Replace the Bathroom Floor in a Mobile Home
Replacing a bathroom floor in a mobile home is a common repair because of a high incidence of water damage. Such damage in the bathroom floor feels like a soft, spongy spot, especially if the subflooring was originally constructed with particle board that becomes soft and weak when exposed to water. To replace the bathroom floor, remove the old floor covering and subflooring, reinforce the joists, install new insulation and construct new subflooring. If you can use a circular saw, drill, and a putty knife, you can handle this project.
Instructions
1. Turn off the main water valve that brings water into the house. Remove the toilet. Remove the existing vinyl or carpet floor covering, door tracks, and floor registers to expose the subflooring.
2. Cut along the wall edge with a circular saw or reciprocating saw. Remove screws and nails from the subflooring to remove it. For easy removal of the old floor, cut between each floor joist with a circular saw, and remove the old floor in sections with a pry bar. Remove old nails, glue, and staples from the top of the joists. Scrape off old glue with a putty knife.
3. Add a joist using a length of 2-by-4-inch lumber and screw it to the existing joist, which may be slightly under the wall line, to make sure there will be enough support for the subflooring. Replace or upgrade the floor insulation. Add the joist only if there is no joist along the edge of the wall.
4. Measure and cut the plywood to size, making sure that any seams you cut are located far from the toilet. Apply a bead of construction adhesive to the tops of all the joists to help reduce floor squeaks.
5. Lay down the new pieces of plywood flooring and screw into place with 2-inch galvanized screws every 16 inches on the joists. Countersink the screws so the screw heads are just below the surface of the floor. Follow the directions on the floor leveler label for mixing, applying, drying, and sanding. Install the new vinyl floor covering, trim strip under the door, and baseboards.
6. Remount the toilet and turn the water supply back on.
Tags: floor covering, bathroom floor, Mobile, Floor Mobile, Floor Mobile Home