Water woe

[saxman14701]

Well I found the source of leaking water in my bathroom. Corroded hot water tank connection.

I removed the linen closet, hot water closet, and the non-bearing walls between bathroom and master bedroom to make floor replacement easier. I also removed all sheet rock in the bathroom to get to mold.

Now I am removing the sub-floor, and the ruined insulation.

So heres my question. The floor joist and bottom wall frames are soaked where the water tank and toilet were, if you squeeze them they leak water. Should I wait a few days and allow the joist and frames to dry out before replacing sub-floor, or can I install the new sub-floor now? I don't plan on closing walls up for a while so I feel this would help in the drying process for the walls but I feel the joist will suffer and the mold will come back.

Any help appreciated

[Yanita]

Hi Saxman,

IMO, I would definitely not cover anything thing is wet or damp! Get all the insulation that is damp out away from the floor joist, and I would leave the area open until dry. Maybe you could put in a space heater/fans to help dry it out quicker.

Your right, if you cover anything in this condition the mold will return and all your hard work was for naught.

Have a great day!

~Yanita~

[Greg]

Definitely get some fans going. If the wood is that soaked you may want to think about changing the joist or doubling it up. with that much water damage, did the river overflow again? Greg

[Maureen]

Yep, I'd let it dry out also!

Look for any warped joists after it totally dry. If there are any, those will have to be replaced.

Personally, even if it all drys out well, I'd think about sistering in some support on those joists. Unless you know for a fact how long they've been prone to water damage.

Maureen