Installing Hardwood Flooring On Particle Board

When thinking about installing wood flooring in a situation where the only subfloor is particle board you really only have one option.

Installing hardwood flooring on particle board.

The reason you can only float a floor over particle board is because nails won t hold in the particle board and glue will ruin the particle board. That option is floating a floor over top of the subfloor. Stop when you have about 5 feet of flooring remaining to be laid or when you don t. Pull up the existing flooring and baseboards in the room you are working in.

It is particle board and not osb. Hardwood flooring that is fastened by any method whether it be mechanical fasteners or glue should not go over particle board. Try not to cut into the joists or blocking so set your skillsaw depth carefully to 7 8. Begin with the first row pre drilling holes.

Install the remaining lines of hardwood across your particleboard subfloor spreading more glue for each line. Use a skillsaw to cut through the particle board 1 1 2 from the walls use a sawzall or something similar to finish cuts. A floating install is the only way to go over it and i don t know of any 3 4 solid on the market that you can float. Maintenance is easy for a pre finished hardwood floor keep grit off of the surface by sweeping regularly and use a flooring cleaning kit alcohol based and spray on and wipe off with a damp cloth.

The particle board does not run under the walls. Particle board underlayment. Particle board underlayment has the appearance of oatmeal but is actually made up of tiny wood particles glued and pressed into 4 x 8 sheets. Sheet vinyl can be installed over an old hardwood floor but a layer of 1 4 inch or thicker underlayment has to be installed over the old hardwood flooring first.

Use a thick piece of plywood to help shore up your. Next using your hammer insert a nail 1 inch from the wall and about every 4 inches along the board. Here s how to install flooring using the staple down method. The home is about 35 years old.

Hardwood floors also help cut down on dust mites. To our dismay when we ripped up the old carpet we found that the whole subfloor was covered with particle board. Last year we installed solid oak hardwood floor in our main bedroom and family room. It s best to vacuum the particleboard first to help the glue adhere.

Using a standard nail gun to install the floor was out of the question particle board isn t structurally sound enough to bite nails. Don t mop the floor as it can absorb the water and damage the particleboard.