Floor Prep & Underlayment Report: Successful flooring installations hinge on the performance of the materials under the floor – Jan 2024

By Darius Helm

Producers of adhesives, self-leveling compounds, thinsets, underlayments and pads-both attached and unattached-all perform together to ensure the success of the floorcovering installed atop them. It’s an ensemble performance, even if the spotlight only shines on the floorcovering. And just like in any ensemble endeavor, every player must perform seamlessly with every other player for the project to succeed.

In recent years, even more has been demanded in terms of the performance of these materials, driven in large part by two long-term trends. One is fast-track construction, often resulting in improperly cured concrete subfloors, creating all sorts of moisture problems. Another is the shift from carpet to hard surface flooring. From offices and institutions to private homes, spaces have become louder in recent years, driving demand for acoustical mitigation solutions. Underlayment producers have responded with a steady stream of high-performance sound-deadening products, and floor prep materials also feature sound attenuation.

“Carpet always prevails in terms of noise dampening,” says Randy Dye, product and marketing manager for Leggett & Platt, noting that fabrics and textiles have huge impacts on in-room sound transmission, and also dampen acoustical transmission to spaces below, even more so if they’re cushioned.

Many of the underlayment specialists profiled here started out with a focus on products to go under carpet, and now the bulk of their revenues come from hard surface underlayments, most likely going under rigid LVT in the residential market and flex LVT in the commercial market. A lot of these LVTs, particularly on the residential side, come with attached backings, but as Deanna Summers, MP Global’s senior marketing and business development manager, points out, “Pad-attached flooring leaves a lot of open gaps in what an underlayment can provide.” Another argument for unattached underlayments relates to installations over concrete, where exposure to vapor can cause warping or, just as likely, alkaline residues leaching from the concrete can migrate up through the seams between products with attached backings and leave damaging deposits on top of the floorcovering.

“Problems stemming from unmitigated moisture continue to cost the flooring industry significant expenditures each year in remediation and replacement costs,” says Mike Croes, vice president of interior finishing for Sika. “Vapor transmissions originating from the subfloor can adversely affect many flooring installations and cause systemic problems that waste time and money for all parties involved.”

UNDERLAYMENT AND PAD
One of the leaders in the underlayment business is MP Global, which is best known for its QuietWalk family of rolled underlayment products that offer acoustic mitigation and moisture control and feature over 90% recycled content, mostly from post-industrial fiber. The firm, which is headquartered in Norfolk, Nebraska, diverts millions of tons of textiles from landfills every year for use in its products.

About 95% of MP Global’s product revenues come from hard surface underlayments. Products for carpet are only a small part of the business, though it’s worth noting that the firm started out in soft surface-MP originally stood for Midwest Padding. Flooring accounts for less than half of MP Global’s revenues; the balance is from its packaging division.

For the last year-and-a-half, the firm has been rolling out a new product, QuietBoard. It’s the firm’s first hard surface underlayment that doesn’t come in a roll. The product solves a problem that became much more prevalent during the pandemic, when vast numbers of homeowners ripped out carpet and replaced it with rigid LVT, a much thinner product, creating huge demand for solutions to transition problems, as well a perimeter gaps under baseboards. One pricey fix was to install plywood under the rigid LVT, leading MP Global to develop the thicker (6mm) rigid underlayment. While it’s premium priced, it’s a bargain compared to plywood options. The only material not recycled in QuietBoard is a vapor barrier in the form of a thermal reflective film on the top of the product. In terms of installation, the product is easily cut with a utility knife.

Foam Products, which is based in Calhoun, Georgia, is a producer of polyurethane, latex and synthetic latex products, serving not just the flooring market but also footwear, military, sporting goods and automotive. Its flooring products, under the Silencer brand, go through distribution, both regional and big box. Its latest underlayment, released at the beginning of last year, is the Eco Silencer Infinity, featuring a silver film vapor barrier over a high-density polyurethane foam for acoustical mitigation and comfort underfoot, and the polyurethane includes bio-based content from soybean polyols and vegetable oils.

“In my opinion, the beauty of these polyurethane underlayments is the compression set resistance of the foam,” says Brian Culley, who is the new head of sales and marketing. “It gives you long-lasting performance over IXPE and fiber-based products that collapse in thickness over time.” According to Culley, the firm’s high-performance polyurethane foams will only lose 5% of their thickness after five years of use, outperforming typical polyethylene and fiber-based pads. Some of its polyurethane underlayments include post-consumer ground tire rubber.

While Leggett & Platt serves both the carpet and hard surface markets with a wide range of cushion and underlayments across all price points, with an emphasis on products made of styrene butadiene rubber, its focus is on products that retailers can use to differentiate themselves from the competition. At the lower end of carpet, it offers fiber and Rebond products, mid-level products like Bonded Plus and Rubber Plus are enhanced with antimicrobial and moisture resistance, and at the higher end the offering includes Scotchgard-branded products and memory foams. Its most luxurious product is Napa. Residential is the biggest market for the firm, whose flooring division is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, followed by hospitality and commercial.

