Have you ever stepped onto a carpet and discovered it feels amazingly luxurious underfoot? A good quality underlay is hard to look past, it’s the secret to achieving this much-desired comfort. We often get caught up selecting the right style and colour carpet, but what lies beneath is just as important as underlay shapes how the carpet feels, wears and performs.

Underlay comes in a wide array of qualities, determined by its thickness and density. For example, you will see underlay described as being 11mm / 130kg. This means that the thickness of the underlay is 11mm. Thickness is important as it is desirable to have lots of cushioning between the carpet and the subfloor. The density of the underlay is 130kg. The density represents how much foam is packed into each cubic metre. A high value density will indicate a better-quality underlay (more foam, less air!).

As with most things in life, you get what you pay for in terms of quality. Select the best underlay that you can afford at the time of purchasing your new carpet.

Prolonging the life of your carpet

Protect the investment that you are making in your new carpet by selecting a good quality underlay to match. Underlay prolongs the life of your carpet as it helps to withstand the foot traffic moving across the floor.

Thermal insulation

It makes sense (and cents) to use a good quality underlay in your home to ensure you don’t lose heat through the floor, rather trapping heat under your floor and insulating your room. Denser underlays provide better performance in this area. A good underlay will also see you exceed NZ Building Codes thermal insulation requirements for a warm, dry home.

Acoustic insulation

Sound travelling between rooms or floors in a multi-story house, can be annoying. Underlay helps to reduce the noise in a room by absorbing sound energy. The denser the underlay, the more noise reduction you can achieve. Sleepyhead underlay is tested in accordance with AS/NZ standards and improves acoustics by 44 decibels.

Moisture resistance

Sleepyhead Underlay retains its quality even when subjected to moisture and most general household spills. This helps to keep your home dry, free of allergens and inhibits mould growth.

Underlay use with different carpets & underfloor heating

Underlay can be used beneath all types of residential carpet, regardless of whether it is a wool or synthetic carpet. If the installation is in a commercial environment a commercial underlay may be more appropriate. Using underfloor heating beneath underlay and carpet is not a problem. To maximise the effectiveness of the underfloor heating, lower density underlays have been proven more effective in allowing heat to transfer.

Reusing existing underlay

Customers often ask if they can re-use the existing underlay in their home. It is not a good idea to do this, as older underlay can harbour dirt and dust, can make your new carpet wear unevenly and can affect the installation and result in a sub-standard finish. It can also compromise your new carpets warranty as the AS/NZ Textile Floor Covering – Installation Practice 2455.1:2007 standards state that underlay shall have a service life no shorter than that of the textile floor covering, in accordance with the recommendations of the underlay manufacturer and the carpet manufacturer.

Asthma & allergy sufferer friendly

All Sleepyhead Underlay products contribute towards creating a warm, dry home with thermal insulation and moisture resistant properties. Asthma and allergy sufferers often seek a little bit more protection from these nasties. Sleepyhead Memory and Sleepyhead Refresh underlay are approved by Sensitive Choice. This means that these products have been tested and verified by a panel of prominent technical experts and have been approved to display the Sensitive Choice blue butterfly accreditation.