Laying Plywood Over Particle Boards on a Mobile Home

Particle board, sometimes called chipboard, is a wood composite material. This type of material is commonly used in mobile homes as an underlayment on top of the subfloor. If you're planning on redoing your floors, you can simply lay plywood over the top of the particle board, without having to replace the original material, as long as you use thin sheets of plywood. This is a cost and time saving measure that will only require a few hours to complete.

5/8-inch-thick plywood sheets
Measuring tape
Circular saw
Stud finder
Hammer
Nails

Instructions

- 1
  Measure the area to calculate the number of plywood sheets you'll need, with a measuring tape. Get the length and width of the room and write this measurement down. Plywood typically is sized in sheets of 4-by-4 feet, or 4-by-8 feet. Determine how many full planks will be necessary, and whether you'll need to cut any to fit.
- 2
  Cut plywood panels to fit with a circular saw. Move the wood through the saw slowly to avoid creating a jagged edge.
- 3
  Find the floor joists with a stud finder. Unless you can easily spot the nails used to connect the particle board to the joists, a stud finder will be necessary. Wave it over the floor and mark the spots that are indicated as joists.
- 4
  Nail the plywood down over the particleboard. Use flooring nails at a rate of one every 8 to 12 inches on each stud. When you lay down a new sheet, match the seams up as closely as possible so there are no gaps between the sheets.

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