Laminate Flooring

[kamo]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post here so bear with me.

First, thank you to everyone for this forum. I have learned alot by reading here.

I am just starting to setup my room for recording. I am doing recording only for myself and some friends.

My room is aprox. 12x15 with a ceiling height of 8ft. A standard residential ceiling and carpeted floor.

About the floor: I know that hardwood is great but I have alot of the snap-together laminate and could easily and cheaply install laminate.

Would their be any acoustical gain in installing laminate in place of the carpet?



Thank you for your time.

[CaptainTaco]

I'm new here myself. But from what I've read, and have been told, you want a reflective floor, so my guess would be yes, as long as your room is treated, and possibly even if it's not. Second opinion?

[msikio]

About the floor: I know that hardwood is great but I have alot of the snap-together laminate and could easily and cheaply install laminate.

Laminate is fragile or expensive or both... also if one part is damaged you have to redo the whole lot.

[kamo]

Thank you for your replies. If you get laminate at the right place it is really inexpensive and like I said I have alot of extra laminate so there will be little material cost. Laminate is much tougher than carpet - my cat has issues with carpet .

So does anyone else have any opinions about laminate as it concens to acoustics?

Also, should I wait until I am done treating my room to install the laminate or would it be OK to go ahead and install it?


Thank you for your help,

[jonessy]

I think there is common confusion between different types of 'parquette' flooring:

'Laminate' floor is simply strips of HDF (high density fiber) with a wallpaper (with a wood pattern) sticker glued to it and plasic lamination above.
This type of flooring is very inexpensive.

The true 'parquette' flooring is commonly called 'triple-layer' and is made from three layers of 2-3mm wood glued together (sandwich).
The top layer is laminate finished to protect the wood.
This type is about 4-10 times more expensive.

The acoustical coefficients are very similar - the 'laminate' is a little more reflective to HF.

'triple-layer' feels better to walk on, but should be maintained accordingly (it is a lot more sensitive to weight distribution, moisture, humidity, etc...).

'laminate' has a problem of static energy, and this is really annoying if you plan to use a lot of electric devices in the room.

Hope this helps.

[mikelol]

Carpet should be replaced as it is too thick to be used as the underlay for laminate flooring. The flooring is easy to buckle when people step on it due to the thickness of carpet. The special underlay for the flooring should be 2mm or 3mm thick.

[Ethan Winer]

Would their be any acoustical gain in installing laminate in place of the carpet?

The quote below is from my Acoustics FAQ. This article may also be of interest:

Surface Reflectivity

SIDEBAR: HARD FLOOR, SOFT CEILING

The following is from an exchange that took place in the rec.audio.pro newsgroup in May, 2003:

Bill Ruys asked: Why it is recommended to have bare (un-carpeted) floors in the studio? One web site I visited mentioned that a bare floor was a prerequisite for the room design with diffusors and absorbers on the ceiling, but didn't say why. I'm trying to understand the principal, rather than following blindly.

Paul Stamler: Carpet typically absorbs high frequencies and some midrange, but does nothing for bass and lower midrange. Using carpet as an acoustic treatment, in most rooms, results in a room that is dull and boomy. Most of the time you need a thicker absorber such as 4-inch or, better, 6-inch fiberglass, or acoustic tile, and you can't walk around on either of those. Hence the general recommendation that you avoid carpet on the floor and use broadband absorbers elsewhere.

Lee Liebner: the human ear is accustomed to determining spatial references from reflections off of side walls and floor, and a low ceiling would only confuse the brain with more early reflections it doesn't need. Everywhere you go, the floor is always the same distance away from you, so it's a reference that your brain can always relate to.

John Noll: Reasons for having wood floors: they look good, equipment can be rolled easily, spills can be cleaned up easily, provide a bright sound if needed, sound can be deadened with area rugs.

Ethan Winer: In a studio room, versus a control room, a reflective floor is a great way to get a nice sense of ambience when recording acoustic instruments. Notice I said reflective, not wood, since linoleum and other materials are less expensive than wood yet sound the same. When you record an acoustic guitar or clarinet or whatever, slight reflections off the floor give the illusion of "being right there in the room" on the recording. It's more difficult to use a ceiling for ambience - especially in a typical home studio with low ceilings - because the mikes are too close to the ceiling when miking from above. And that proximity creates comb filtering which can yield a hollow sound. So with a hard floor surface you can get ambience, and with full absorption on the ceiling you can put the mike above the instrument, very close to the ceiling, without getting comb filtering.

Dave Wallingford: I've always preferred wood floors for a few reasons: 1) It's easier to move stuff around, 2) You can always get area rugs if you need them, And the main reason: 3) Pianos sound like crap on carpet.

[sallyyoung32]

Both flooring options have pros and cons.

[francine]

Installing laminate flooring over carpet may result in the manufacturer denying any warranty rights. As with any type of flooring be sure to follow the manufacturer's recommendations for preparing the subfloor and for installing laminate flooring.

[AudioFyle]

Thanks to Ethan Winer for that response to this question. I was wondering whether to go carpet or laminate myself, and I think this convinced me to go with laminate. I like that it sounds better, and it is easier to clean.


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[John Sayers]

audiofyle - don't post spam signatures else you'll be banned.

[EvelynArado]

Hi,

You could use a circular saw or jigsaw but you have to be careful that on the upward angle that you don't split and chip the edge - I suggest that you use a stanley blade and cut into the surface on the good side of the cut and when you use the CS or JS that you cut up to the stanley blade cut and you will not chip the edge.

It is a delicate maneuver so take it slow

regardsEvelynArado

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[BriHar]

I would highly recommend vinyl - Novilon or other linoleum type flooring.

It is acoustically very similar to laminate flooring but is in general much easier to maintain, will not have sections that squeak, is very inexpensive, its quickly and easily laid, and can be had in any finish you could desire from stone tiles through marble, metal armour and grating, to wild abstract art, and on up to the more traditional laminate and other hardwood flooring.

The only caveat I would suggest keeping in mind is to avoid products which are too soft and mushy as chairs and stools as well as heavy furniture will creat depressions - although these will disappear as the product recovers - just something to keep in mind.

I'm installing a lightwood laminate novilon which has a 3D textured surface - you really have to get down and explore it with your fingers to know it's not wood.

[darrellbenin]

There are many different kinds of laminate flooring and most will come with instructions specific to that type and brand. For households and offices which require a low maintenance flooring solution, laminate flooring has been known to be an effective choice for its attractiveness, durability, ease of installation, as well as for its reasonable price when compared to many other flooring options.

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[chelscaldwell]

A vinyl print decals or wall paper is great to use.. they just have a right thickness to fit on any surface type.

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