We are going to replace our flooring in the basement, it has very expensive cushony white carpet, and over the years with kids and dogs, it no longer looks white. Our basement is just under 1000 sq ft, and don't really feel like ripping all the carpet up. Its a very warm, dry basement, no dampness or leaks. So could I just put the laminate over this instead of using an underlay? Or is that just asking for trouble later on?
Not with your carpet. It can be if the carpet is a very short, tight knit carpet that is glued directly down and no pad. Even then you need the proper underlayment. The locking systen will break if you don t have a firm base. So a soft carpet won t work. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar, I ve attended several installation seminars as well as installed a couple 100,000 s/f. GL
it will eventually become uneven after a year or two. if you dont want it uneven and looking like it was done by a 10 year old i would tear up the carpet
absolutely not! it will not lay evenly, if the carpet is dark dirty in spots you are trapping all that underneath ripping up carpet takes a day of labor, cutting in strips with a carpet knife makes it even faster
No - Don't do it. I thought the same as you, where even on a flat carpet the floor was very springy so much so that the joints in the boards split when furniture was returned. Had to start again with the floor!!
