On 2/3/2016 1:59 PM, Oren wrote:
On Wed, 3 Feb 2016 16:50:31 -0500, "Ralph Mowery"
wrote:

I am going to have Lowes put down about 300 sqft of Pergo Laminate flooring.
I have a quote from them and it seems reasonable.

They did not seem to specify any underlayment for the flooring. Should
there be some ?
If so what type should it be ?


Likely depends on the sub-floor - concrete or wood. Check the
manufacture's web site. You want to reduce a hollow sound and flex,
too.

Can't tell what you think is "reasonable". The stuff is dead simple
to install yourself. Only problem is if you have areas that aren't
square. I did a LOT of planning how the various pieces must fit
together and had only a few tough spots. If you just start laying
it down without planning, it can be a nightmare.
One issue is that the stuff EATS saw blades.

I got all my flooring from garage sale excess material.
First room, I used black plastic vapor barrier because the cost
of underlayment was twice the cost of the laminate.
Rest of the rooms, the laminate came with rolls of underlayment,
so I used it.

The underlayment allows the laminate to bend slightly under the weight
of heavy furniture. Also good if your sub-floor is not flat.
I decided it would be best to put about 10 square inches of 1X4 under
each of the tiny feet on the bottom of the sofa to reduce the depth
of the divots in the laminate.

Just don't put the stuff in your home theater room.
Sound reflections make the audio sound like crap.
You'll be covering it with carpet.