Every time I run into PB it comes out and is replaced with 5/8 BC grade plywood underlayment. The 1/2" plywood underneath is a CDX grade with no T&G so that is no good for anything without an underlayment over it. Particle board underlayment is fine underneath carpet because it can breath. It has no holding power for staples or cleats, neither does the CDX sheathing grade plywood subfloor. I've seen many floors installed over PB that are very loose and gapped. That said, I have seen a couple that looked fine. Also once PB gets covered over with felt and a wood floor it can't breathe anymore and it can start to do funny things.... well, not funny :), but nothing it may want to do is good. You would have no mfg. warranties either.

Cork underlay comes in sheets - like a beach blanket. The installer throws down the sheet (large rectangle that is 2ft x 3ft in size) and it SITS THERE. Nothing holds it down. Ok...gravity and the floor on top hold it down...but that's just getting into semantics. The installers LOVE working with floating cork. It takes 10 minutes to get it into place. No nails. No glue. Nothing. Just some shims at the walls to maintain the expansion gap needed for the flooring. Then the wood floor is floated on top. The engineered hardwood (which SPECIFICALLY STATES IT CAN BE FLOATING) is then laid. The installer applies glue to the tongue/groove of the plank (appropriate glue...not just any glue). The wood is NOT attached to the cork. The cork is NOT attached to the subfloor. This is a "floating" floor (floating means there is nothing holding one surface to another). The glue is then allowed to cure (about 1 day). And you have a fully functional floating wood floor. Done. Done. And done. Fix the squeaking of the subfloor FIRST (screws are used to do this...which is what *should have been used to lay the OSB in the first place - but I digress). And then go ahead and lay the cork (it just sits there) and then the wood floating on top. Much cheaper and much faster than laying new sheathing and then gluing/nailing wood over top.

Wow...as I said, Build Direct has some issues. They just went through Bankruptcy protection about a year ago. The lady has NO IDEA what she's talking about -sadly. An oil finish is NOT an oil-based polyurethane. Two different animals (In fact one is an insect and the other a lizard). Oil based finishes REQUIRE monthly and YEARLY maintenance by the homeowner. It is an oil that seeps into the wood (does NOT sit on top like polyurethane). Like outdoor wood furniture, the OIL needs maintaining. The COLOUR needs maintaining and the CLEANING is SUPER specific. You will require 4 different maintenance products for these products: 1. Maintenance oil 2. Oil Soap 3. Heavy stain repair oil 4. "Master" oil (contains the colour) Your requirements will be: Every 3-4 months you will apply maintenance oil over the heavy wear areas OR ANY TIME the wood starts to look 'thirsty' or 'dry'. And be prepared. Product out of China (could be out of the factory in a container for 3 MONTHS before it gets onto a container ship...then another month at sea; then another month in port or in transit to a warehouse facility; and then another month - 5 months waiting for you to purchase it) is notorious for being dry. That can mean you are REQUIRED to apply maintenance oil the next day. Then you wait 24-48 hours before you move in. Now you have to use the oil soap (Woca offers great products that can help you deal with this) and cleaning on a regular basis. Should you find a stubborn stain, you must use the repair oil and a good scrub. After the scrub you have to reapply the colour or master oil (assuming you can get it out of China = doubt it). This area WILL be a different colour than the rest of the floor. Now you have hit the 1 year 'master colour' maintenance = apply the ORIGINAL colour (hence the name 'Master Oil') over the ENTIRE floor. Wait for it to dry (24 - 48 hrs) and then put the furniture back. The bad news is you MUST do this for the next 30+ years. The good news is you can do this one room at a time. The Floor and Decor stuff does not list the finish but the MAINTENANCE instructions (way down on the bottom of the installation instructions) give hints this is a urethane finish. It won't be any more exciting than that. Usually 'special' finishes will be SPECIFICALLY stated. They are expensive and the sellers will want to HIGHLIGHT the super tough finishes. Montpellier does none of that. Which means you must be prepared for boring ol' urethane. The look you are going for is a HIGH END finish. A $5/sf price tag indicates you are not quite in the right ball park. Again, this 'look' should be $10/sf or higher to indicate a quality product. Floor and Decor isn't much better than Build Direct. The only difference being they are US based....that's it.

Yes, we used Kerdi board, the membrane, and the pre-molded forms and corner blocks. We hired a contractor who had taken Schluter training and was experienced in the application, so they provided the material. Do you have a nearby ProSource? They can get you everything you need to do it yourself if you want. Cement board and RedGuard like the previous poster mentioned is a viable alternative. This was our 2 time to gut that same bathroom to the studs with leakage issues from cement board and plastic liner installations, so we took no chances on doing it right this time.