# Luxury vinyl plank flooring - laying over particle board subfloor



## crayola110 (Aug 23, 2012)

Hi in my condo I have a fairly sound particle board subfloor. 

I was thinking of installing "Allure -Ultra", "engage- select plank", or "Coretec -plus". Vinyl plank over it.
They're 5 mm, 5 mm, and 8mm gauge thickness
They all have lifetime residential /10yr commercial warranties

Does anyone know about these brands? 

Would you recommend these over particle board subfloor?
The subfloor feels pretty sound and hard and only has >1/8 gaps between different particle boards. Some have carpet staples which I could either remove or hammer down level. 

Could I possibly floor prep or even paint the floors to prep them for this?

Any other tips or experience would be great.

Pic below is of particle board under lifted carpet


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Particle board is not a suitable subfloor for anything.
It's amazing to me it's even sold any more.
It soaks up moisture like a sponge and swells up with just a change in humidly. 
Get's wet once and it turns to oatmeal and swells up to twice it's size.
Will it work? It's nothing I'd want in my house.


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## woodman58 (Aug 22, 2010)

All that said, it will work.


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## crayola110 (Aug 23, 2012)

Thanks,

Is there anything I could do to make the particle board stronger? Like paint something onto it? 

I'm in Los Angeles so humidity is low. I assume if I had a leak or burst pipe the Vinyl Plank would keep the particle board dry?


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## rusty baker (Feb 13, 2009)

crayola110 said:


> Thanks,
> 
> 
> 
> I assume if I had a leak or burst pipe the Vinyl Plank would keep the particle board dry?


 No, it would not.


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## Live_Oak (Aug 22, 2013)

The right way to do it is to remove the particle board and put down a suitable subfloor. As previously mentioned, just humidity along (you can't tell me it never rains there!) will cause problems with the particle board. Just a bit of swelling at the seams (very common) will telegraph through the vinyl. If you had a leak, well, you'd have to remove the vinyl, then remove the swollen and moldy particle board anyway. 

Do it right from the beginning if you only want to do the job once. It'll be cheaper in the long term.


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## crayola110 (Aug 23, 2012)

I see, thank you for all the advice. So I guess I'll have to remove all this board, making this a much larger project then I thought  . It runs throughout 650 square feet.

Underneath the particle board is I believe 2x4s that run diagonally. They have larger 1/4 inch gaps between them. It's on the first floor of a raised foundation.

So would Plywood be suitable? Or is there something else you would recommend.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Highly unlikely it 2 X 4's.
I would use Advantech not plywood.
Construction on top of the joist and 8D ring shank nails every 6".
Going to need a Toe Kick saw or sawsall with a short wide blade to cut the flooring out where it runs under the walls.


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## crayola110 (Aug 23, 2012)

OK thanks for the tips.

Yeah I think they are 1x6 planks run diaganolly flat on the floor joists. I suppose I'll have to install this subfloor over these planks?


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

You would first add ceramic coated decking screws to the planks for extra holding power and to reduce squeaks.
1/2 underlayment rated subfloor will work over the 1 X 6's.
It needs to be nailed or stapled every 4" on the edges and from 6 to 8" in the field.
I use a pneumatic narrow crown staple gun but you can use ring shanked underlayment nails.


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