That option is floating a floor over top of the subfloor.
Particle board underlayment hardwood flooring.
Trust me i tried to find someone who would tell me differently.
If this type of underlayment is present it will have to be removed when planning to install a nail or glue down hardwood floor.
When particle board is used on top of sub flooring as an underlayment it provides a thick solid base that is useful under carpeting linoleum or vinyl flooring.
Last year we installed solid oak hardwood floor in our main bedroom and family room.
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.
That is a strange material to sit atop 1 2 ply.
Using a standard nail gun to install the floor was out of the question particle board isn t structurally sound enough to bite nails.
Alton no need to comment.
Are you certain you have 3 4 particle board.
I have the same issue particle board throughout the house.
Particle board can absorb excessive moisture is very brittle and does not hold nails very well.
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.
I want hardwood floors so have to pull the particle board up and lay plywood sub flooring.
Laying plywood over particleboard.
Use as underlayment for resilient flooring to provide a suitable and durable installation surface for finished flooring products.
But don t worry engineered hardwood floors are great for several reasons.
To our dismay when we ripped up the old carpet we found that the whole subfloor was covered with particle board.
Replacing the subfloors can be a.
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.
Hardwood flooring that is fastened by any method whether it be mechanical fasteners or glue should not go over particle board.
Any professional flooring company is going to say the same thing.
If your home has particleboard subfloors instead of plywood subfloors you may want the added durability plywood has to offer.
How to install wood flooring over particle board.
One last pro of particle board is that i t can also raise the level of the floor to the correct height for transitions between flooring materials.