Quickstep laminate flooring - underlay?

[Laquila]

Has anyone laid this over underfloor heating and if so, what underlay did you use? We're lost in a flooring black hole and losing the will to live. Their Unisound one is £55 per 15m2 pack, which seems like a hell of a lot for underlay. We've been told that using a non-Quickstep underlay invalidates their warranty, but to be honest it looks like doing anything invalidates their warranty!

Any advice much appreciated.

What kind of subfloor are you laying on? If anything less than an ultra-smooth finish, I would invest in the best underlay for laminate you can afford.

If you're buying Quickstep, I imagine you're shelling out £20-25 per m2 anyway, you don't want to spend all that on flooring and then be unhappy with it. The good underlay can mke the difference between having a lovely floor that looks like wood (Quickstep is a good product, I am considering it for my own house and I don't normally like laminate) or having one that draws attention to itself as a clicky, obvious laminate.

You will walk on your floor every day, a couple of quid per m2 for underlay is a good investment. If you do want to save a few pence, you can probably find a generic underlay with a similar spec from one fo the many online flooring warehouses (they sometimes classify them as bronze, silver and gold or similar). I would be tempted to go with the recommended product unless I was going to save a fortune though. How many m2 are you laying?

Hi Tremolo and thanks very much for your response. We're laying approx 38m2 in total, split between a wood effect for the liv and a slate effect for the kitchen/dining room. The liv and kitchen have new (beautifully-smooth!) concrete floors with Visquene (sp?) - the old ones were terrible, and damp, so had to come out.

The two Quickstep products were usig are approx £17 sq/m and £29 sq/m - you're right about the bit extra being a sensible investment, I think, even on lovely smooth floors.

I agree it's the only laminate we've seen that doesn't scream laminate, although I'm a bit more sceptical about the slate effect one than the wood one.

Well laminate is never going to look like slate, nothing will except slate. However, if you havve a slate floor, it will be cold, slippery and stuff will break when you drop it. So, I just accept those type of products Karndean etc for what they are, they are attractive in their own right, they are their own type of flooring.

Wood effect laminate - there are a few brands that are very, very close to wood - they look more like engineered wood than floorboards, obviously. I had engineered wood in my last house and loved it but I don't think I can afford it this time as all the boring stuff (electrics, plumbing) has gone way over budget. I have a budget of £30 per m2 which will buy a really low end wood or really high-end laminate. In the end, the laminate I liked best was only £16/m2! QuickStep Rustic. The main difference between high end laaminates and wood is the feel of them - colder/rougher to the touch and you get a different sound when you walk on them (probably some explanation for this that requires Physics a-level).

Now I don't go around rubbing my floors every day, but I do walk on them. Therefore, if yiu don't want it to "scream laminate" you need to take every step to minimize the 'laminate noise' Just my 2c. I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

We laid quickstep over wet underfloor heating and used a generic thin underlay/vapour barrier which was compatable with UFH.
Large open plan area possibly similar in size.
Floor was levelled and smoothed to within an inch of its life!
The quickstep was professionally laid and doesn't feel cheap or clicky or hollow underfoot

@ChishandFips33

We laid quickstep over wet underfloor heating and used a generic thin underlay/vapour barrier which was compatable with UFH. Large open plan area possibly similar in size. Floor was levelled and smoothed to within an inch of its life! The quickstep was professionally laid and doesn't feel cheap or clicky or hollow underfoot

Hi Just saw this msg We are also planning to install quick step over water underfloor heating. @ChishandFips33 can you please share your views because looks like you have already used it. We have around 70 sq m area on which we are planning to put it.

Can anyone pls help me. Getting so fed up and excusted with the flooring.

Have you spoken with a retailer as they’ll know best? Incidentally their website recommends Silent Walk gor UFH (www.quick-step.co.uk/en-gb/accessories/qsudlsw7_silent-walk)

PS I’ve used quick-step a few times supplied by Flooring Supplies and they’ve always been very helpful. (www.flooringsupplies.co.uk/product/16117/quickstep_silent_walk_underlay)