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Throughout the upper floor of my new house there was a very thick pile carpet with a nice pad but it had massive pet damage from the previous owners.

Under the pad is a layer of 3/8th inch particle board and then plywood before the floor joists. The particle board is damaged in places where liquid soaked through the pad. It's basically sawdust in some spots. I've cut out the bad parts but I'm hearing that you can't install click lock LVP over particle board (at least not recommended?)

My wife says that we'd need to replace the particle board with another layer of plywood before laying LVP. I say the plywood already in place IS a subfloor and we just need to remove all the particle board. Or can I just patch the particle board and lay down click lock LVP?

Should I be getting glue down or loose lay?

How wrong are we? Am I missing other problems that will arise without the particle board like clearance for doors and mouldings?

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  • Particle board not recommended because as you found out, it turns to sawdust when wet. Soaked in pet damage wood should probably be removed to prevent smells from coming back to bite you. This can include the plywood under the particle board. Depending on the area damage patch or completely replace. If patching, replace particle board with same thickness particle board, and plywood with same thickness plywood. Flooring like LVP, laminate, tile want flat floors/no changes in height. Commented Apr 23 at 19:59
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    How thick is the plywood subfloor? One of the things to consider is how high your finished floor will be, compared to everything else in your room and the transitions to other rooms. Last LVP I installed, we added a 3/8" underlayment just to keep the top of the floor similar to the thickness of the carpet and pad we were replacing. Commented Apr 23 at 20:04
  • The plywood isn't in a spot where I can measure it without cutting something. I might be able to gauge it at the stairs. Most of the upstairs had the same carpet in it so the subfloor from the entry stairs all the way through is the same height. Only differences are going to be the kitchen and bathroom which are sheet vinyl. Commented Apr 24 at 17:46

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You absolutely Do Not want glue down. You want a floating floor.

LVP can be installed over particle board. I have done it in many homes and had never had an issue.

Addressing the issue of the damage to the particle board. You can repair the damaged areas with a floor leveler. I do like the Henry leveler/ skim coat. It works well with the particle board because it dries from a catalytic action and not from water evaporation. This prevents more damage to the particle board.

Should you fill the damage or replace the boards is based on what percentage of the particle board floor is damaged. If it is less than 30% total area, I would use the fill. It dries in 15 minutes and you can install the flooring.

You can also consider a roll out underlayment such as a vapor/ sound barrier, to help seal any remaining smells and further smooth out the floor. ( Not essential, but a good addition.)

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  • It's not a lot of overall area. I'm cutting out square sections so if I try to patch with more particle board it will be easy to slot into. I think a most i'm going to use 2 4'x8' boards. I found an efficient cutlist optimization tool that helps plan the cuts with minimal waste. I'll definitely look at the Henry Leveler as an alternative, biggest comparisons will be price and application time. Commented Apr 24 at 17:50

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