How do I fix a rotting floor?

Question

I bought my house about a year and a half ago, it used to be a on a slab, but a previous owner lifted it up and put a crawlspace under it. I noticeda few months later there was a soft spot in one of the bedrooms and I went into the crawlspace to check it out. I was able to pull the subfloor apart with my hand. I had a home inspection and somehow the inspector missed this.(I did not notice any mold, and have inspected it every few months and have seen none). The plywood on top of the subfloor is not that thick, and when you walk on it it bends. I do not plan to stay in this house for more than 4-5 years and would like to avoid spending thousands of dollars to fix it, but I am afraid that the next owner will hire a better home inspector who will catch this and I will have difficulty selling the house. I am open to any and all suggestions. Thanks

Answer 1

Sorry to tell you this, but you are going to have to rip out the floor and replace that subflooring. Since you say you will be in the house for about 4 to 5 years, its only going to get worse. Even if you only live there for 2 years. You're going to have to replace it. Unfortunately since it the wood is rotted, there are no ways of fixing it. It just has to be replaced.

Also, if you try to sell the place knowing that the rot was there and their inspector does find it, you wont pass inspection, you'll be out a ton of dough, and you still wont sell the house. If I was you, replace the subflooring, if need be take your time doing it, so its not such a financial burden.

Answer 2

Find out what the thicknes is of the floor, then you will have to cut out the bad part and replace it with new plywood. Make sure you find out where the joist are and cut the wood and plywood so the the floor is solid and the ends or side are supported by the joist, or put bracing across the joist before laying down the wood, you may have to build up the cut out piece until it's close to your present foor so that ther is no unevenness in it. Fill all gaps with wood filler or chalk or silicone, your choice. If you are covering with carpet or some other type of floor covering. Good Luck.

Answer 3

OK, if your floor joists are ok, take out the upper flooring clear of the area you will be working in by a few feet. Find out how far the sub flooring damage extends, mark that and go beyond that point to the next joist on each end. Mark out a square to be cut out from the center of each of the two outside joists. Make sure it is in the center of each because you will be using that to nail your sub floor back to. Cut out your square or rectangle with a circular saw or a reciprocating saw and remove that portion of the sub floor. Go to the edges and add "dead wood" to the existing joists, where the old sub will join the new at right angles, so you can nail the new sub floor to it. Cut your new sub to match the hole, making sure that there is a joist or dead wood every where there is a new edge. Nail or screw it down ( you can use some caulk on the top of the joists if you like, but nail it in place well, and replace your flooring or floor covering.

Answer 4

Any time you find rotten wood in house the only solution is to remove all of it and replace it as soon as possible. Bugs like termites and carpenter ants love rotten wood and will eventually find it and nest in it and create even more problems for you. You will also need to make sure that any leaks in that area of the house have been fixed or the repairs will just rot out again.

Answer 5

This is tough without knowing what your finished flooring is. But, if the subfloor, that is attached to the floor joists is rotted, your only real choice is to cut that part of the floor right out, all the way down to the floor joists (hopefully they aren't rotted too) and replace the whole thing: subfloor and finished floor. Sorry, but this is a pretty big job. Hopefully you're somewhat handy.

Answer 6

tear up the whole floor and replace it with new plywood and find out where the water is comming in from to rot it and install a sump pump to keep the water out

Answer 7

I would call the house inspector back and check your contract. He couldn't of been very good, did you check his credentials at all, I would look into this. Take Care heather

Answer 8

if you do end up replacing your floor (you will have to) make sure you add some ventilation to the crawl space, that is what is causing the rot.

Answer 9

ewwwwww rotting floor. i dont know