Laminate flooring over cement slab. Ground level. Northern state. Help?

I'm looking once again at putting down laminate flooring in my living room.

Currently, there is carpet in the room.

The house is on a slab, so there's no basement, no subfloor. There is just a thin carpet pad under the carpet at the moment.

Now, since my budget dictate exactly what I can and can't do, I'm looking to DIY as much as possible. I know I cannot afford to have a paid Pro come in and doing it "the best" way. So I'm looking for the next best.

I have 3 big factors that need to be addressed after cost:

1) Thermal insulation. The house is in a state where winters tend to be long and get well below freezing. I'll need some sort of thermal insulation under the laminate. The more, the better. The carpet actually seems to be pretty decent as it is, so I'm not sure what sort of R-value the padding and carpet are currently providing. Yes, I'll put some rugs down, yes I'll wear slippers..but I don't want a frigid floor regardless. I'm not wanting/need any sort of expensive in-floor heating. Just don't want it to be COLD all winter.

2) Moisture. I'm not aware of any current moisture issues but I'm certainly not looking to create some. So a moisture barrier is a must (but that's also pretty standard)

3) The final factor is the potential floor height change. Right now, my kitchen is laminate. When it was installed (by previous owner) they did install a subfloor. The kitchen is between the living room and dining room. It's raised by about 2"-2.5". It's something that people trip over when they first visit if I don't warn them about it. I've gotten used to it, but it's still not ideal. The entryway to the front door (in living room) has a small tile vestibule (not sure that's the right term - it's just a small section of tile before the carpet starts). The tile and carpet are the same height. The doorway is only about 1" from the floor - so the adjoining flooring could NOT be raised the full 2+" to match the kitchen without raising the doorway also (something I don't want to get into).

Anyhow, I've recently had a guy come out and give me an estimate.

We talked about a few options but in the end his suggestion was one I hadn't considered previously. It sounds like a great fit - saves some money, can be DIY, provides thermal and moisture protection, and doesn't raise the floor excessively. But I'm cautious because I've never heard of doing it this way:

He suggested a standard moisture barrier and then multiple (3) layers of quality underlayment. Then OSB. Then floating floor. This avoids having to buy lumber for a "frame" and foam insulation. It addresses moisture. And it doesn't raise the flooring as much as as it would to door lumber, foam, underlayment, and then OSB. But my concern is the unknown as to how well the stacked underlayment will really work as a thermal insulator.

Has anyone done it this way before? Can you see a big reason why this may or may not work?

In a perfect world (one where my budget is MUCH bigger..) I'd just use this stuff - http://ift.tt/1Lfd4HG

but at that cost I'd be spending WELL over my budget just in the materials. So I'm looking to DIY/budget an equivalent solution.

TL;DR: Contractor suggests stacking multiple layers of flooring underlayment to achieve thermal adequacy under laminate on cement slab.

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