Flooring Tile - Ceramic Tile on Particle Board?

I am remodoling a house built in 1970 on pier and beam. When I began pulling up the 4 (yes 4) layers of linoleum in the kitchen with the plan to lay ceramic tile, I found particle board underneath (I found a few small spots that were a little spongy where moisture had gotten to). My question - is it advisable to lay the cement backer board directly over the particle board, or should I rip up the particle board down to the 1 by's beneath and replace with plywood, before laying the backer board. Also is there a difference in strengths or firmness in the CBU. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

All CBU manufacturers claim their products don't add anything to the structure.

Particle board is a no no in every type of flooring. Rid yourself of it.

Particle board is not an appropriate subfloor for any type of floor covering. It is frequently found under carpet. Surprise! It won't hold a nail or screw or glue. It spits out the nails and sucks up the glue. Replace the subfloor with plywood, so you can attach the concrete board, which is the recommended underlayment for ceramic tile if not installing on concrete or other hard surface. Your tile job will be only as good as the subfloor beneath it. When I was a kid we lived in a house where the dining room had VCT tiles installed on particleboard. The particleboard had sucked up the adhesive and all the tiles were loose. That floor was not fun to clean when the tiles wanted to wiggle.

Thanks guys!! John, I visited your site after posting this and read some posts related to particle board, so I guess I suspected what the response would be. Oh, well, this is a labor of love anyway, so I'll just sweat out a little more love. With regard to the CBU, I've heard that Hardi-board is much better than wonderboard. Any thoughts there?
Thanks again, Mark

Mark,

I'm a confirmed mud man, and I don't use any of the backers myself. The others who contribute to our boards, though, are highly experienced in it. Post there, and you'll get all kinds of advice.

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin