Is replacing a bathroom vinyl floor a simple project?
Question:My house is forty years old, and the floor in the bathroom is wood with vinyl over it. The wooden floor has begun to stay damp and feel sort of "spongy".
Answers:
If the wood is spongy, you would not want to replace the vinyl over the floor.
I would suggest that you remove some vinyl where it appears spongy and determine how bad the wood is.
If rotted, it may behoove you to replace the sub floor.
If you feel that it may be strong enough, you could cap the existing floor with plywood. This can be done over the existing vinyl.
REMOVE and reset the commode in order to do this. The floor may even be damaged under any cabinets.
In any event, you must find the source of the water leak. If not corrected, any of the above is an exercise in futility.
A simple project? NOT!
If you are just replacing the vinyl it's not hard to do but you need to find out if that will stop the moisture problem. You may have a leaky pipe somewhere.
No "Do It Yourself" project is simple, particularly if you want to do it right. And any floor which feels soft is usually starting to rot. The house is forty years-old. If the floor has never been replaced, it may be a good investment to do so.
However, I've dealt with houses twice that age and never found rot, which makes me think you may have a bigger problem. A bathroom floor shouldn't rot unless moisture is gaining access to the subfloor material. Unless you've flooded the bathroom on numerous occassions, normal human activity shouldn't result in the conditions you have described. I believe the source is from a leak in either the tub/shower, sink or toilet.
To get a better idea, strip the vinyl from the floor and look at the subfloor. Water will always follow the path of least resistance. So with a little detective work, most people can find the source of a leak. Look for discolouration, soft and swelling wood and mold. It may end up with you having to tear out your whole bathroom.
Warning: I bought a house 3 years ago and in front of my toilet was "spongy". Turned out that I had carpenter ants that had eaten away at the wood. Please call in a professional to get a realistic idea of what is going on. Good luck and best wishes...
Just a quick point..many floor coverings in older homes (vinyl tile, one piece vinyl, lino) had backings that contained Asbestos. Use caution when removing your floor if you are unsure of what it's made of. The vinyl is most likely glued to the sub floor and if that floor is soggy and soft then I would try removing both the floor and the vinyl as one single piece...the less you disturb the vinyl the better. Just something to think about.
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