# Urgent Bathroom Floor Repair



## tman2009 (Dec 6, 2008)

*The Problem:*
I need urgent help - I have a 3'x3' section of bathroom floor that is rotted out, I was intent, only on replacing the linoleum however, it seems as though the plywood underneath is all rotted out too - it looks like it will require more work than I previously thought. The major obstacles as I see them are: 

*Obstacles:*
1.) the rotted section of floor is underneath, and directly around, the toilet and the toilet has a fill valve (don't know if this is right terminology)- thina thin tube that runs from toilet tank into floor I don't know if maybe this is the source of the moisture and other steps are needed to prevent future moisture build up?

2.)the toilet is located in an enclosure with a wall on the right, a wall directly behind it, and a vanity on the left (cupboards, sink and counter top) the rotted section of floor, is of course, in this 3'x3' space. 

*Questions:*

is this a simple case of removing the toilet then replacing the rotten section of floor or are there more plumbing issues involved other than shutting off water supply?

how do I remove the toilet, then set it back in place?

will I need to remove the tube (fill valve)?

will I have to cut through the dry wall to anchor in the floor board?

will I have to remove the vanity (sink and cupboard) and rest of the bathroom floor or do I only cut out affected parts?

Pls help I need some *Answers:*


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

This will require plumbing and carpentry know how. Do you have pictures of the affected area? Do you have access from below to see the damage or not?
If the toilet has a lead bend on it, I would think seriously of leaving the plumbing to a plumber unless you have a skill set not evident in the post.
You will need to remove as much of the finished floor as necessary to evaluate the extent of the damage. Everything on top of this needs to be removed from the room.
The plywood issue is relatively easy to fix, you need to carefully examine the floor joists and any other structural components that might also have been compromised.
It's very unusual to have a carpentry emergency as these things take a great deal of time to develope and there are tell tale signs of an issue.
Ron


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## [email protected] (Nov 29, 2008)

I just ran into this with a kitchen reno i just finished. There was a rotten floor under the refrig. to fix this problem the right way you need to 1) remove and cut back to the center of joists on all rotten subfloor. 2) This is where it gets tricky, if the rotten subfloor is under a interior wall, to fix it the right way, you really need to take down the wall. (unless you can jerry rig out the old rotten sheet and slide in the new sheet while controling the bottom plate). plus you really are not sure if the bottom plate was compromised. If you want to do this right, you should take out all bad sections of subfloor, replace and level the subfloor and then go from there. You can work around waste and supply lines, but you need to be very careful and always know what you are going to do before you start.


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