by pressed wood i'm referring to partice board... i'm not sure of all of the technical names for things, but the wood is the kind you'd find in those furniture kits that are laminated, not the kind of wood with large chips... please educate me on the proper terminology...

install 1/4 plywood first.

There are several types of composite and fiberboard.

medium density fiberboard (MDF) is made of refined fibers and is often used in furniture and mouldings. It has an extremely smooth sanded surface. It is paintable if primed and is often veneered.

Particle board: looks like granules of wood the size of kitty litter all glued together and pressed. Very heavy, not structually strong. In furniture we call it explodoboard. Tends to be absorbant. See a lot of this as underlayment because its cheap, but it does not hold nails well and can't be used for hardwood floor. Mastics work better if not aqueous mix.

Oriented strand board OSB: wafters glued together. Used for sheathing, roofing and subfloor. Tends to be too rough for underlayment and does not hold glue well. Need to apply plywood or luan underlayment on this.

Hope this helps.

of the different types you listed, it sounds most like particle board - looks almost like large pieces of sawdust... so you're saying that i should be able to use a mastic on this and then apply the tiles???

Particle board accepts most mastics and adhesives well. Thin water or solvent based mastics can soak in and be ineffective. In the case of contact cement, just pre-coat the board, allow to dry, then put the adhesive coat on. Thicker mastics (ones applied with a trowel rather than a brush) do not have a problem. Adhesive on particle board can fail because the board is actually weaker than the adhesive, but for a tile floor, this is not a problem. Be sure surfaces are clean, use no water, pre-seal in the event the adhesive is thin.

after doing a bit more research online i'm seeing more and more people discouraging the use of vinyl tile on particle board... i'm getting nervous... i'm wondering how nice sheets of plywood would look if sanded, stained and treated... is that even a possiblity for flooring, or would it look horrible??? is it even possible to attach plywood (perhaps a luan or something) to particle board??? i'm afraid to make a move in any direction without knowing that there is an option that would work without a hitch... (p.s. i really hate carpetting)

1/4 multiply would be best.

stain it! might look good!

some cork floors look like OSB!!

now you've got me thinking... i never thought of using OSB, but that could look really cool as a floor... you probably wouldn't be able to stain it, though, could you??? i think i remember hearing that OSB was treated to be waterproof... is that correct???

we're ripping up the carpet in the house today and i'll find out exactly what's under it (though i'm sure that it is particle board all the way through)... i've decided that i'm going with the vinyl tiles, so here are a couple of last minute questions:

which would you recomend? luan or plywood? ins and outs with each?

how do you apply the luan or ply to particle board? nails? screws? is there a pattern to follow?

if i find out that there is vinyl sheeting under the carpet (a real possibility with mobile homes) should i take it up or could i apply the luan/ply directly over it?

i'm getting excited!