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If you are using commodity Lauan...you may be doing a disservice to you and your customers...
 
What are you talking about?  This guy is NUTS I have used Lauan for years!....
 
I challenge you...read on....
 
 
SurePly® Premium Underlayment is a wholly owned trademark of Import Plywood Marketing Group, Inc and is licensed exclusively to Patriot Timber Products International of Greensboro, NC.

As a veteran of the imported plywood market since 1990, I know what I am talking about here...Lauan or Meranti was never intended to be used as an underlayment for vinyl flooring.  It was originally designed as a three-ply plywood for paneling substrate.  Remember back to the 1960's, in the basement and "rumpus rooms" and even living rooms for that matter filled with the dark "faux" wood grain paneling...dark and musky smelling.  Well guess what that musky smell was....yep...the Lauan substrate.  Lauan was the generic name in the Philippines where the manufacture of this material began and then shifted to Indonesia and then Malaysia in the 1980's as the resource of logs began to dwindle in the Philippines.  The next king of the hill - because they had the unexploited forest -was Indonesia and that has transferred to Malaysia as "Meranti" and is in the process of being transferred to China as "Okoume" presently.
 
The Lauan/Meranti  - or "Mahogany" for the true old timers like myself - was used because it was relatively clear and cheap in comparison to domestic materials.  But there was a substantial difference back in the 60's through 80's.  The material was made from excellent logs and really well manufactured.  It reminds me of the Pacific Northwest in the old Kinsey Photographer photos.  People turning tree stumps into small houses.  Why?  because they were plentiful and cheap.
 
The evolution in the resilient vinyl industry in recent years had lead to more patterns, thinner materials and different compositions that have been increasingly sensitive to underlayments and have at times problems.  Anyone else remember the disaster of the early 1990's when perimeter glued floor systems were introduced without a felt backing and the resulting discoloration claims that seemed to specifically plague the areas in and around Indianapolis - not to mention other parts of the mid west? 
 
The vinyl used in today's houses is more sophisticated and thinner than ever.  Because of the evolution of cheaper, faster, better, the underlayment has followed the same suit becoming thinner and thinner and worse in quality each year.  Never mind the contempt some importers have shown for the grade and thickness, the quality I see these days is awful.  Now, that does not leave me without blame....I sell more of the commodity grade plywood in spite of my cries for a better product than I do anything else.
 
However, in 1992, in the heat of a debate over a flooring claim for yet another delaminated piece of Lauan that has ruined a $2,000.00 floor...the question from one of my customers came like a lightning bolt...."Why can't I get Lauan plywood like I used to 20 years ago....."
 
That simple question was the inspiration for the first guaranteed Lauan underlayment of it's kind in the industry - SurePly Premium Underlayment.  I first developed the SurePly Premium Underlayment back in 1992.  After many trials and errors trying to reinvent three-ply Lauan plywood, I realized that the answer was there all along....just make it like they did 20 years ago.
 
And that is what we did.  From that humble beginning, we started a revolution in the Lauan underlayment business with regard to vinyl flooring underlayment.
 
We released the theory of the product and practical installation instructions developed with hours of input from all of the industries that relate to installation of underlayment from staple manufacturers to the seam filler manufacturers to the vinyl companies themselves.
 
We also put our money where our mouth was....we came up with a full replacemnt warranty for 10 years, because the quality was that good.
 
SurePly Premium Underlayment is approved as an underlayment with Tarkett, Congoleum, and Mannington brands of resilient vinyl flooring.
 
Yes, we have spawned many products that seek to imitate the SurePly, but none have yet succeded.  Many have come close, but we find that the market wants the "innovator" instead of the "impersonator".
 
We are experts in the do's and don'ts of Lauan/Meranti underlayment forged over a lifetime of installations done with these two hands as well as the input of many, many others in the industry.
 
When you are ready to sell a product that you can be proud of....then its time to call us.
 
Now, a note please....I do not mean to suggest that there is not a place for commodity Lauan/Meranti in the market there is.  If you want a material that is cheap and a product you can dread taking call backs on, then Lauan/Meranti is for you.  As I tell my customers, you want cheap, I have cheap - with no warranty...but if you want the material designed as an underlayment then it's time to buy SurePly.
 
If you want a product that you can finally be proud of to sell, then stop screwing around with commodity grade Lauan and Meranti and step up to something that you can be proud of for a change...its refreshing!
 
Step up to.........SurePly Premium Underlayment

Have a problem with a vinyl floor?
Need to troubleshoot an installation?
Just need some help with underlayment?
 
Then don't hesitate to contact us at 530-589-4816
 
We are available for hire to diagnose and consult on your underlayment problems and needs...

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