Tear out the 3/4 particle board and install 3/4 plywood.

the problem with any other floor system is the deflection between the joists. Some may work and some may not depending on the amount of movement.

or add a layer of 3/4" subfloor over the particleboard if removal isnt an option and the particleboard is in good condition. This will add even more rigidity to the subfloor deflection and enable you to have almost any flooring type isntalled.

Now if you do not want to address your subfloors deflection issues with additional layers, you can get resilient tile and plank flooring called Luxury Vinyl Tile that replicates ceramic and wood.

Some well-known brands are:

• Armstrong

• Nafco / Domco / Tarkett

• Amtico

• EarthWerks

• Metroflor

• Mannington

• Congoleum

• Novalis

Note:You did not mention it but it bears being mentioned that if you choose a ceramic tile you will need a load distribution and uncoupling membrane like Schuter Ditra, as standard cement board isntallation is not recommended with your joist spacing even with the additional plywood.

bus_driver,
Over ten years ago we faced the necessity of replacing part of the particle board subfloor and most of the carpet in our 1979 double wide. Where we replaced the subfloor we put in 3/4" plywood. We could not replace all the particle board since the walls were built on top of it. Our floor joists are 24" OC.

For the finish floor we used 1x6" tongue & groove Southern yellow pine. While there might be a slight deflection more where there is still particle board sub floor, the pine's actual 3/4" dimension is enough to carry weight if the particle board gives way.

Now, I do have to say that this was intended as a "temporary" fix. We knew when we did it that we would not be in this DW forever and planned on prolonging its life for 10 to 20 years. It's been successful - the pine floors are still great, we get loads of compliments and we're planning pine floors in our new permanent house.

Another part of our decision was that we're in an area where SYP is grown and we can purchase SYP directly from the mills for a pretty minimal wholesale cost so any other solution to our floor problem would have cost us three to four times as much.

Anne

Thanks for the responses. The exterior doors open inward and it is not at all practical to try to modify the size of the steel clad mobile home doors. Clearance at the bottom limits the amount of height that can be added to the floor. The cost including labor, of true 3/4" flooring is not possible for this project. Suppose that 5/32 BC plywood is glued and stapled (glued and stapled between joists too) over the existing decking to stiffen it a bit and then install laminate flooring. Will that substrate be stiff enough for laminate? If not, the new flooring will just be carpet and/or vinyl. The original carpet had a very thin pad under it.

Flexing in laminate flooring is its demise. Separation and chipped edges.

That is what I suspected. I made a serious error in my previous post. The plywood in question is not 5/32", I meant to type 5/16". The plywood actually measures 11/32", which is thicker than 5/16" and thinner than 3/8".

bus_driver,
I'm afraid anything thin enough to fit under the doors will need enough subfloor beefing up to bring the floor up too much.

AS long as the flexing is not a structural issue, you might need to consider going to vinyl - maybe those wood-look vinyl planks that I've seen other posters mention. We couldn't go with vinyl at all due to my allergies, but there are some very attractive and long lasting choices nowdays.