Performance enhancing underlayment, underlayment assembly, and method

An underlayment roll good for on-site application between wall, ceiling, and floor construction components, comprising:

• a flexible underlayment comprising a polymeric foam material layer that contains microcapsules of a phase change material distributed roughly uniformly throughout the polymeric foam material layer, the microcapsules being between 5 mm and 10 mm in diameter and the phase change material being configured to undergo a solid to liquid phase change between about 15° C. (about 60° F.) and about 27° C. (about 80° F.) to provide for a latent storage of thermal energy, wherein the underlayment is configured to form a layered construction component/underlayment assembly with the underlayment located between the first and second construction components;
• the underlayment having a length, a width, and a thickness;
• the underlayment having first and second major surfaces that are each defined by the length and the width of the underlayment;
• the width of the underlayment being between about 1.5 feet and about 10 feet;
• the thickness of the underlayment being between about 0.015 inches and about 1 inch, wherein the polymeric foam material layer comprises by weight between about 40% and 60% microcapsules and between about 40% and 60% foam material;
• and
• the underlayment being in roll form.

An underlayment roll good for on-site application between wall, ceiling, and floor construction components, comprising:

• a flexible underlayment including a mat that is saturated with a phase change material that undergoes a solid to liquid phase change but not a liquid to gas phase change between about 15° C. (about 60° F.) and about 27° C. (about 80° F.) to provide for a latent storage of thermal energy, wherein the mat is completely surrounded by and encased within a flexible polymeric film envelope that is impermeable to the phase change material in liquid form, wherein the underlayment being configured for supplementing physical properties of first and second wall, ceiling, or floor construction components with which the underlayment is used to form a layered construction component/underlayment assembly with the underlayment located between the first and second construction components;
• the underlayment having a length, a width, and a thickness;
• the underlayment having first and second major surfaces that are each defined by the length and the width of the underlayment;
• the width of the underlayment being between about 1.5 feet and about 10 feet;
• the thickness of the underlayment being between about 0.015 inches and about 0.375 inches, wherein the flexible polymeric film envelope is made of coextruded polyethylene having three layers, wherein the middle layer comprises a higher temperature softening point than the outer layers such that the envelope is self sealing through the application of heat;
• the phase change material of the underlayment having an initial distribution;
• and the underlayment and mat being configured to substantially keep the phase change material from migrating, when in liquid form, from the initial distribution of the phase change material so that the phase change material substantially retains the initial distribution through repeated phase changes between solid and liquid form regardless of the orientation of the underlayment;
• and
• the underlayment being in roll form.