We are renovating the basement in our home and have been told to put laminate flooring over the existing carpet. Is this the correct thing to do, or should I remove the carpet before installing the laminate? Is laminate flooring good for basements that have a laundry room, bathroom, recreation room and bedroom?

I wouldn't apply laminate over carpet. Double-check with whoever gave you that information. Laminate should be fine in the basement as long as you don't have any obvious water problems, but it will be cooler on the feet and noisier than carpet. We just installed laminate over a concrete floor, and it came with rolls of vapour barrier that had to be cut to size and taped together, and underlay was already glued on. It turned out very well. Some degree of skill is required to do it yourself because some of the planks have to be cut to size. Although they do 'click together lengthwise, each piece needs to be hammered into place so they meet seamlessly.