Do I need underlayment for luxury vinyl plank flooring?
When manufacturers recommend underlayment as optional but installers say it is unnecessary, homeowners are left guessing whether skipping it will ruin their new floors or cause noise issues below. This conflict makes it impossible to know if paying extra for materials is actually required to protect the flooring.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Asking the flooring installer for their professional opinion
- 2Consulting the manufacturer's representative
- 3Gluing flooring straight down onto concrete
- 4Consulting hardware store employees for installation advice
- 5Asking professional decorators
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Could anyone here confirm the above for me as the last thing I want to do is ruin brand new flooring because I have or haven’t put down underlay.”source ↗
“Should I add in their mititec underlayment or is it unneeded?”source ↗
“I just want to make sure it's not too loud for people on the first floor.”source ↗
“Installer said it's not needed but MSI rep said it's an option.”source ↗
“Going through this rn, and I put glue down straight on concrete.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Do I need a waterproof membrane under tile on a concrete floor?
- 3Should I glue down engineered herringbone flooring or float it?
- 6How to tell if flooring installation is wrong
- 4Do I need a moisture barrier under basement LVP flooring?
- 5Is underlayment required under slate, tile, or thatch roofs?
- 5Where to start laying flooring in a room with irregular walls