Supersoft underlay are thick, dense and spongy, their main purpose being to provide comfort, insulation and protection against wear and wear by preventing the pile from flattening overtime. They absorb shock and impacts and cushions your feet when you walk as it enables your carpet to retain is plush cushion feeling for a very long time.The thick dense material in the carpet underlay, prevents heat from escaping and thr dense material blocks the cold air. It is estimated that good carpet underlays can save you upto 15% in energy bills.

A good quality underlay can make even a budget carpet feel luxurious, soft and comfortable and this is due to the sponginess of the underlay material as well as the density and thickness, at kosiproducts we sell only the two most popular thicknesses in the market as they provide the most perfect feel. Good quality Carpet underlay will save you money in lower energy bills in the future. With climate change crisis on everyone's minds and the overwhelming and ever increasing costs in energy, it has never been more important to ensure that the right sort of insulation is provided for all over the house, and just like loft insulation, a quality carpet underlay will provide you with floor insulation, saving you money, contributing to improving climate and helping the planet.

Tog Rating is the universal standard by which to measure the warmth rating and it's thermal conductance. The tog value of a carpet underlay can range uotp 3.13 and it is considered that an ideal carpet underlay choice should have a tog rating of 2.5 and above. To give this some perspective the typical tog value of a shirt is 0.4 tog, going up to 0.6tog for a sweater and 3.0 tog for a ski outfit. Carpets typically clock in around 1.0 – 22.2 tog, with your summer duvet carrying a tog value of between 3.0 – 4.5 tog.

The Tog Value or the Carpet Underlays insulating properties takes two main factors into consideration, Firstly it considers the insulation material itself and secondly, how effective the carpet underlay is in trapping pockets of air in small bubbles. The better the trapping, the better the insulation

Although debateable, it helps to reduce the noise. Although not the purpose it is designed for, but due to the thickness and bubbles it has within the layer, the carpet underlay does act as a barrier to impact sound and for wood and laminate flooring can help to reduce noise by upto 30%. If your are living on the first or second floor of a building, then a good quality carpet underlya will make a huge impact on the quality if life of those living below you. The spongier and thicker your underlay is, the more effective it will be at reducing footfall noise.

Carpet Underlay undoubtedly improves the overall hygene of the area as it will act as a barrier to embedded dirt, it preserves the carpet pile making it easier to clean.

Kosikush Supersoft 10mm Carpet Underlay Specifications:

  • Thickness: 10mm AND 8mm (ISO 1765)
  • Roll Width: 1.37m
  • Roll Length: 11m
  • Thermal Resistance: 2.40tog
  • Impact Sound Reduction: 38db (BSEN ISO 140-8: 1998 and BSEN ISO 717-2: 1997)
  • Density: 80kg/m3
  • Weight: 12.90kilo per 15m2.
  • BS 5808: 1991 / BS EN 14499: 2015: GDU, General Domestic Use

Kosikush Acoustic Laminate and Wood Flooring Underlay

Acoustic underlay is specifically designed to reduce both Airborne Noise and Impact Noise when we use laminate flooring for our floors. The growth of installing laminate and wood flooring has increased tremendously over the past couple of decaded. Many peeople want to replace their carpets with decorative timber or laminate flooring. Laminate wood flooring and hard wood is modern, durable, lasts much longer than carpets, easy to clean, looks amazing, easy to clean, availability of natural wood colours, scratch and water resistant. However, they are prone to both Airborne and Imapct noise, and the world can become a noisy place in your own home and a concern for your neighbours, and a good acoustic laminate floor underlay can reduce the noise levels by upto 30%-50% dependent on what type of Acoustic Laminate Underlay you use.

Airborne noise is transmitted through the air and atmosphere and experienced through the likes of people talking, TV noise, dogs barking etc. When sound waves travel through the air and reach a building element they hit it and cause it to vibrate. These vibrations travel through the structure or building and are radiated out the other side albeit at a reduced volume.

Impact noise is the physical impact on buildings or solid materials. Examples being footfall, doorsbanging, walking and furniture moving. Impact sound occurs because the impact causes both sides of the building element to vibrate, generating sound waves. This can often be the hardest to isolate as impact vibrations are stronger and travel further through dense materials.

The simplest test for walls is to put your hand on the wall and if you can feel a vibration, then it's impact noise. If you can't feel a vibration but can still hear the noise, then it's airborne noise.
For ceilings you can normally tell by the type of noise such as foot steps, furniture being moved etc, which is impact noise. Music, TV's and people talking is airborne noise. In this article, we will not go into the science of how sound travels, but understanding the difference between the two types of noise is important.

Kosikush Acoustic Underlays are designed to give you the reduction in both airborne and impact noise. When choosing an Acoustic Underlay for your Laminate flooring, the most common number you will come across is the 'Delta Lw', or 'dB', or'Decibals'. What on earth does this mean?, putting it simply the dB is the amount of noise the Underlay is likely to reduce. It is not an exact measure, as other elements are taken into account, but an overall guide. So for example, if the guys downstairs are sending out 100 dB of airborne noise, then an acoustic underlay with a value of 20 dB, will likely reduce the noise down to 80 dB. Obviously houses and aprtments already have sound insulations installed into the walls and ceilings (a building regulation requirement where Airborne Noise Insulation required is around 45 dB, and Impact Noise Insulation required is 64 dB), so taking these insulations into as well, then the overall airborne sound you would be receiving will be 100dB-20dB-45dB = 45dB, this just an example for simplicity.

