I have a particle board subfloor covering about 1500 sq ft and I want to put down a hardwood/engineered/laminate floor

I would really rather not go the expense of replacing the particle board subfloor with a plywood one in order to lay a hardwood (engineered) floor. However, I've been told that this is the required thing to do if I want hardwood.

On the other hand, a friend has told me there are a few laminates that are actually wood AND which don't make that hollow sound (at least not as badly) as other laminates. Bamboo is something someone else has mentioned (but what is it like in cost and resale value?)

Oh, yeah...I'd also like to lay an "erratic" (not a uniform pattern) slate entryway and the hardwood/laminate floor would abut it.

Does anyone have any information or suggestions for me on this? I don't expect to do this work myself, but rather would like it professionally installed.

You can float a hardwood floor over the particle board. Some brands accept it for a glue down installation. If you wish to install a NAILED down floor, then you would need to install a layer of 1/2" CDX grade plywood over your particle board subfloor. Did you see this?
http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... .php?t=385