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Laminate flooring?

Hope someone can help, or offer a suggestion / opinion. At the moment in my flat I have carpet in the lounge and tiling on all of the other floors. I have recently dropped a hot iron on the carpet in the lounge and it has melted a horrible shape into it. I am thinking of claiming on my contents insurance for the carpet and am toying with putting laminate flooring down througout. Except for the kitchen and bathroom. My question for you is - laminate / wood flooring in a flat/appartment, is it a wise thing to do? Or will it make too much noise for my neighbours who share my block of flats? Any thoughts? Has anyone ever lived in a flat/appartment which had wood flooring?

Public Comments

  1. it can be quite noisy for people below and i also feel that laminate makes a room cold so not such a good idea for lounge
  2. Before laying laminate in a flat, check your lease or with landlord if rented - sometimes there is a clause prohibiting use of laminate floors because of the noise factor xx
  3. if the flat is purpose built then the floors should be properly sound proofed.if not you will have to use accoustic underlay.this will stop the noise transfering through your neighbours ceiling.it's a bit more expensive but worth it
  4. Stick down an extra layer of foam underlay to keep the noise down for your neighbours. Its super handy to lay and a doddle to keep clean or repair if you should have any more mishaps.
  5. Don't do it! It's cold and very noisy if you are waring shoes. on the plus side though its hard waring and very easy to keep clean,
  6. I have installed laminate flooring many times. It is very simple to do but is very noisy when walked on. I was in a friends flat when the neighbours above were moving about and it was horrendous(Like being inside a drum.). B&Q sell thick underlay in their stores. Try that.
  7. When we lived in a flat it was not allowed. Need to check your lease first.
  8. if you do lay laminate flooring use a good purpose made underlay, it is not expensive, if you shop around you can probably get the underlay for about £25 that will cover a 12'x12' room, don't be tempted to use old or even new carpet underlay, it is too soft and will only cause you problems later. i used laminate flooring in a 2nd floor flat and my neighbours didn't even notice the difference, as long as it is purpose underlayed and layed correctly it is great, you will probably never go back to carpets again, it is clean and retains heat, many people think it is cold on bare feet, trust me it isn't and it is very comfortable. take care and good luck.
  9. I used to build apartments and noise between floors is a big problem. You can insulate the floor with a dense rubber sheeting which will absorb the noise. I would suggest if you want to go ahead with this to perhaps do a hallway first that way you havn't gone to a lot of trouble and expense creating a problem Good Luck
  10. I would not recommend laminate. It will create too much noise for your neighbors, and it will be cold. I'd recommend putting carpet down. Carpet is warmer / insulator, its sound absorbent especially with a 9mm underlay (9mm - withstanding 40db of noise impact)