Still working on my project and now my girlfriend had decided she wants hardwood floors rather than carpeting. There’s a do it your self hardwood floor place in town I’ve decided to go through because the prices are competitive, have the tools and sanders for rent, and have a good reputation. My question is the sales person said “do not install hardwood flooring over particle board†yet another hardwood floor installation web site I’ve seen says to lay down particle board first for a good flat surface for the wood flooring. Generally taking up a particle board floor isn’t too big of a job but my particle board floor is secured every 6 inches with ring shank nails. Under my particle boar is ¾â€ ship lap. Do I take a chance and install the new floor over the particle board or do I have to remove the particle board?
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Thanks,
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IMSA
Replies
At first I thought you were talking about waferboard (aspenite). When you mentioned the 3/4" shiplap subfloor I thought you might be talking about an underlay. Unfortunatley I have never seen a partical board underlay in my area. I didn't think it even existed. I would think it would be too brittle.
I would think that it would be ok to install your hardwood over top because you would still have the 3/4" shiplap underneath for the flooring nails to grab. I would invite those with more experience with that combination of products to comment.
Dave
I think it is a matter of how much of a bite the hardwood flooring nails will have. Particle board is not necessarily going to hold the nails very well unless they bite beyond and into the plywood below (there is plywood below, right?).
I believe that particle board is put down as a cheap subfloor when carpet will be the finished floor. I have removed much particle board and usually the largest piece you will finish with will be no larger than 2' square. Lot's of small, small pieces.
The older the particle board, the more brittle it will be and the more likely you may want to remove it. Good luck, it is a pita.
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Just to clarify a few terms here, subfloor is that layer directly on top of the joists, whether T&G ply, or shiplap, or other.......
underlayment is the layer put on top of the subfloor and under the finish floor, and may somtimes be more than one layer for various reasons.....
As to the original question, no, I would not install a solid hardwood floor over particle board, regardless of the subfloor, even 2 1/2" nails will not penetrate into the subfloor enought to hold the floor over time (IMHO),.....I would remove the particle board (I know, PITA),but it's the right way.......
Now if your doing a floating (laminate type) floor, that may be a different story since it is indeed a floating floor,, but I would check with the manufacturer to be sure, you want to be sure to maintain the warranty.
Geoff
I agree. The angle at which your nails enter your subfloor is barely 3/4 below your hardwood. Even a 2 1/2" nail is questionable as mentioned. I suppose if your floor was nice and flat and the hardwood was the same you could probably do it and never have a problem but why take the chance. Heavy traffic areas will move slightly and just the seasonal movement of the wood itself is reason enough for me not to go ahead without removing the particle board and installing a proper underlayment.
Just my 2 cents
good luck
Gary...
none of our hardwood flooring installers will install over particle.
ever.
period.
carpenter in transition
Just in case you don't believe these guys, nail down a few pieces and try prying them up. Look at the pocket the nail leaves when it pulls up
Ok, I appreciate all the comments. It looks like I'm going to be pulling up particle board this week. Since everything such as baseboard and door jams are built with the additional 1/2 of floor height factored in, would it be a good idea to replace the particle board with 1/2 inch plywood? And if so, would you recommend using ring shank nails to install the plywood?
IMSA
"would you recommend using ring shank nails to install the plywood?"
I'd use screws. Use more around the edges - like every 6" - to keep the seams flat.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
A good website to answer many of your questions is http://nofma.org/
There is a pdf file you can download at https://www.nofma.org/default.aspx?tabid=82&PID=41