The Best Underlayment for All Types of Flooring

Underlayment supports your floor in six key ways:

Moisture is one of the biggest threats to flooring. A quality underlayment with a vapor barrier keeps water from seeping through the subfloor, preventing warping, mold, and long-term damage. This is especially important for concrete installations, basements, or any room with high humidity.

For attached pad floors: Use Sentinel Protect Plus Underlayment. It works on, above, or below grade, blocks moisture, reduces noise, and even makes floors up to 15% warmer.

For floors without an attached pad: Choose Sentinel Moisture Barrier Polyethylene Film or Silicone Vapor Shield Underlayment for reliable protection.

Underlayment helps create a quieter home by minimizing the sound of footsteps and reducing echoes between floors. High-density foam and cork options absorb both impact and airborne noise.

Our top pick: Eco-Ultra Quiet Underlayment, made from 100% recycled rubber tires and high-density polyurethane foam. It’s long-lasting and highly effective at dampening sound.

Subfloors aren’t always perfectly level. A durable, crush-resistant underlayment fills in small imperfections and adds a stable layer between the subfloor and your new flooring. This prevents buckling, gaps, squeaks, and shifting over time.

Not only does underlayment protect your floor, but it also makes living with it more enjoyable. The extra cushioning softens every step and adds a layer of insulation that helps floors feel warmer underfoot. In cooler climates, this added warmth can also improve your home’s energy efficiency.

Our top pick: Our brand of Sentinel Underlayment is great for insulating your flooring.

The right underlayment gives your floors a stable foundation. They reduce friction between the subfloor and the flooring to create a shock-absorbing layer that keeps planks from shifting over time. This extra support helps prevent movement that can cause squeaks, gaps, or long-term damage.

Moisture can lead to mold and mildew, which affect both your flooring and the air you breathe. An underlayment with a vapor barrier helps stop this problem at the source. It blocks moisture to create a healthier indoor environment and support better air quality throughout your home.

Not all underlayment is the same, and each material offers different benefits. The most common underlayment materials are:

Picking the right underlayment is an important step in getting the best performance out of your new floors. The best choice depends on the type of flooring you’re installing, your subfloor material, and the needs of your space.

Laminate flooring often requires underlayment, but it depends on the product you choose. At Floor & Decor, we offer laminate planks that already have underlayment attached. In most cases, you won’t need extra underlayment when installing these over a wood subfloor on or above grade. If you’re installing over concrete, add a vapor barrier underlayment, like Sentinel Protect Plus Underlayment.

If you’re installing laminate flooring without an attached pad, you’ll need underlayment. You can use a polyethylene or silicone underlayment to protect your floors from moisture. If your primary concern is noise reduction, use an acoustical or cork underlayment.

Vinyl flooring shares many of the same underlayment needs as laminate. Vinyl flooring with an attached pad, like the options at Floor & Decor, usually doesn’t need underlayment when installed over wood subfloors. However, if you’re installing it over concrete, you may want to add a vapor barrier underlayment for moisture protection.

Vinyl flooring without an attached pad usually requires an underlayment. Use an underlayment that provides a moisture barrier and insulation for concrete subfloors. Moisture protection isn’t as critical for wood subfloors, but you may still want cork or fibrous underlayment to reduce sound and smooth the surface.

Underlayment isn’t always necessary for hardwood flooring, but installing it can enhance your floor’s performance. Floating engineered hardwood flooring, for instance, needs underlayment for stability, moisture control, and sound dampening. Try cork or fibrous underlayments for noise reduction, or rubber for moisture protection.

Traditional nail-down hardwood flooring, on the other hand, typically uses felt paper or rosin paper as a basic underlayment to reduce squeaks and offer light moisture resistance. It’s not mandatory, but it can help extend the life of your floors.

Bamboo is durable like hardwood, but it is also sensitive to moisture. Look for underlayments that provide:

Always confirm that the underlayment you choose is compatible with your specific bamboo product and installation method.