Services
Underlayments
Get professional underlayment and sound mat installation for fire and sound control on your multifamily project.
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Professional Underlayment Contractors
Northstar Specialties Inc. is a leading Maxxon® Gyp-Crete® flooring, sound mat, and concrete installer in the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas of Minnesota. If a whisper-quiet floor, radiant flooring, or a simple, well-built floor are goals for the project you’re working on, our services are ideal for meeting and exceeding expectations. Our state-of-the-art technology and expert team ensure the job is completed well and on time to keep your project on track.
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Gypsum Underlayment
Gypsum Flooring Benefits
Northstar Specialties Inc. uses the perfect pairing of Maxxon® Gyp-Crete® (a gypsum and concrete mixture that is lighter than concrete) and sound mats to offer these benefits for your new structure or to update old buildings:
- Less Pressure on Framework, More Security – Gypsum flooring is 28% lighter and much easier to work with than concrete, almost entirely self-leveling, and durable.
- Fast Dry Time Keeps Projects on Track – Gyp-Crete® pours quickly and dries fast, so it can be walked on mere hours after installation.
- Minimize Creaks and Squeaks – Gypsum floors are ideal for minimizing noises when paired with sound mats.
- Ideal for Underfloor Heating – Radiant flooring and Gyp-Crete® are the perfect pair, so you can skip the corrosion and shrinking that occurs with regular concrete.
- Reduce Toxins and Keep Air Clean – The gypsum and concrete mixture has low chemical emissions, so safety is at top of mind.
Cement Underlayment
Cement Flooring Benefits
Northstar Specialties Inc. uses self-leveling, hydraulic cement-based underlayment, Maxxon® Level-Right®, to flatten and smooth rough or spalled concrete slabs using a featheredge.
- Self-Leveling for Fast, Easy Installation – The easy-to-use mixture pours quickly and is easy to work with, so your floor installation takes less time.
- Perfect for Rough Screed Finish – Our product tops off rough floors to provide a smoother underlayment.
- Restore Old Flooring – Repair and smooth out imperfections in old flooring quickly without having to remove the old material.
- Save Money – Fixing the current flooring can be a great option if you don’t want to spend money replacing the entire floor.
- Great for Large Commercial Projects – No special subfloor prep, old floor removal, or hand finishing is necessary, so larger projects are finished quickly.
Applications
Floor Underlayment Applications
The flooring underlayment services offered at Northstar Specialties can be broken down into three main categories: gypsum floors, sound mats, and cementitious floors. Discover the best fit for your residential, multifamily, or commercial project below!
Gypsum Floors
Maxxon® Gyp-Crete® is the industry leader for use over wood subfloors due to impressive sound control in multifamily homes and being the ideal material for radiant flooring projects.
Sound Mats
The original sound mat for multifamily construction, the Maxxon® Acousti-Mat® minimizes noises and increases IIC ratings to provide a quieter experience for residents in multifamily buildings.
Cementitious Floors
Maxxon® Level-Crete™ is a high-strength, cost-effective hydraulic cement flooring that’s perfect for capping uneven, rough, or spalled concrete floors in renovation projects.
Designed for capping concrete, existing floors, and adhesive residue, Level-Right® is a self-leveling hydraulic cement-based underlayment that requires no special prep or floor removal.
Features
Underlayment Features
- Gypsum cement-based underlayments with compression strengths up to 4500 psi
- Portland cement-based self-leveling underlayments with compression strengths up to 5500 psi
- Laser Leveled Floors
- Resurfacing lightweight concrete, spalled concrete, rough unfinished concrete
- Therma-Floor underlayment as the heat mass for radiant floors
- Smooth and level old wood floors
- Leveling over hollow core and precast concrete planks
- Encapsulating vinyl asbestos tile
- Specification assistance
- Systems advisors for sound control, fire ratings, and specifications
Products
Maxxon Underlayment Products
Northstar Specialties, Inc. offers gypsum and cement underlayment options paired with sound mats to ensure any building’s floor is durable, soundproof, and fireproof. The unique mixtures that applicators use are perfect for multifamily homes, in-floor (radiant) heating, and so much more. Check out the products below that our Northstar Specialties team uses to apply your building’s underlayer and click the button for more information.
Gyp-Crete® Gypsum Underlayment:
- Basic
- 2000 Multifamily
- Gyp-Fix® EZ Patch
- Radiant
- High Performance
Sound Mat Underlayment:
- Acousti-Mat® 1/8
- Acousti-Mat® 1/4
- Acousti-Mat® 1/4 Premium
- Acousti-Mat® 3/8 Sound Control
- Acousti-Mat® 3/4
- Acousti-Mat® 3/4 Premium
- Acousti-Top®
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ – Underlayment Flooring
IIC stands for Impact Insulation Class and FIIC stands for Field Impact Insulation Class. Both are the measure of how soundproof a material is, but the FIIC is the on-site test compared to the IIC laboratory tests. Vibrations and shocks caused by general every day sounds in a building are called impact noises. The higher the IIC, the better acoustic insulation a material has to soundproof a building. For multifamily buildings, the recommended FIIC is 55.
There are four layers of flooring in a building: joists, subfloor, underlayment, and the floor covering.
- Joists – The wood pieces that act as the foundation and frame for the flooring.
- Subfloor – A layer of plywood that goes beneath the underlayment to provide structure.
- Underlayment – Layer that provides a smooth, flat, and sturdy surface for flooring.
- Floor Covering – Carpet, tile, vinyl, and other flooring options are used for the topmost part of the flooring.
Underlayment provides a strong, smooth structure to protect your floors from mold, mildew, and moisture. It can also help soundproof and fireproof your floors.
Sound mats are meant to soundproof the floor of a structure by adding an extra layer that works as a shock absorber. This negates the extra vibrations that are typically caused by loud noises in a building. The result is quieter floors in multifamily and commercial buildings.