One of its most prominent products for hard surface flooring, Whisper Step, has been out in the market for about six years. The 1.4mm product reduces in-room noise by ten decibels and reduces sound transmission through the floor by 22 decibels. And on the commercial and hospitality side, its most specified line for carpet is TredMor, a double-glue installation product that has been around for over 60 years. “It will extend the lifecycle of the carpet,” explains Randy Dye, the firm’s product and marketing manager. “The cushion takes the impact instead of the carpet fibers, slowing the uglying out.”

Its most recent introduction, released toward the end of last year, is Scotchgard Guardian, a mid-level product one step down from Whisper Step, targeting flex and rigid LVT. Both Scotchgard Guardian and Whisper Step are also recommended under attached-pad LVT products.

In addition, Leggett & Platt offers the Firm Grip underlayment for area rugs. Dye points out that, whether or not a retailer sells area rugs, their hard surface customers are nevertheless buying area rugs to go over their floors, so a savvy RSA can still offer these underlayments as a floorcovering solution, boosting their tickets.

Universal Textile Technologies (UTT) makes polyurethane backing and pad in a range of densities for carpet installations, and its BioCel and EnviroCel products are notable for their bio-based and recycled content, which make up nearly 60% of their product weight. Its market focus is hospitality, commercial and other high-traffic carpet applications, including in the marine and RV markets. The firm also coats the back of synthetic turf with high-performance polyurethane.

Bio-based and recycled content comes from recycled PET carpet fiber, pre-consumer recycled mineral filler and soybean oil derivatives. “Some of the recycled content in our formulations have actually led to physical property improvements, including tuft bind, long-term adhesion and durability,” says Ken Mitchell, business development director for UTT.

Mitchell adds, “Currently, we see 2024 mostly flat to 2023, with hopes that we can penetrate some specialty markets to replace traditional non-urethane applications with our offerings. There are many markets that we will look to penetrate directly, which could include areas in footwear, automotive, vibration dampening, sound dampening and safety.”

FLOOR PREP, GROUTS AND ADHESIVES
Schönox produces a range of primers, adhesives, repair mortars and floor leveling compounds, and in recent years, its Hybrid Active-Dry technology, which is featured in AP Rapid, AP Rapid Plus and HS Sturdy, has helped speed up subfloor prep work while maintaining performance levels-like over 6,000 PSI of compressive strength. Schönox recently came out with a new trowel-applied, one-step filling and priming compound called Schönox FP. Shane Jenkins, director of technical training and development for Schönox HPS, the North American operation of the German firm, describes it as “a flexible, one-part filling and priming compound for priming and filling in one step. It prevents self-leveling underlayments from passing through joints and breakouts in wooden floors or similar substrates to be renovated.”

The firm serves both the residential and commercial markets and has strong relationships with groups in both markets, including Starnet, Fuse and CCA Global. And it offers training for all levels-installation partners, project managers, A&D and end users.

In terms of the state of the market, Jenkins says, “We see continued growth in all market segments with strong growth in the multifamily sector.” With most markets down, growth will come from anticipated gains in marketshare.

Another German firm, Uzin Utz, serves the U.S. market through its Uzin Utz NA subsidiary, which is headquartered in Aurora, Colorado. The firm has three prominent brands in the U.S.: Pallman, which focuses on everything from adhesives to stains for hardwood flooring; Wolff, which offers machinery and tools for floor removal, prep and flooring installation; and flagship brand Uzin Utz, which offers moisture-mitigating and self-leveling products, adhesives, thinset and grout. About 90% of Uzin Utz brand products go to the commercial market.

The firm has two manufacturing plants in the U.S. for its powder products, one in Dover, Delaware that’s been in operation for about six years and its brand-new facility in Waco, Texas that started production last summer. The 55,000-square-foot Dover facility had been responsible for supplying the North American market but was never designed to supply it indefinitely and in the past has had to run 24/7 to keep up with demand. The Waco operation is much more substantial, with 125,000 square feet and a training facility. The training is both for internal employees and external customers, including distributors and flooring contractors. Going forward, the training facility will offer education across all three Uzin brands.

The two facilities provide about 98% of the North American market’s powder needs, with some specialty powder produced overseas, at least for now. Grouts are also produced overseas, though the plan is for these products to also be produced domestically. Uzin has distribution centers in Dover and Waco, as well as Denver, Colorado. Wolff and Pallman products are produced in Germany and shipped to Denver.

Late last year, the firm introduced NC 144 LW self-leveling compound, a lightweight cementitious product that can be used up to depths of 2” and produces a smooth finish surface, and its lighter weight enables its use across a wide variety of applications.

