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Laminate underlay buying guide

Updated: 23 October 2026

You are about to buy a roll for click laminate or floating wood, and the listings differ by a millimetre and a word such as acoustic. A laminate underlay buying guide should fix the order of checks before thickness or a decibel stands in for quality. The [underlay comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/underlay) holds the five amazon.co.uk files from 19 October 2026, with prices in GBP. This page is that sequence: the floor, a dry subfloor, the board maker’s thickness cap, then whatever the roll prints. We did not laboratory-test these rolls. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are about to buy a roll for click laminate or floating wood, and the listings differ by a millimetre and a word such as acoustic.

Our top picks

FloorPro FloorPro silver, 3 mm, 15 m²

Best overall

FloorPro FloorPro silver, 3 mm, 15 m²
8.0/10about £19.88
View offer
AcuStick AcuStick Sonic Gold, 5 mm

Rank 2

AcuStick AcuStick Sonic Gold, 5 mm
7.4/10about £29.50
View offer
Grandismo Grandismo heating underlay, 10 m²

Alternative

Grandismo Grandismo heating underlay, 10 m²
7.0/10about £33.50
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you are buying
  2. 2.Moisture before foil
  3. 3.What a proper label prints, and these rolls do not
  4. 4.Area, tape, and the five prices

What you are buying

You are buying a thin sheet under a floating floor, not carpet underlay and not a tanking coat. If the board already has a pad, do not add a second roll. Shop guides often mention a click ceiling around 5 mm. A Classen install sheet caps that brand at 3 mm. Those are two makers’ limits, not one statute. The European Producers of Laminate Flooring said in December 2022 that thickness does not rank an underlay, and that a thicker foam is often the softer one. Named picks sit on the best laminate underlay page.

Moisture before foil

On a concrete ground floor the first instrument is a moisture check, not a silver film. Karndean’s UK glue-down guide tells you to stay under 75% relative humidity where a hygrometer is specified, and otherwise to use a damp-proof membrane. A foil line does not replace the hygrometer. None of the five files print an sd-value. Reviews of the 15 m² FloorPro roll say the foil faces the floor on concrete. The bullets do not say that. Grandismo prints no foil sentence. If you are laying over timber that needs to breathe, an extra vapour film can be the wrong layer.
FloorPro FloorPro silver, 3 mm, 15 m²

Testsieger

FloorPro FloorPro silver, 3 mm, 15 m²
8.0/10about £19.88
View offer

What a proper label prints, and these rolls do not

Under BS EN 16354, a laminate underlay label is where compressive strength, compressive creep, and dynamic load would normally sit. None of these five amazon.co.uk files cite the standard, and none print CS, CC, or DL. That is a gap on the page, not a statement that the rolls fail. The EPLF bulletin recommends 10 kPa as a minimum and 60 kPa where the requirement is higher. The flooring maker overrules both numbers. A printed decibel has the same hole. AcuStick and Grandismo name no test method, and the FloorPro files give no decibel. In a flat, the lease sits above those bullets.

Area, tape, and the five prices

Compare the saved shelf price with the stated area. On 19 October 2026 the FloorPro 3 mm roll at 15 m² was £19.88, about £1.33 per stated square metre, the lowest rate here. The 7.5 m² FloorPro 3 mm roll was £16.50, about £2.20 per stated square metre. AcuStick’s 5 mm roll was £29.50, about £1.97. Grandismo’s 10 m² sheet was £33.50, about £3.35, and it is the only tog. The 2 mm roll was £14.50, about £1.93, with a tear complaint, so it is not the value buy. Three listings name Barrier Pro X and do not include it: the 15 m² FloorPro, AcuStick, and the 2 mm FloorPro. The 7.5 m² 3 mm file and Grandismo do not name that tape. Do not copy the sentence across.

Common questions

Do I need a separate underlay if the board already has a pad?
If the click board already has a pad fixed to the underside, you do not add one of these rolls on top. The maker has set the cushion, and a second sheet can leave the joints too soft to lock. Buy a roll only when the boards are bare on the back and the install sheet calls for a separate underlay. If that sheet is silent, ask the flooring seller before you assume 3 mm or 5 mm is welcome.
Is 5 mm better than 3 mm?
Five millimetres is thicker. It is not automatically better. Your board maker’s cap comes first. One brand’s sheet may stop at 3 mm, while a shop guide talks about a 5 mm ceiling for click floors, and those limits are not the same rule. In this set, 5 mm is the AcuStick roll and 3 mm is the two FloorPro silver rolls.
Does a silver foil replace a damp test on concrete?
No. Foil on these listings is a claimed membrane, not a measurement of the slab. Where a maker specifies a hygrometer, Karndean’s UK guide uses under 75% relative humidity, and otherwise a damp-proof membrane. None of these files print an sd-value, so you cannot tell how resistant the film is from the amazon.co.uk page. Check the concrete, then see whether the roll even claims a foil. Grandismo’s file does not.
What is compressive strength, and why is it missing here?
Compressive strength, often written CS and given in kilopascals, is how much load the underlay takes before it squashes. BS EN 16354 is where CS, CC, and DL would normally sit. These five files do not print those codes. A blank row is not the same as meets 60 kPa.
Which rolls tell me to buy tape?
The FloorPro 15 m² listing, the AcuStick listing, and the FloorPro 2 mm listing name Barrier Pro X tape for the seams and do not include it. The price you see is the roll alone. The FloorPro 7.5 m² 3 mm file does not name that tape, and Grandismo does not name a tape either. Do not assume every silver roll in the set arrives with the same instruction.
Is this the same product as carpet underlay?
No. Carpet underlay is a thick felt or rubber that a stretched carpet grips. These five files are sold for wood and laminate, and Grandismo’s bullets also name LVT, vinyl, and click. Compare price by dividing the saved shelf price by the stated area, then measure the roll. A flat that must stay carpeted is a lease question, not a thicker foam.

Related pages

Underlay and underfloor heating

Underlay in flats

Underlay

Best laminate underlay: 5 mm gold or the 15 m² roll

How to lay laminate underlay: foil, joints, and tape

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Listings captured 19 October 2026. Updated 23 October 2026.

  1. BSI, BS EN 16354:2018 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  2. EPLF underlay bulletin, December 2022 (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  3. Approved Document E (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  4. Quick-Step UK heating FAQ (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  5. Karndean UK glue-down guide (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  6. BEAMA floor-covering note (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  7. Leasehold Advisory Service (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  8. EGGER how to lay underlay (GB) (retrieved 23 October 2026)
  9. Basingstoke laminate leaflet (retrieved 23 October 2026)