Laminate - will it be ok, do I need underlay?

[Thirder]

We are renovating as cheaply as possibly. We want new flooring across the whole house. It's a bungalow with no worries if soundproofing upstairs floor. And the floor is old and probably not that smooth.
I loved Antico but it would need a better smoother floor than we have. Laminate next best option, is it?
And what underlay, shop had 3 very different prices for that and I'm not sure why I should spend on it. Would love anyone's experience.

We put laminate in our ground floor as a diy job with everything from B&Q. Our house has a suspended floor with no insulation so for us getting a good quality underlay was really important to improve the thermal performance. Especially because the carpet underlay we pulled up was so thick!

If the floor is old thermal qualities are worth considering in your case too.

I don’t know about Antico so can’t comment! If uneven floor is the only reason you’re moving to laminate though you could ask for a quote that includes a levelling screen to give a decent base for the flooring.

I’ve lived in properties where I inherited what was obviously the cheapest of the cheap laminate and it was fine but you could tell it was cheap laminate. I recently laid some laminate from B&Q (the “Colours” range) and having taken up the existing laminate which was only a few millimetres thick, the difference in comparison was noticeable - about a cm thick and very sturdy. It feels very firm to walk on and everyone who’s seen it has been surprised it’s laminate.

Underlay provides both insulation thermally and in terms of levelling the laying surface. Unless you want your laminate to move and creak when you walk on it, you need really underlay - it’s not expensive, you can buy decent firm foam stuff from DIY stores for a few pounds a square metre.

People rave about Amtico and Karndean but I’ve never been a fan. Several friends have it in their homes and I think it looks plasticky. And it’s not as if it’s cheap, at the price point I’d rather have real or engineered wood.

Thanks, foam is underlay sounds like what I need. For the thermal properties and slight unevenness
Makes sense. I've seen 12mm and 8 mm laminate. Not much difference in price. Will go for thicker one then if it gives a more real solid feeling underfoot. Appreciate the hints, may well be back with more DIY questions, kitchen and bathrooms next!

We have vinyl cushion flooring and paid for a screed that evened out the underfloor. Couldn't afford amtico as had to do an entire 5 bed house. Its great, much quieter than laminate to walk on, feels warm and if you drop something it often doesn't break. (I've had both) If you want amtico and the like you can get a screed done. I wouldn't have laminate again, if we do change it in a few years I want hardwood flooring.

We have Amtico in our front room - it’s very hard to do as DIY (we didn’t) but it is possible to either ply over a dodgy wooden subfloor, or screed over a concrete floor, but we paid about £50m2 for it (supplied and fitted). Compare that to the 13mm quickstep ultra hydro I bought from eBay and fitted myself in the bathroom, that was about £15m2 all in including underlay (foam stuff with foil on one side) - and the wooden subfloor was a bit ropey. The Amtico is very hard wearing and I like it - but it’s not a budget choice. They both look good and I would recommend either.

We’re just about to put laminate down in our new house. I can recommend Elka, it’s made by the same people as quick step and we found it amazingly realistic and fairly indestructible (3 kids and a dog!)

We used a decent underlay but I think the type you use depends on the floor you’re putting it on. The company who supplied and fitted ours told us the kind we needed.