if you're planning to spend $ on the carpet (surface layer), then you should plan to spend $$ on the under layer. a good under layer will let your carpet last a lot longer. when you walk on carpet with good under layer, you'll feel a lot more comfortable too. 2 M/ D7 ^4 S# e$ f% M 6 q% @& [' t# i ?+ Iof course, this all depend on how long you plan to live in this house too. G% w0 R+ r. p1 p4 R