Enhancing SPC Flooring With Underlayment

Stone plastic composite (SPC) flooring is known for its realistic appearance, excellent water resistance and long-lasting durability. This rigid-core vinyl flooring is made by blending polyvinyl chloride, limestone powder and stabilizers to create a firm surface with a denser core than other plastic composites like wood plastic composite.

While SPC is closest to solid wood in terms of its durability, it’s significantly more affordable. You can also choose from various designs and patterns, including faux wood planks, herringbone and mosaic tiles, which provide unlimited options for your home and aesthetic.

If you’re looking to install quality SPC flooring in your home or business, you’ll want to add an underlayment with it to protect your flooring.

Top 7 Benefits of Underlayment With SPC Flooring

The biggest benefits of installing underlayment with your SPC flooring include:

1. Increased walking comfort: While SPC’s rigidity makes it more durable than other types of flooring, it feels harsh underfoot. Adding a foam underlayment provides extra support for increased comfort and insulation for warmth in the cooler months.
2. Reduced noise: SPC is thinner than other types of flooring, which causes footsteps and other sounds to echo throughout the room — and in some homes, the sound can travel. An underlayment significantly reduces walking noise and creates a quieter, more comfortable space.
3. Enhanced energy efficiency: Thin flooring types like SPC allow heat to pass through easily, causing you to use more energy to properly heat your home. Adding an underlayment increases the floor’s thickness and provides insulation, reducing heat loss and creating a more energy-efficient home. 
4. Improved flooring appearance: An underlayment covers subfloor irregularities like cracks and bumps, creating a smoother surface for installing your flooring. The underlayment reduces any visible and tactile flaws that can detract from the luxe appearance of SPC flooring.
5. Tighter moisture barrier: A water-resistant underlayment helps shield the subfloor from moisture, which is critical in areas where spills are common.
6. Easy installation: By creating a smooth, uniform surface for your flooring, an underlayment eliminates some of the prep work involved with installing new floors and saves you valuable time and effort.
7. Enhanced durability: Underlayment provides a soft, compressive barrier beneath your flooring and subfloor, which can help reduce the risk of developing cracks and other flaws.

Ultimately, installing a quality underlayment with SPC flooring can help you enhance flooring durability and comfort in your space.

Do You Need Underlayment for SPC Flooring?

In most situations, you’ll need a high-quality underlayment to get the most out of your new SPC floor. However, certain factors can influence whether it’s necessary for your home:

• Subfloor type: Porous subfloors benefit most from installing moisture barriers like underlayment due to their capacity for absorption and mold and mildew growth. For example, an underlayment is a good idea for concrete subfloors because it’s more absorbent than other materials.
• Subfloor condition: If your subfloor is cracked, uneven or otherwise in poor condition, installing underlayment can help you reduce the impact of these issues and create a more even surface for your SPC flooring.
• Climate: Underlayment is critical in humid, moist climates because it creates an effective moisture barrier for your home and flooring. While milder climates may be able to get away without an underlayment, it’s still a good investment for anyone concerned about noise or energy efficiency.
• Attached pads: While floors with preattached pads may not require an underlayment, homes with especially damaged or porous subfloors often benefit from installing an additional layer beneath your flooring.
• Installation method: Floating floor installations, which allow you to click together interlocking planks or tiles, typically require an underlayment to provide additional support for the connections.

Recommended floorMuffler® Underlayments for SPC Flooring

Now that you understand the importance of installing underlayment in most situations, you might be wondering which underlayment would be best for your project. We recommend the following floorMuffler® models for SPC flooring installations:

floorMuffler® Encore

Designed specifically for acoustic performance under luxury vinyl tile and plank floors, floorMuffler® Encore is a high-performance underlayment for both residential and commercial applications.

Its cross-linked closed-cell polypropylene (XLPP) foam construction provides excellent acoustic dampening for SPC flooring with preattached pads, allowing you to meet acoustic standards and Uniform Building Code requirements for noise reduction. It also provides a complete barrier against moisture, protecting your SPC from warping or weakening as a result of water penetration.

Floors without pads can also benefit from Encore’s superior moisture protection and sound absorption properties. It also comes with our patented UltraSeal system for smooth, easy installation.

floorMuffler® ultraSeal and ultraSeal HD

The floorMuffler® ultraSeal is a premium underlayment for various flooring types and applications, including SPC, solid hardwood, laminate and engineered floors. Made from high-density closed-cell XLPP foam, the original floorMuffler® provides outstanding impact noise prevention and minimizes minor subfloor imperfections for a seamless appearance.

We also recommend the floorMuffler® ultraSeal HD to provide enhanced performance specifically for SPC planks that are 5mm or thicker. This Home Depot exclusive is ideal for floating, nail-down and double glue-down SPC installations in both residential and commercial buildings due to its superior compressive properties and unparalleled acoustic performance.

Both underlayments feature our patented ultraSeal lip and tape system, which uses an overlapping film to protect against moisture and a peel-and-stick tape strip for streamlined installation. It’s also highly versatile and can be used in floating, double glue-down and nail-down installations.

floorMuffler® LVT

floorMuffler® LVT offers excellent acoustic performance and water resistance for both floating and double glue-down installations. Eliminate the need for additional films with a high-density XLPP underlayment that exceeds industry standards for moisture protection and acoustic performance.

You can use it for floors with or without preattached padding, depending on your home or business’s unique needs. It’s also available both with and without the ultraSeal system to accommodate your installation preferences.

Enhance Your SPC Flooring Installation with High-Performance floorMuffler® Underlayment

If you want to make sure your new flooring installation meets your lifestyle needs and lasts as long as possible, purchasing an underlayment from floorMuffler® just might be the right solution. Our products significantly increase the performance of your SPC flooring, whether your goal is to add a little extra insulation or cut down on your energy bills.

Plus, our New Jersey-based manufacturing facility follows the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system standard, ensuring the highest level of quality and customer satisfaction. Browse our wide selection of underlayments to find the one that’s right for your flooring project, and shop our products from Home Depot’s website.