Cheap underlay – going, going, gone
About to rip up the old carpet in your new home?
The chances are, there won’t be anything too interesting underneath.
Most people just find dusty floorboards, layers of old lino, perhaps some old newspaper cuttings. But when two builders started renovating a house in Penarth, they struck gold.
Hidden below the musty old shagpile, they found a stash of cinema posters – dating from the 1930s and 40s – that had been used as a makeshift carpet underlay. The builders held onto the posters for almost 30 years, until realising the cache could be worth quite a lot. Later selling them at auction for a whopping £72,000!
‘Cinema poster’ underlay is certainly very creative, and we’re betting it saved the homeowner a fair amount of cash back in the day. But fast forward to 2023 and, these days, there’s absolutely no need to make do with a makeshift underlay – no matter how limited your budget may be…or how much it could potentially be worth in the future!
Here at Carpet Underlay Shop, we have some excellent cheap underlays to choose from – including high-quality options for carpet, laminate and vinyl around the £6-7 per m2 mark.
So why not put down the metro and magazines and scroll our online range instead? You’ll find affordable products that do the job much better (albeit with a slightly less colourful design!).
Our top 3 underlays that offer best value for money
Carpet underlay
Our recommendation – Plushwalk 12mm Carpet Underlay
Price - £6.99 per m2
Why choose Plushwalk 12mm?
Made from the latest memory foam technology, Plushwalk 12mm is a revolutionary product that can make any carpet look and feel fantastic underfoot.
Thanks to its record-breaking 3.5TOG thermal insulation, it effectively retains heat – and, as such, can help to reduce heating bills long-term.
It can successfully reduce sounds by 49dB, therefore minimising ambient noise and noise created via impact (e.g. footsteps).
It also benefits from an in-built damp proof membrane, which enhances its longevity. In fact, it’s 92% longer lasting than any other underlay currently on the market – meaning your carpets will continue to look fresher and newer for longer.
Plushwalk is now regarded as the industry’s ‘gold standard’. And with such superb credentials, you’d expect it to have a hefty price tag – but the truth is, that’s really not the case.
Available for only £6.99 per m2, Plushwalk 12mm may be the best carpet underlay currently available, but it’s also a fairly cheap carpet underlay. Making it a fantastic, budget-friendly option for home projects.
Alternative cheaper options:
Cloud 9 Cumulus (£5.12 per m2) or Super PU Foam (£2.99 per m2).
Wood and laminate underlay
Our recommendation – Royale 7mm Professional Sonic Gold Underlay
Price - £7.98 per m2
Why choose Royale 7mm Professional Sonic Gold?
A cheap laminate underlay, with an impressive list of advanced features.
Royale 7mm Professional Sonic Gold is an industry-leading product that’s commonly selected by high-end professionals and architects – and with good reason.
Made from unique 7mm AeroFoam, with a gold foil backing, it’s one of the thickest underlays of its kind. And, therefore, demonstrates unrivalled levels of sound protection, insulation and durability.
In our opinion, it’s by far the best underlay for laminate or wood currently on the market. Yet it’s still available for the affordable price of just £7.98 per m2.
Alternative cheaper options:
Royale Supreme Gold Foil 6mm (£2.33 per m2) or Royale Sonic Gold 5mm Underlay (£1.98 per m2).
Vinyl flooring underlay
Our recommendation – LVT Vinyl Click Flooring
Price – £3.60 per m2 (£35.99 for a full roll)
Why choose Royale LVT underlay?
Some LVT flooring comes with an in-built layer of cushioning. But for those that don’t, LVT underlay is a highly worthwhile investment, and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
Our no.1 choice is Royale LVT Underlay. Manufactured from toughened high-density foam, this extra layer will notably enhance the final look and feel of your new vinyl flooring and significantly extend its lifespan.
It also improves thermal insulation, reduces noise by 20dB, locks out moisture thanks to its damp proof membrane and helps to prevent unwanted movement of your LVT.
Remarkable achievements, for a cheap underlay that costs just £3.20 per m2!
Alternative cheaper option:
Arbiton Secura Luxury Vinyl Click Back Underlay (£25.75 for one pack).
Should I avoid the cheapest underlays?
Generally speaking, yes.
Opting for the cheapest underlay available can often mean opting for the lowest quality – which can lead to a host of ongoing issues. For example, it’s likely to flatten over time, cause indentations in your carpet, feel uncomfortable underfoot and offer poor insulation, therefore potentially leading to heat loss and higher heating bills.
Underlay may be hidden below the surface, but it’s a crucial layer – that has the power to significantly improve the performance of your flooring and greatly extend its lifespan. And in most cases, it doesn’t pay to settle for the cheapest option.
Our advice? It’s best to choose the highest quality product you can afford, even if that means offsetting the extra cost with less expensive carpet, laminate or vinyl.
All the products recommended in this blog offer the best of both worlds.
They may not be the cheapest underlays available, but they’re still relatively cheap compared to like-for-like underlays for sale in other stores. And as the industry’s leading products, they offer exceptional value for money. These are the highest quality underlays available – guaranteed to improve the look and feel of your new flooring – whilst still having an affordable price tag.
Bag the best underlays at the best prices
No cinema posters or newspaper required.
Even if your budget is very limited, there’s no need to resort to a homemade underlay. Equally, there’s no need to break the bank or spend hours searching the internet either. You can trust in us – here at Carpet Underlay Shop.
Not only are our underlays priced incredibly competitively, we also have regular discount codes available to bring the cost down even further. And compared to most high street carpet retail stores, our customers save up to 70% on average by shopping our online collection.
So why not take a look?
If you have any questions or would like tailored advice on the best underlay to meet your needs – budget included – talk to us. We’re always happy to help and, after a quick chat, we should be able to suggest a product that ticks every box. Whether that be one of the affordable options listed above or one of the many other budget-friendly underlays in our collection.
Give us a call on 0203 887 0994. Or if you prefer, send an email to sales@carpet-underlay-shop.co.uk and a member of the team will respond as soon as possible.
- Alex Illidge
