abm2958

I'm currently working on a house that has 5/8ths plywood directly over the joists and 3/4 inch particle board nailed over that throughout the whole house.

The house is about 25-30 years old and the subfloor seems to be very stable with no noticable movement or noise. It was all previously covered with carpet and linolium but they would like to do some tile in the bathrooms and either hardwood or a laminate in the rest.

I would guess that the particle board needs to go where there will be tile but what about under the wood options? Would it be best to take it all out and sheet over top with some 1/2 inch plywood and then install hardwood?

Thanks for responding, I just want to go about this in the right manner so whatever they choose will last another 25-30 years.

Bill

I believe you can go over the patical board ok, may want to wax paper or something down so the new floor can "Float"

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Floordude

Use the floating method and you can go over the particle board with engineered wood or laminate flooring.

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Bill

My bad, partical, not OSB. OSB I would think would tend to want to grab at the flooring.

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Virginia Plumbing Codes

Floordude

A cushioned underlayment is always used under a floating installation.

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abm2958

What if they wanted to do traditional hardwood though, or would it be ok if nailed all the way through to the original plywood subfloor? I'm also always leary of this stuff (particle board) because we have lots of snow and moisture here and with the way this stuff swells it tends to make me really think about installing something nice over top of it : meaning that if there is a chance this stuff could mess up a great installation I'd take it out in a second.

Joining_heads@c

Dont install hardwood over the particle board. We always rip that up and lay 1/2 inch ply.

Edit: Thats if the flooring is nail-down

wellbuilthome

I would remove the particle board and shoot the flooring over the 5/8s ply over the beams with the paper under the flooring.

abm2958

I pulled out all the particle board and am planning on installing 3/4 B/C plywood screwed to the 5/8 inch subfloor. Ended up getting some nice unfinished cherry 2 1/4 inch flooring from a local supplier.

I'm thinking that when I nail this material down I'll probably lay 15lb. felt and then use 1 1/2 inch cleats (as I already have a cleat nailer). I'm thinking the 1 1/12 inch nails will be sufficient and get into the new 3/4 all the way. Is there any reason to go longer? Also does it even matter which direction I lay this stuff out as the 3/4 should be plenty stiff with 5/8ths under it, it would make life easier in some of the rooms as there is baseboard heat and getting under that to nail in the first few rows looks like quite a job.

Any input is appreciated, thanks for the responses.

Cdat

Some people here will say that 2 inch staples or nails is all you need to put in flooring on 3/4 flooring with 3/4 subfloor. I'd call into question their skills, as you have to take into account, you're nailing into the tongue. so, it'll drive thru both and still punch out the bottom. I'd use 2 inch since they can then seat themselves in the original 5/8 subfloor.

Where you get your wood up there? I make visists up there all the time to shop at Rare Earth Hardwood. Can't find flooring any cheaper then what they sell it for and I use it for a lot more than just flooring.

stevensmth89

You shouldn't have any problems going over particle wood.

Hope i was helpful,
Steven

Floordude

That was very uneducated advise. Particle board IS NOT an approved substrate to fasten into, by any wood manufacturer/Mill, period. It is well known, the many problems that occur with particle board, and your floor is only as good as what is under it.

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OCRS

He's populating a lot of posts with irrelevant responses. Probably just to get min 20. Trade: Realtor.

Cdat

No, look at his business link and signature link. He ain't nothin' but a friggin' spammer! Where the fruck is a mod when you need one?

abm2958

Cdat - thanks for the response and my thinking was that if the inch and a half cleats didn't reach the original 5/8ths it would be better. The original subfloor is over 30 years old and pretty dry. I was thinking that if I ran the cleats all the way through I might run into problems with it blowing out pieces from the bottom side, thus keeping the cleats in the top layer would offer better holding power and not weaken the subfloor.

I ended up getting the material from Matelski Lumber in Boyne Falls, right off of 131 on the main road that runs to Boyne City (I believe it's M-75). I've bought other real wood products from them before and they have very competitive prices on just about everything. I've installed some of their log siding and also a lot of different tounge and groove (both siding and interior products) with great results. As a general rule I'd say they are always at least 30% less than the yards with comparable quality.

shanekw1

You did mean to say "glued and screwed" didn't you? and make sure you get some rows of longer screws into the joists

abm2958

I wasn't actually going to glue the new 3/4 to the old subfloor. My plan was to secure the old subfloor better with some new screws first and then follow these guidlines, http://www.johnbridge.com/images/mik...-0604.pdf..pdf , for installing the 3/4.

Any reason this won't work? I'm open to input.

Bud Cline

May be OK here with a wood floor, but this should never be done with a tile installation. You never want to attach the underlayment directly to the floor joists..