Laminate flooring without pad?

Sep 06, 2010 4 Replies

I picked up a rooms-worth of laminate flooring for $15. But the pad for it comes in rolls just too short, so It'll cost me $50 just for the pad.



It's a junk room with almost no traffic. Aside from the noise when you walk on it, are there any reasons I shouldn't install laminate directly over the vapor barrier without a pad?



Thanks, mike


What kind of floor? If over concrete at grade or below, the vapor barrier may get worn through in spots. "On an above grade wood floor, I'd not worry about it.

Without a pad, the floor will sound and feel marginally different, less substantial, but certainly usable.

There exists some thin foam material used for packaging that is cheaper. For example, here's 1000 sq ft for $24, about 2.5 cents/sq ft (in 6" widths - you'll need a lot of tape).

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Yeah, I thought about visiting a furniture store and see if they have any of the stuff they wrap around furniture for shipment.

Habitat ReStore (the one around here, at least) almost always has stub and damaged rolls of the thin blue foam stuff. dirt cheap.

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