floor repair question

[gsmith]

I have a 1977 Ridgeline used about 6 months out of the year as a summer cabin. There a a few soft spots in the floor where I am sure rot has occurred but I have not pulled up the floor covering. 95% of the flooring is solid I have been contemplating floor work and have read Mark's book. It seems to me it would be much easier to remove the floor covering and screw new OSB or plywood on top of the existing floor without removing it. Wall to wall in a room, not patches. It seems this would be even stronger by taking advantage of the existing solid floor. What do you think?

[JD]

I can see how laminating the entire floor may seem like a good or easier way to fix the floor, but there are several reasons why you wouldn't want to do the repair that way.

The soft spots should still be repaired, even if you plan to laminate the rest of the floor with plywood. The repair should have the same blocking and replacement material as it would if you were not covering it all with plywood. So if the repair is done properly, you should be done at that point.

Nailing/screwing plywood over the subfloor could cause a lot of squeaks. They may not be there immediately, but in time as the home settles, small gaps will happen creating squeaks. This could be lessenes with liquid nails or something like that, but I think you would still have some squeaks. That much adhesive will add to the total cost as well.

Probably the biggest repair problem on mobile homes is water leakage, either by plumbing or roofs. So it is prudent to think that you may have a new leak occurrence in the future. When this water gets to the floor. it will find it's way between the laminated sub-floors and create a bigger problem with rot and possibly mold. With the two layers, the water will have no where to go and no way to dissipate other than to soak into the wood.

There are other problems such as handling all the floor moldings, doors, cabinets, etc.

JMO
JD

[Johanna Bruns]

Please, do not do anything with the floor until you've found and fixed the water leaks that CAUSED the soft spots. ( I also have a 1970 mobile.)

Every place there is a floor problem in my house, there was a roof, window, or plumbing leak that wasn't fixed before a prior owner put a layer of 3/8 plywood on top of the old floor throughout. That was a "great" quick fix, but the leaks continued to do damage.

Because of this, all of the floor insulation has fallen out (yep, most of the belly sheathing is gone). There are weaknesses in the outer walls, lots of water damage to the inner paneling, and I'm replacing 8' of rim joist under the front door, which had rotted to 2" diameter. Oh-- and there are still soft spots in the floor.

The roof and plumbing leaks are fixed, the drought here has me not worrying about the windows so I can fix them right one at a time, and thanks to Mark's book, I'll do a roofover and insulate job this fall.

I never have to search for something to do.

I know that Yanita has had to deal with this scenario before, along with others on this site. They'll tell you the same thing I have. Besides, it's Sooo much cheaper to fix the leaks now.

After you're dry again, you can replace the bad floor areas with 23/32 flooring plywood and you're ready to go. Also much cheaper than going over the entire floor with plywood.

Good luck,
Johanna

[Yanita]

Hi,

Everyone has given you great info, but I will add one more.

If you were to raise the height of your floor by laminating over it you will be narrowing the gap under the doors. These gaps have a purpose, they serve as the cold air return to your furnace/AC.

Yanita