Underlay Explained

Published On: September 22nd, 2015

Underlay is an essential addition to your new carpet and plays a variety of vital roles that will ensure any new carpet performs to the best of its ability. After all, a carpet is a major decision when redecorating your home. You should always be considering underlay with the purchase of any new carpet, and the only question you should have is what type. The following article looks at the options available to you and covers the benefits of installing a good underlay in your home.

The Benefits of Good Underlay

Customers often ask whether underlay is essential. To put it simply, the answer is yes. It’s important that you make the right choice of underlay to ensure it suits your chosen type of carpet and gives you the best possible results. Poor underlay will leave your carpet feeling hard underfoot and can significantly reduce the life of your carpet. The fibres in your carpet will break down far quicker without the protection of underlay, and this will lead to premature wear and damage. Even with luxury carpets, good quality underlay will vastly improve the comfort of the carpet underfoot. The extra level of protection also benefits the appearance of your carpet, helping to reduce the flattening of the fibres and smooth out any imperfections on the sub-floor. Through absorbing the shocks of footfall, underlay also has excellent sound insulation properties. This is a critical feature and one that is often overlooked. Installing a top quality underlay will also help with heat insulation in the home, enhancing the overall tog rating of your flooring. It’s important to take into consideration the increase in tog rating when choosing your underlay. British Standards govern carpet and underlay, and purchasing underlay you know up to scratch can save you a great deal of hassle in the future.

Thickness of Underlay

As you might expect, an underlay of different thicknesses is available. It’s generally recommended to use underlay no thicker than 12mm. When looking at thickness, you must consider the density of the underlay. Thick underlay with low density will – as you can imagine – not perform particularly well, losing its shape, structure and stability. 7mm and 9mm are the most common thicknesses used in most domestic installations, although 11mm underlay is often used in certain luxury applications. Of course, this type of underlay is extremely dense to provide the best combination of support, comfort and durability.

Customer Stories

Once an order is complete we always encourage customer feedback. Here’s a selection of different projects and customer comments.

Customer Stories
Flooring for complete house

We have used Downs in the past and once again the salesperson was very helpful, answering all my queries. The fitter was equally helpful and able to give knowledgeable advice for a future product. I highly recommend Downs as a local business.

Marian G
Marian G
Customer Stories
Carpet order

From the first enquiry to the fitting of the new carpet, we were warmly welcomed by friendly staff, which helped to make our choice and decisions easy. Carpet came much sooner that originally told but that was great as it meant we could get on with the other changes in the particular room. Many thanks for an excellent service.

Richard M
Richard M
Customer Stories
Kitchen/diner

Customer service is top notch. We have used CMS for all of our flooring requirements to date and will continue to do so throughout the renovation of our house.

Vicky B
Vicky B
Customer Stories
Bedroom carpets

The sales team were really efficient and helpful, taking into consideration our requirements. The fitters worked well, efficiently and cleared up afterwards a real blessing. The choice of flooring was great and the prices very competitive. Recommend CMS carpets and would use them again. Thank you.

Karen P
Karen P

The Downs Difference

At Downs Carpets & Beds, we stay true to our original core values. Take a look at why our customers choose us for their beds and carpets time and time again.

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Our bespoke service

  • Design consultation: Working collaboratively with you, your designer helps you select the right products.

  • Technical consultation: We will conduct a technical survey, checking all measurements and any unusual angles.

  • Supplying the product: Your chosen product will be ordered and delivered to you in the time frames discussed.

  • Professional Installation: Our expert installers precision fits your product for an exceptional finish.

What Our Customers Say

Andrew Thomson
Andrew Thomson
2023-11-25
Downs were brilliant, we will be back next time we need a carpet. We got three new carpets all supplied and fitted by Downs. When the sitting room carpet turned out to be supplied too short (a manufacturer's fault) they sorted out the problem in 2 days. Simon was also very patient when we kept having to delay the fitting date due to various headaches with the bedroom renovation. Thank you to Simon for all his help and patience during the delayed building work.
A J
A J
2023-11-16
I can highly recommend Downs Carpets and Beds and will using again for our upcoming renovations. Special thanks to Adrian in store, also Gavin and Steve who did a great job fitting.
Nicky Lewendon
Nicky Lewendon
2023-11-12
Great service, Excellent carpet fitter, I would highly recommend.
Mike
Mike
2023-11-08
Cannot fault Downs or their fitters. Special thanks to Simon who has been our contact. We've had all bar one our whole bungalow brought and fitted through Downs. Price is reasonable, lots of range and no sales pitch. Very knowledgeable too. Thank you.
Sarah Fox
Sarah Fox
2023-11-07
Excellent service from start to finish. Knowledgeable staff gave brilliant advice on my choice of carpet, were very competitive against independent carpet suppliers and the fitters did a great job.
Sinead Dowling
Sinead Dowling
2023-11-06
Brilliant customer service and delivery service plus excellent comfortable bed and good value too
Jason Owen
Jason Owen
2023-11-06
We had the carpet stairs replaced. Great quality carpet. The fitter were very professional and fitted the carpet quickly.
Valerie Walker
Valerie Walker
2023-11-06
Really helpful and welcoming the minute we walked in. And the fitters made an excellent job of the bathroom and kitchen,and now the conservatory will be done. Thank you Downs of Newbury, highly recommended to anybody who is thinking of carpeting or flooring.
David Glare
David Glare
2023-11-06
Always efficient service from Downs carpets, thanks .
Amanda Dobbs
Amanda Dobbs
2023-11-04
We had an excellent experience here today. The salesman was knowledgeable and very kind. There's a huge selection to choose from as well.