We have Mohawk laminate floating floor to put down in our dining room and living room area. We need sound dampening since we have a recording studio below this floor. Four questions: -Is 1/2" cork better than or as good as sonopanx for sound dampening or is something else better? -Should cork be glued down to the subfloor? -should the Mohawk flooring sound dampening underlay be put on the cork as an added layer between the cork and laminate? -finally, our dining room area floor had to be fixed a lot due to a sinking foundation(frustrating and long story) we hired a contractor and floor leveler was used in that area and it didn't work well. It left so many humps and bumps. We have done so many rounds of grinding down the bad areas but there's no way it's going to be perfectly level. If we glue 1/2" cork down, will it help those areas to be a bit more level for the laminate to be laid? Or do you have other suggestions. We are getting worn out trying to make this floor level enough for our laminate, but I think it's getting close.

My architect has been suggesting cork over radiant along with linoleum. But I don't know about the glue down application. (but how else is cork adhered?) Not to hijack, I hope, but, what part of the country are you guys in? I'm getting some resistance here from contractor on cost of radiant floor. (warm board, too). I'm in Phila area.

If the manufacturer says it's OK over radiant, I'd trust that. Duro Designs told me in writing [via email] that their glue down was fine as well, though I don't know if they've changed the website to reflect that. When you think about it, there's no less flexible material than grouted tile, but that's commonly used over radiant. I think the reason there's so much trouble finding radiant approved flooring is that once the floor and heat system are installed, the homeowner is in the drivers seat: there's nothing to stop you from trying for a little greater efficiency by turning the water in the pipes up to 120 degrees if you like, and that can cause a lot of materials to fail. So the flooring industry tries to limit it's liability by saying 'fine over radiant, so long as the water in the pipes is kept at 85 degrees'. When you think about it, that's just silly: every floor gets hotter than that when the sun shines through the window or the fireplace is burning or near a heater. So why 85? Because it 'feels' warm to your skin. There's no materials testing, no scientific standard in play other than that. FWIW, I have radiant accross my main and upper floors. The tile is noticeably warm under barefeet, the laminate less so, the floating cork less, the carpet [despite special pad] not at all. I think a glue down cork will transmit heat at least as well as the floating, and would have used it if my heat pipes weren't the sort that rest on top the subfloor, rather than below. It isn't that the cork feels cool at all, it's just that the warmth doesn't make itself known in the same way. BUT be sure to insulate well below the heat: we all know that heat rises, but it also follows the path of least resistance. Cork is a resistor, a 'dam' for the heat, so you'll want an even bigger heat dam below it.

If that is 1961 copper tubing in the slab, it has lived well past its’s expected lifespan. Well past. Most copper in slab has half the lifespan of that. You have a MUCH MUCH bigger prospective job in front of you than just ripping up all of the finished floor down to the concrete slab and all new floors. There is no point in doing any flooring until you’re ready to replace the HVAC system. And that replacement needs to be a big immediate priority. That will generally involve converting to forced air. Unless your have the ceiling height available to lose, and you pour another 4” over the existing slab, and put in new PEX and a new boiler. None of these projects will be anywhere close to being cheap.