Pro tip: I finally understood why my boss always said to check the subfloor twice

Last Tuesday in a 1970s house in Tacoma, I was laying down some nice vinyl plank... and about halfway through the main room, I felt a soft spot. The homeowner swore the subfloor was solid, but it turned out a 3 foot by 2 foot section near the wall was completely rotten from an old leak. I had to pull up everything I'd just put down, cut out the bad plywood, and sister in new joists. It added 6 hours to a job I'd quoted for a single day. Has anyone else had a client be totally sure about their subfloor, only to find a nasty surprise hidden under some old carpet?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_singh9d ago

Homeowners are the best inspectors, right?

rivera.christopher8d ago

Okay, a 3 foot by 2 foot section just... gone? That's not a soft spot, that's a trap door waiting to happen. I can just picture pulling up that plank and your heart just dropping through the floor along with it. Six hours is brutal, but imagine if you hadn't caught it and someone put a bookshelf there later. The homeowner's confidence makes it so much worse, like they bet you a hundred bucks it was fine.