Hello everyone!

I haven't had much luck in getting advice from my local woodfloor seller=
=

so I was hoping to get some answers here.

I'm in a process of a complete reflooring of 3 rooms (about 60m2). =

Currently there is a prefinished parquet that was laid about 15 years ag=
o. =

The floor was installed with no gaps between the rooms and wasn't nailed=
=

or glued to the subfloor - it is what you would probably refer to as =

floating floor.
The subfloor is of 25mm particle board on joists which are 60cm appart. =
I =

don't know how much height difference if any there is between particle =

boards.

The parquet has started to make terrible squeaking sounds over the years=
=

which I assume is because of a bad installement that's why I decided to =

replace it.

I haven't made my decision of which type of wood floor to buy because I =
do =

not know which would be the most appropriate. Also there is only about a=
s =

much space for new floor as the old parquet thickness is (about 12mm), s=
o =

I guess solid hardwood parquet is out of a question. I was leaning more =

towards the prefinished hardwood (not laminate) floor. But I don't know =
if =

it is suitable for this type of subfloor.

So I would like to hear your advice on what would be best to buy?

Thank you for your help!

J.J.

I just got done installing a solid 3/4" hardwood floor. Everybody,
manufacturers gurus on the web, recommend ripping out the particle board
subfloor and replacing it with plywood. You need a minimum of 3/4" thick
plywood to install a solid hardwood floor. I had to rip out 5/8" particle
board which was installed over 1/2" plywood. I replaced the particle board
with 5/8" plywood when combined with the 1/2" lower plywood gave me an
effective 1 1/8" subfloor. The gurus say that a good subfloor is needed for
stiffness and for nail holding power or you will end up with a lot of
squeaks from the nails getting loose and the wood moving against each other.

Installing a hardwood floor is a pile of work - removing moldings, ripping
out the particle board, getting the subfloor flat, installing the plywood,
undercutting door jambs, installing the wood floor, replacing and fixing the
moldings, adding quarter rounds to the moldings, adding thresholds etc. for
transistions to other floors. I know, I just got done with two rooms.

Also, solid hardwood floor labor costs are about $5/sq. ft.. Solid hardwood
floor is about $5/sq. ft.. So prepping the subfloor properly is needed to
avoid having a squeaky floor. Also, new plywood and the new floor lumber
needs to be acclimated in your house for a week or two before installation
or you can end up with a cupped and warped floor.

Note. www.hardwoodinstaller.com ?? link is a great resource. Also do a
search on installing hardwood floors. There are some good webpages out
there.

Dandelion77

IMO, particle board is not a good subfloor for hardwood flooring. I'm
not a flooring installer, but I have installed my own engineered
flooring made by Bruce. It is 3/8" thick (app 10mm for those across the
pond) and is was prefinished. I ripped up all of the old subflooring
and put down a layer of 5/8" plywood with construction adhesive and
screws. Then on top of that is a layer of 3/8" underlayment, with glue
and screws again. (Overkill?? Maybe) It is as solid feeling as
concrete. Do it right regarding the subfloor and get rid up the old
stuff. Mark

× Jure.J × wrote:

Hello everyone!

I haven't had much luck in getting advice from my local woodfloor seller
so I was hoping to get some answers here.

I'm in a process of a complete reflooring of 3 rooms (about 60m2).
Currently there is a prefinished parquet that was laid about 15 years
ago. The floor was installed with no gaps between the rooms and wasn't
nailed or glued to the subfloor - it is what you would probably refer to
as floating floor.
The subfloor is of 25mm particle board on joists which are 60cm appart.
I don't know how much height difference if any there is between particle
boards.

The parquet has started to make terrible squeaking sounds over the years
which I assume is because of a bad installement that's why I decided to
replace it.

I haven't made my decision of which type of wood floor to buy because I
do not know which would be the most appropriate. Also there is only
about as much space for new floor as the old parquet thickness is (about
12mm), so I guess solid hardwood parquet is out of a question. I was
leaning more towards the prefinished hardwood (not laminate) floor. But
I don't know if it is suitable for this type of subfloor.

So I would like to hear your advice on what would be best to buy?

Thank you for your help!

J.J.

Thank you for your replies.
Ripping out the particle board unfortunately is not an option.

What would be the second best thing in this case then?

Thanks!

J.J.

I was in your position about 3 years ago, I wanted hardwood floors but had
the particle subfloor. The expense involved in replacing the particle
board was too much, so we settled on laminate ie pergo. Its held up fine
and haven't had any scratches or chip outs. As a previous poster mentioned
you should also look at the engineered hardwood, I believe it uses the
same floating floor concept as laminates.

" Jure.J " wrote:
: Thank you for your replies.
: Ripping out the particle board unfortunately is not an option.

: What would be the second best thing in this case then?

: Thanks!

: J.J.