Is felt underlayment necessary when installing hardwood floor?
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We eliminated it. With the underlayment, every step we took on the floor squeaked. We were told by the installers that the squeaks would quit when the floor settled. The squeaks never got better. The company sent another installing team who removed all of the hardwood flooring, leveled it out, and then glued the hardwood flooring to our subfloor. We have 2 areas that squeak very slightly since the "glue down" and it's been about a year now. Nothings perfect, but we are happy with the glue down.
When I was growing up, my father always complained that he wished he had put insulation down on the ceiling of the rooms below before finishing the upstairs. When I built my house I put 3" fiberglass batting insulation between the joists on the ceiling before the underlay. It made a huge difference, sound wise, down stairs. Felt under the floor boards will also make a great difference. My motto is: "Better to have it & not need it than wish... the... heck... you... did"
I absolutely, unequivocally, can not recommend gluing floor boards. That just might be a deal breaker, for me, when it comes to buying my next home. Just because someone installs floors, doesn't mean they are not subject to knowing just enough to be dangerous. Be careful out there people, we have one of the greatest research tools of all time, "Google". This is the 2nd decade of the 21st century, we have remarkable research capabilities. Go forth & be informed, Excelsior!!!