Securing the sub-floor/floor joists under vinyl tile

I had an estimate for a wall and tub liner. We realaized that the floor between the tub and the toilet seemed to be weakening due to water splatter from when the shower is in use . The contractor suggested that to cut the expense of having an outside contractor do the work, we should do it ourselves.

Once I pull back the vinyle tile in the area in which I need to investigate, what should I look for next? A loose floor joist? And if so, can it be tightened in place by a long screw?

Please advise. Any good information and help is greatly appreciated.

 

What you are going to find, once you pull the vinyl up, is water damage. If you caught it quickly, it may just be in the underlayment (probably particle board) below the vinyl. More than likely though, you will find that the subfloor is also damaged. If this has been going on for a long time, it may have gotten to the floor joists too. Water flows downhill. You just need to start at the top and follow it.

As you are taking it apart, keep posting back and let us know what you are finding. It's going to look serious as hell because you will probably be looking at a big hole in the bathroom floor pretty quickly. Don't worry. Every one of those parts are replacable, and often without that much effort involved. Just hope you caught it before it got under a wall. That will add to the difficulty

 

Lefty:

How easy/difficult is it to replace the floor joists if the damage has gone that far. I plan to start on this project tomorrow and hope to be done by Sunday evening?

Please advise and thanks for your first response.

Shay63

 

How difficult or easy it will be depends on what you have. Is this bathroom on the first or the second floor? How far do the joists span and what size are they?

Your time line, at least on the surface, seems to be reasonable. It just all dpends on how extensive the damage is, and you won't know that until you start tearing things apart.