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Appliances Flooring Design Dilemma

Underlayment with Marmoleum click?

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

We are installing Marmoleum click in a kitchen and laundry area and debating whether to use an 1/8" thick underlayment called Quiet Elegance. We were told it has acoustic benefits, but are not sure whether there really will be much of a difference given that the click tiles have cork backing. Using the underlayment might cause our dishwasher to be trapped. The floor is not level so, if we use the underlayment, it seems we would have adequate height on one side of the dishwasher, but not on the other. Input on how effective underlayment actually would be will be most appreciated! We need 33 1/4" clear for our Bosch DW; we have 33 and 7/8" on the left side but only 33 5/8" on the right--the Marmoleum is 3/8" so, if we add 1/8 underlayment, we will have enough space on the left but it will be 1/8" too tight on the right. Of course, we would rather avoid trapping the DW. Anyone have any creative ideas on how to solve this dilemma?

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Comments (4)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
First you need to level the floor . I have no idea how a kitchen would be installed without dealing with unlevel floors a 1/4” from one side of the DW to the other is quite a bit if considered for all the floor. There is no way to do this with out laying the floor under the DW so maybe right here no underlay might need to be the answer.
Louise Gates thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
Cork does NOT play well with other forms of 'underpad'. If you want more underpad then get cork. If you have an artificial material touching cork, it will 'squeak'. I've seen it DOZENS of times. The homeowners who decided to go with the 'other' underpad because they bought into the acoustic hype were SUPER upset. As in tears and sobbing on the phone while trying to tell me why they didn't go with 3mm cork. They 'thought' they were getting a 'better' solution. It turns out their 'better solution' was more expensive and did LESS for acoustics than 3mm cork.

And as Patricia points out, you MUST flatten/level your floor FIRST. Put your MONEY into the floor leveling...the marmoleum shouldn't need anything other than it's cork underlayment.

And remember: the click system will still need protection from spills. The marmoleum on TOP won't care about spills but the HDF in the MIDDLE of the plank gets upset with moisture. You will want to look at a 'seam sealer' for laminate floors. They cost about $20/tube and offer 50-60sf of 'sealed click edges' for that price.

A click marmoleum is NOT sheet marmoleum. You still need to protect the 'click edge' from stray ice cubes, leaky pets/humans. The seams between the planks/tiles are the most fragile part of this set up.
Louise Gates thanked SJ McCarthy
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Louise Gates
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks much for this feedback! We are hoping the leveling compound will make the floor in this old house flat enough for the Marmoleum. Any particular brand of "seam sealer" you recommend?
jillo66
2 years ago
Did you install the click with an underlayment? If so, which one? Were you happy with your decision?

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