I am currently remodeling my kitchen and adjoining family room and will be installing laminate flooring in both rooms. The family room had carpeting and the kitchen had sheet vinyl. When the house was built (mid 70s), the builders used particle board underlayment on top of the plywood subfloor and used some kind of adhesive to apply it. They then installed the sheet vinyl on top of the particle board. Here's the problem.....I need to remove the particle board in order to get the flooring level throughout both rooms. However, when I try to pull up the particle board, it just shreds into little pieces. Is there any way to remove the particle board easily? I cannot install plywood underlayment in the other areas due to a variety of transition reasons. Please help if you have any ideas!! Thanks!

I have completed sanding a 3/4" oak floor and am ready to apply the stain. The directions in the hardwood floors section of this website suggest applying the wood dough before the stain but the wood dough (DAP) manufacturer recommends staining first. Will it cause problems if the stain is applied before using wood dough on the imperfections?