Floor underlayment that allows water flow therethrough in only one direction
AssigneeMP Global Products, L.L.C.
InventorAlan B. Collison
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A floor underlayment includes a fiber pad and a vapor barrier layer. The fiber pad includes reinforcement fibers and thermoplastic binder fibers binding the reinforcement fibers together. The vapor barrier layer has a bottom surface attached to the fiber pad, a top surface opposite of the bottom surface, and a matrix of holes extending through the top and bottom surfaces thereof. The holes are configured to allow moisture to flow through the holes in a downward direction from the top surface of the vapor barrier layer to the bottom surface of the vapor barrier layer while inhibiting water flow through the holes in an upward direction opposite of the downward direction.
Claims20
A floor underlayment comprising:
- a fiber pad including reinforcement fibers and thermoplastic binder fibers binding the reinforcement fibers together;
- and
- a vapor barrier layer having a bottom surface attached to the fiber pad, a top surface opposite of the bottom surface, and a matrix of holes extending through the top and bottom surfaces thereof, wherein the holes are configured to allow moisture to flow through the holes in a downward direction from the top surface of the vapor barrier layer to the bottom surface of the vapor barrier layer while inhibiting water flow through the holes in an upward direction opposite of the downward direction.
A floor underlayment comprising:
- a hygroscopic fiber pad including reinforcement fibers and thermoplastic binder fibers binding the reinforcement fibers together, the fiber pad having a thickness within a range from 1.5 millimeters (mm) to 4.75 mm;
- and
- a plastic vapor barrier layer bonded to the fiber pad using adhesive, the vapor barrier layer having a thickness within a range from 1 mil to 3 mils, the floor underlayment having a matrix of holes that extend completely through the vapor barrier layer without extending into or through the fiber pad, each of the holes having a diameter within a range from 1 mm to 2 mm, each of the holes having straight sides such that a first diameter thereof at a top surface of the vapor barrier layer is equal to a second diameter thereof at a bottom surface of the vapor barrier layer.
A floor structure comprising:
- a subfloor;
- a floor surface layer;
- and
- a floor underlayment disposed between the subfloor and the floor surface layer, the floor underlayment including a fiber pad and a vapor barrier layer, the fiber pad including reinforcement fibers and thermoplastic binder fibers binding the reinforcement fibers together, the vapor barrier layer having a bottom surface attached to the fiber pad, a top surface opposite of the bottom surface, and a matrix of holes extending through the top and bottom surfaces thereof, wherein the holes are configured to allow moisture to flow through the holes in a downward direction from an interface between the floor surface layer and the floor underlayment to the fiber pad while inhibiting water flow through the holes in an upward direction opposite of the downward direction.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.