I see that others often put down a foam underlayment first, the kind that comes in rolls.

Our new flooring is tongue-and-groove engineered wood and it'll be going on plywood that's been painted with a waterproof barrier (a building requirement). The plywood is on subfloor and wood joists.

I see a 2 mil foam product that has an adhesive strip to stick down. Something like that? Can anyone recommend a product they've used for a similar application? I'd like to keep it thin if possible.

The manufacturer has been pretty unhelpful in specifying something.

 

Welcome to the forums! We recommend doing what the manufacturer suggests in order to maintain their warranty. Who is the manufacturer? When in doubt, I like to use the red Robert's underlayment with the little foam balls on it. You really need a cushion under the flooring, not just paint, BUT, you don't want it to be too squishy since it will affect the joints. Give us the mfgr, and let us do some research for you.

 

??? or is it a click lock floating floor?

 

Thanks chandler and czizzi. The floors are from PID Floors and they're tongue-and-groove (not click). The only reason we're doing a floating floor is because we had to add the waterproof barrier and it wouldn't make sense to then put a bunch of nails through it.

Anyway, the manufacturer sent me a spec sheet with installation instructions, but it didn't say anything about underlayment in the floating floor section (or any other part). When I called to ask about recommended underlayment, the sales guy kept saying that we only needed it if our building required it (as in, for sounding muffling purposes). He didn't seem to think that there would be any other reason to have it at all.

Anyway, thanks for the help. Chandler, I'll look into the one with the little balls.

 

So you will be gluing boards to each other and floating it. Yes, use the underlayment Larry recommended, duct tape the seams of the underlayment together and make sure you use an appropriate glue for wood/engineered flooring not just any old wood glue.

 

Thanks again! I'll look into the glues...