Hi All,

I will be installing 3/4" solid hardwood on the second floor of a residential home. For some impact sound reduction I was thinking about laying out some 1/4" cork instead of roofing felt underneath the floor.

I was wondering if I need to glue down the cork or if I can just lay it down and let the hardwood staples keep it in place?

Thanks,
James

Chances are it may get pretty beat up and torn to pieces if it's loose laid when working on top of it. Although I've never been involved in that type of application, cork underlayment is fragile and brittle.

Thanks Ken. How about something like Quietwalk or Hushstep? It seems like they have similar sound abatement properties and shouldn't break apart when working on top of it. They are priced similar to cork as well. I just don't know if all of those underlayments will perform similarly in this application.

Any other suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks,
James