I am getting ready to lay down some LVP in my bathroom. Now that I have the old glue, etc. off of the subfloor, I need to make everything nice and flat before laying my planks. I bought some floor patch for the voids, have my trusty belt sander for the high spots, and will be oscillating away all the trim along the floor so everything and lay down correctly.

But, I have a bit of rot around the tub. I'm almost certain that the solution for this is not to just pour a bunch of floor patch in the area, make it level, and forget about it. Previous owners have done some very odd things to turn this hundred year old house into a duplex and I'm not sure that standard "correct" repairs will work. I cannot tell if the tub is sitting directly on the subfloor or if newer plywood was set down after this tub was in place (but I think it was the former.

Could I just trim away the rotten wood and pour an epoxy? What other things should I consider?

Thank you

 

I'd cut out the rot and replace with new plywood. Care to post a pic or two?

 

I'll try to post a pic in the next few days.

I'd like to just cut and replace, but I'm not really sure I can. I'm also a bit concerned about what that would do structurally if I cut all the plywood along the edge of the tub. The joists below run parallel with the tub.

EDIT: that's why my thought is to just use a wood hardener, followed by epoxy, followed by floor patch, covered by LVP and caulked along the edge of the tub. But I wouldn't want to do that if it's going to cause problems in the future.

 

Hard to say how big of a job until it's opened up but you should be able to add joists as needed to support the end of the plywood.

 

I appologize for such a delay in posting my image. Other appointments kept me from getting the sanding done until this afternoon.



Yellow) The worst part of the floor; crappy yellow and green vinyl flooring. Ew.

Red) I think is is a lot of water. The flooring itself seems fine and solid. Were it not for the fact that I haven't poured boiling water on the floor in over a week, I'd figure it was just some recent water damage. The water has been off in that apartment for about a month, so I know it isn't a leak or anything.

Blue) (and all along the tub about one inch) the most damaged area. It actually feels ok and not at all soft. I'm even more inclined to just use wood hardener and floor patch.

Thoughts?

 

That sure looks like wet plywood. You need to figure out where the water came from before you lay the floor!! Where is the exterior wall? maybe a vent pipe leaking ??

 

Sounds like you tried to sanitize the area with boiling water, is that correct? If so, I would get a box fan in there to stir the air so it can dry out. Then we can better access the damage.

 

I used the boiling water to soften the adhesive and/or loosen the backing of the original sheet vinyl.

This wet spot was behind the bathroom door, so I think it is either 1) water that I applied but never dried because of no airflow, 2) remnants from old adhesive (I hadn't sanded that spot as much as the rest of the floor, or 3) actual water from the shower being on without the curtain closed all the way. Whichever it is, I am unconcerned. That area is nowhere near any other plumbing or vent stack (including the floor above).

The actual flaw in the blue "damaged" area is maybe 1/8" deep.