Expert: Daniel Humphrey - 12/29/2007

Question
I have half inch particle board and half inch plywood on my floors. The particle on top then plywood on the bottom. Can I still put down a hardwood floor or engineered wood with nails or staples? I was told I can't do this because of the particle board even if I have plywood under the particle boards.

Answer
Dear Bob,

You've probably been told why particle board isn't very good to fasten a hardwood floor to. Most hardwood floor installers wouldn't warranty such an application, if they would even agree to it, because particle board isn't very dimensionally stable, nor does it hold nails very well and may even chip up when the nail is driven. It simply isn't worth the potential trouble.

You've probably looked into covering it with good plywood already, which is what I would recommend if the thicker floor wouldn't cause you problems. I've also just torn up the particle board and started over, but to make a subfloor for tile. It was a good move.

Having said this, I did install a pine strip floor on top of a particle board subfloor about ten years ago, and it still looks great. I did a lot of planing of the seams and smoothing as prep. Most of the things I was scared of didn't materialize.

Dan