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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Always install an underlayment under any floating floor (luxury vinyl plank, laminate, floating engineered hardwood, SPC, or WPC), and the presenter specifically recommends the Apotec underlayment he demonstrates. He argues it solves common installation problems such as sliding on sloped floors, click-lock joint failure, and poor sound and moisture performance. He also states it is made in the USA and can be found at Home Depot in the United States, though in Canada he gets it through a corner supplier.
Key Points
- The presenter's main concern with floating floors is gradual sliding on sloped subfloors, which leaves gaps at one end of a room; this underlayment's slip-resistant layer is meant to prevent that.
- Unlike thicker or rolled underlayments, which can curl or let click-lock joints disengage under pressure, this product is dense and thin enough to support locking systems and smooth minor subfloor ridges.
- It has an impact rating (IIC) of 72 and a sound transmission rating (STC) of 66, which the presenter says is well above minimum code for townhouse sound transmission between units.
- The product is rated for 65 psi, and the presenter says it can support kitchen cabinets and natural stone countertops.
- It has no VOCs, unlike the EVA underlayment he has used before, and it can act as a vapor barrier when its seams are taped, which he says makes it usable in basements and older slab-on-grade houses.
- It can be installed over heated flooring systems, which the presenter says the manufacturer also claims.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: Lay the underlayment flat (it comes folded, not rolled) and cut it with a utility knife using the half-by-half-inch measuring grid to fit odd spaces. For a basement or older slab-on-grade house, tape all seams with blue tape to create a vapor barrier. Over a heated floor, the presenter's sequence is: add a dimpled membrane, lay the heating cable, add a little floor leveler, put this underlayment on top of the leveler, then install vinyl plank or engineered hardwood on top. He says you are on your own if you do this, and that the manufacturer makes this claim.
- Price and availability: The presenter quotes about 50 US dollars per 100 square feet at Home Depot in the United States. In Canada it is not sold at Home Depot; he says he gets it through a corner supplier and will put a link to that supplier in the video description.
- Product origin: The presenter says it is made in the USA.
- Comparison: He says some vinyl manufacturers advise against underlayment because older thick underlayments caused joints to disengage. He contrasts this with 3 mm EVA, which he says needs weights to stop rolling and has an odor.
Bottom Line
A good underlayment is worth buying for any floating floor because it affects comfort, noise, moisture protection, and joint stability, so the presenter argues it is a better place to spend money than many other flooring upgrades.
