Patent ID: 8720144

Claim:
A flooring system, comprising: a top floor layer comprising a plurality of luxury vinyl tiles, wherein the top floor layer comprises a tile joint between adjacent tiles of the plurality of luxury vinyl tiles; a sub-floor; and an underlayment material comprising a cross-linked, polyolefin foam disposed between the sub-floor and the top floor layer, wherein the underlayment material has a density in a range of about 20 kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m 3 ) to about 200 kg/m 3 , a thickness in a range of about 0.5 millimeter (mm) to about 6 mm, and a compressive strength of more than 15 pounds per square inch (psi), wherein the underlayment material is configured to prevent a portion of at least one of the plurality of luxury vinyl tiles at the tile joint from bending, relative to another portion of the top floor layer, by more than about 45 degrees over a twelve hour period when at least 3.1 psi of pressure is applied to at least one of the tile joint or the portion of the at least one of the plurality of luxury vinyl tiles at the tile joint.