Ardex, another German firm, has its U.S. headquarters in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, where it also has production facilities. Ardex also has production facilities in Dallas, Georgia and Stockton, California. It produces Henry adhesives and a range of floor prep, underlayment and remediation products, as well as tile and stone installation systems.

New products include Ardex K 34 Lightweight, which is the first self-leveling underlayment featuring a new lightweight technology as well as Recovem technology, which reduces tension for applications across multiple substrates, according to Ben Mack, vice president and general manager of Ardex Americas. He notes, “In addition to be being 43% lighter than traditional self-leveling underlayment’s, Ardex K 34 Lightweight has an extended coverage range that can cover 34 square feet at 1/4” average depth and is suitable for the installation of all floorcoverings. Floorcoverings can be installed over [the product] in as little as 24 hours.”

Ardex serves both the residential and commercial markets. Mack says, “Traditionally, most of the business for Ardex has been in the commercial sector. However, with the continued growth of our tile and stone installation business, our share in the residential sector is increasing.”

Dalton, Georgia-based Taylor, which was acquired by Meridian Adhesives in 2018, is one of the most prominent adhesive producers in the U.S. market. The firm produces a substantial range of adhesives, primers and moisture barriers for the flooring industry, serving both the residential and commercial markets. Historically, the commercial side has been bigger, but it also has a strong position on the residential side, including multifamily.

The firm reports that, despite market challenges, it finished 2023 ahead of the volume achieved in 2022. For 2024, Taylor expects commercial business to remain healthy.

Among its most innovative products is Gravity, which, when rolled directly onto concrete, provides an enhanced anti-skid coating for looselay and floating floor installations. The standout feature is its ability to stop lateral movement and keep the flooring in place post-installation. The product, which is not an adhesive, leaves no transfer, enabling individual planks to be easily removed and replaced.

Looking ahead, the firm sees strong opportunities in wood adhesives, and a focus this year will be on expanding in this market.

Sika, a global specialty chemicals firm headquartered in Switzerland, and its U.S. division is headquartered in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. The Sika family includes DriTac, which was acquired three years ago. The firm offers floor prep materials and adhesives for both residential and commercial applications. Its adhesives business is strongest in the residential remodel market.

According to Mike Croes, vice president of interior finishing for Sika, “When multiple Sika solutions are used in conjunction with one another, the Sika Secure System forms a top-to-bottom flooring installation solution that includes elements of the SikaBond, SikaLevel, Sika MB (Moisture Barrier), and Sika-DriTac flooring adhesives, moisture mitigation, and sound control product lines.” The Sika Secure System also offers a single-source enhanced warranty.

Regarding the DriTac acquisiton, Croes says, “The DriTac brand is still very much alive and thriving in the Sika flooring installation material product portfolio. The loyal following that the brand enjoys played a big role in the acquisition of DriTac by Sika in 2021.”

Sika is coming out with SikaLevel-050 Slope Rapid, a quick-setting polymer-modified Portland cement-based skim coating and ramping compound designed for repairing and smoothing interior concrete and plywood substrates. The product will be in full production this spring. In addition, the firm intends to hit the market with a full line of resilient flooring adhesives this year and next.

Other key products include self-leveling underlayments like SikaLevel-325, formulated “to provide no MVER (moisture vapor emission rate) limit on well-prepared concrete,” as well as the Sika MB line of moisture control products, including Sika MB EZ Rapid, which was introduced last year.

Sika offers educational opportunities through STEP (Secure Technological Educational Program). The in-person training clinics educate contractors and installers on best practices for Sika products. The one-day events are conducted regionally. Last year, the firm offered 22 events across eight states.

Laticrete has been a prominent solutions provider to the tile and stone market for over 60 years, getting its start by creating the first polymer-fortified thinset adhesive in the industry. The Bethany, Connecticut-headquartered firm has over the years expanded its portfolio.

“Laticrete has products that cover everything between the structural substrate and the finished surface,” says Spencer Maheu, the firm’s senior director of product management. The offering includes floor prep products like skim and patch compounds, primers, self-leveling underlayment and moisture mitigation membranes, as well as membranes for crack suppression and sound control. Laticrete also has a substantial and innovative grout line, along with tile and stone adhesives.

While it serves both the residential and commercial markets, commercial is bigger. Maheu expects the commercial market to remain strong well into the year, with residential continuing to underperform.

Last year, Laticrete added to its range with trims and profiles, and it also launched its Permacolor and Permacolor Select grouts, using new technology, its 254 Platinum Plus thinset adhesive and NXT Level Plus Lite, a fiber-reinforced self-leveling underlayment.

Maheu points out that the firm’s lightweight products address issues of installer health and safety, citing a study that found that the construction industry has a higher rate of musculoskeletal disorders than all other industries combined. Laticrete’s ProjectSafety mission works to raise awareness about these issues, including offering education to installers on safe methods and equipment.

Copyright 2024 Floor Focus 

Related Topics:Starnet, Laticrete, Fuse Alliance, Coverings, Fuse