So as a general rule, the higher the dB the better the sound properties of the acoustic underlay for your laminate flooring, however, there are other factors to bear in mind when making this decision, for example, some acoustic underlays may be good for sound but not good for levelling your flooring.

Kosiproducts offer a variety of acoustic underlaying for laminate and hard wood flooring and our range is increasing as we go along.

The kosikush 2mm Acoustic underlay is Ideal if the noise reduction required is not a great deal, it is ideal if your issue is more of a levelling of the floor requirement and a smaller level of noise reduction. Why spend more when this will do the necessary job that you require. The 2mm White comfort is commonly used when laying laminate flooring in households and apartments where noise is not a MAJOR issue only a minor one, instead the issue is more of getting the levelling of the floor accurate and providing extra comfort and insulation. This is even more ideal if you have underfloor heating system, with the underfloor heating systems, the higher the tog rating, the less heat you will get through, and the lower the tog rating the higher the amount of heat that will be passed through the under.

Specifications:

  • Thickness: 2mm
  • 1 Meter Width
  • Available by the Meter as well
  • Full Roll Size: 15m²
  • Tog Rating: 0.3 tog
  • Sound Reduction: 12dB approx

The kosikush 3mm Silver Comfort Acoustic underlay this is ideal if you have underfloor heating system, the underfloor heating systems, the higher the tog rating, the less heat you will get through, and the lower the tog rating the higher the amount of heat that will be passed through the under. Insulates & protects laminate and hardwood floors, and work alongside underfloor heating solutions. Produced using CFC and HCFC closed cell polyethene foam with an integrated silver foil barrier featuring 200mm joint overlap approx

Specifications:

  • Thickness: 3mm
  • Full Roll Size: 15m²
  • Available by the Meter as well
  • very low thermal resistance so is ideal for use for Underfloor Heating systems, Produced using CFC and HCFC closed cell polyethene foam
  • Integral Silver Foil Vapour Barrier with a 200mm joint overlap to ensure a secure sealing between joins (when using Vapour Tape).
  • Integrated DPM (Damp Proof Membrane) overlap
  • Tog Rated: 0.5 approx.
  • Impact Sound Reduction: 18dB approx

The kosikush 5mm Sonic Gold Acoustic underlay This is ideal if you have underfloor heating system, the underfloor heating systems, the higher the tog rating, the less heat you will get through, and the lower the tog rating the higher the amount of heat that will be passed through the under. Comes with a damp proof gold foil membrane to give moisture barrier lock and also helps improve heat insulation by reflecting heat back in.

Specifications:

  • 1 Meter Width
  • Full Roll Size: 15m²
  • Sonic Gold 5mm thickness
  • Available by the Meter as well
  • very low thermal resistance so is ideal for use with Underfloor Heating systems
  • Integral Gold Foil Vapour Barrier with a 170mm joint overlap to ensure a secure sealing between joins (when using Vapour Tape).
  • Integrated DPM (Damp Proof Membrane) overlap
  • Sound Reduction rating of 22Db-24Db
  • 0.9 TOG rating approx..

The kosikush 6mm Supreme Sonic Acoustic underla is an improved version of the 5mm Sonic Gold underlay. Its perhaps the best underlay for wood or laminate flooring which comes with a damp proof gold foil membrane to give moisture barrier lock and also helps improve heat insulation by reflecting heat back in.6mm Supreme Gold underlay has also increased thermal properties because of its gold foil and also enhance thickness and density of 6mm.

Further thickness of 6mm Gold underlay also helps even out minor floor imperfections. This is ideal if you have underfloor heating system, the underfloor heating systems, the higher the tog rating, the less heat you will get through, and the lower the tog rating the higher the amount of heat that will be passed through the under.

Specifications:

  • Roll Size: 15m2 (1m x 15m)
  • 1 Meter Width
  • very low thermal resistance so is ideal for use with Underfloor Heating systems
  • Integral Gold Foil Vapour Barrier with a 170mm joint overlap to ensure a secure sealing between joins (when using Vapour Tape).
  • Integrated DPM (Damp Proof Membrane) overlap
  • Thickness: Sonic Gold 6mm
  • Tog Rated: 0.9 approx.
  • Impact Sound Reduction: 24dB - 26dB approx

This underlay can be used in any room where laminate or wood flooring is being fitted. The Sonic Gold is an excellent choice for your laminate or wood underlayment for many reasons. As well as being thick and warm, it is also lightweight and easy to handle. This makes it much easier to fit in your home. The thickness also provides cushioning for your flooring. This provides not only comfort, but excellent shock absorption to protect your floor. This combination of warmth, noise reduction and moisture protection makes it a fantastic product for your laminate or wood flooring.
This laminate underlayment comes with a built-in plastic vapour barrier. This means that it will protect against moisture up to 75% relative humidity. This is perfect for areas such as the kitchen or conservatory that tend to get the most moisture in the house.