Installing Solid Hardwood Floors Over Particle Board

Use a thick piece of plywood to help shore up your particle board subfloor at least 3 4 inch thick.

Installing solid hardwood floors over particle board.

We want to install either laminate or hardwood flooring throughout most of our home. I pulled up all the carpet and found 3 4 particle board over 1 2 plywood board subfloor underneath the carpet. But the additional height of both the particle board and the new flooring may pose a problem with doors and appliances. Using a standard nail gun to install the floor was out of the question particle board isn t structurally sound enough to bite nails.

Hardwood flooring that is fastened by any method whether it be mechanical fasteners or glue should not go over particle board. Once you have insured the particle is in good condition you are able to install any floating type flooring engineered hardwood strand woven bamboo or eucalyptus laminate or cork over the particle board. If desired particle board underlayment can be left in place if a floating engineered wood floor or a floating laminate floor system is going to be installed over it. 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.

Like unfinished hardwood floors the prefinished types typically have tongue and groove edges on all sides. That option is floating a floor over top of the subfloor. If this type of underlayment is present it will have to be removed when planning to install a nail or glue down hardwood floor. Installing solid hardwood floors over particleboard plain and simple answer is no.

Solid wood floors should not be installed in basements or below grade. The reason floating installations work and are the best suited for installation over a particleboard sub floor is because a floating floor is not secured to the sub floor in any area. The particle board does not run under the walls. Spread flooring adhesive on the particleboard with your flooring trowel.

To our dismay when we ripped up the old carpet we found that the whole subfloor was covered with particle board. When thinking about installing wood flooring in a situation where the only subfloor is particle board you really only have one option. They are available in 3 4 inch thickness as well as low profile styles that are 5 16 to 5 8 inch thick which are a good or installing over existing flooring. Last year we installed solid oak hardwood floor in our main bedroom and family room.

Nails won t grip the particle board but screws do a better job. Make a line of glue the length.