Laminate/wood floor on top of existing underlay?

[barcyn]

I'm thinking of laying good quality laminate or engineered wood flooring in my dining room (ground floor). At present it's carpeted with a very good quality underlay. Because they say there's no such thing as a stupid question (only a stupid answer), I don't mind asking: do I really need to pull up the existing underlay and put that thin foam stuff down?

Thanks for any answers.

Barry

 

[WoodYouLike]

It would be better if you did.
Carpet underlay is suited for carpet, not for wood/laminate. These need a different underlayment to give you the best result.
Some carpet underlayment can even crumble underneath wooden floors

(Also think of all the dust/dirt/buggies in the existing carpet underlayment, no matter how well or often you've vacuum cleaned is will never be really "clean" and laying a closed/none breathable covering over it is asking for smells, more buggies etc in the long run).