Flooring Underlayment Products
If you are just starting your flooring research, you may be confused by the terms subfloor and underlayment. This is understandable because they both go underneath the visible flooring. In most cases you need both, a subfloor and underlayment. The subfloor is the structural flat area that rests on top of your joists. If you are putting a floor down in an existing structure, the subfloor is usually already installed. The underlayment is what goes in between the hard surface flooring and the supporting subfloor. This may or may not be present in existing construction projects, or you may find you need to replace the underlayment if it is damaged when you tear up your old floor.