Replacing bathroom floor help

[rickbrk]

There is a large soft spot in the front small bathroom. I want to install laminate flooring in it and I had a question. Can i just remove everything out of the bathroom lay new 1/2" plywood over the whole old floor (which would take care of the soft spot and give a proper level surface for the laminate) and reinstall everything? Is this a good idea?, do I need to patch the soft spot first if it's not that big? what would be the best way to bring the a/c duct up the 1/2" . Any input or advice any any part of this project would be great. Thanks

[joedirt63]

well as long as the bath room is empty i would just replace the bad spot,if it's not too big. i did the same with my bath. and relocated heat duct, use a patch and some braceing, then cover with pad and flooring,. covering the floor and soft spot will not really fixe any thing, soft spot is prob rot and mildew and mold ,it's bad. figure out what cause the soft spot is it water damage or fatigue . repair the area, if you cover with ply wood you'll raise the level of the floor higher than the other rooms, you'll have a stepyou can get duct work pieces from home depot and store of that sort., i'm sure the other guys can give you more accurate ideas or better ones than me, but thats how i did mine.

[Greg]

Do yourself a favor, do it once, do it right. If you have a floor that is rotting, simply covering it will not stop it plus you have the possibility of mold. If the floor has a soft spot 99% of the time it has water damage. You are better off to remove the old subfloor and replace it with new plywood. Greg

[rickbrk]

sounds good I'll cut the old floor out. The original water damage came from condinsation from the a/c duct. that I cut out and patch but recently the floor flooded due to a toilet overflow so not the floor is soft again. I do have another question though if the floor has water damage next to and possible under the footer of an interior wall what can you do about that. I imagine I'll take the skill saw and cut the floor out useing the wall as a guide. any tips before I get started would be great.

[joedirt63]

if you cut that way you should inspect the footerr and joist for damageif it is then that should be replaced. try to go from one joist to the other and use additonal braceing under the repair panel.the wall may had water damage to the sheet rock that can be minor, depends how long it,s been wet, don't want mold thats a no-no. i'm sure greg has better ideas but i felt i had to give you my 2 cents. lol.

[Greg]

You can sister a 2x to the joist if you need to to give you a wider edge to fasten the new subfloor to. I like to use screws over nails, the don't tend to loosen up and you have less damage to surrounding walls from the vibration of the hammer. Greg