My bathroom had a cheaply done vinyl floor install done. They didn't remove the toilet, just cut the vinyl around it. Why they would not spend the extra 5 minutes to remove the toilet I don't know. So urine was under the laminate for probably years. Removed the replacement vinyl, the original vinyl and the subflooring(not sure if that is the correct word, the 1/4" pressed board). It is better but still has a smell. What now? Any suggestions? I will be cleaning the floor once a week for awhile then apply kilz. Probably going to remove and replace the whole vanity also since the wood also has urine in it. These people must have been mentally handicap to not fix this issue.
Redoing my bathroom floor
- Thread starter silviasol
- Start date
footloose
10 kW
What did you find under the 1/4" press board? If wood, it is probably sheets of 5/8" or 3/4" plywood... the actual subfloor. If you are going to take out the vanity as well (thus exposing the entire subfloor in the bathroom and making it easier to work) you might go the distance, remove the plywood subfloor itself right down to the joists and replace it with new. Might need to do a section of it around the old toilet anyway... I've seen it rotted out so you can't get new anchor bolts to set well.
If you found concrete, might think about soaking the concrete in something like "Nature's Miracle"... it is an enzymatic cleaner designed to remove dog urine odor... works pretty well with dogs... might also work with human pee.
Always amazing what you find when you go to fix some old home-handyman job. In my house, we had a slope entering the bathroom from the hall. When I tore it up, found somebody had used cedar roof shingles to bridge a slight height difference between bathroom and hallway, then laid carpet and vinyl over that. Jeez. Points for creativity to the original handyman, but come on. Fixing it right wasn't that hard.
Good luck, have fun!
If you found concrete, might think about soaking the concrete in something like "Nature's Miracle"... it is an enzymatic cleaner designed to remove dog urine odor... works pretty well with dogs... might also work with human pee.
Always amazing what you find when you go to fix some old home-handyman job. In my house, we had a slope entering the bathroom from the hall. When I tore it up, found somebody had used cedar roof shingles to bridge a slight height difference between bathroom and hallway, then laid carpet and vinyl over that. Jeez. Points for creativity to the original handyman, but come on. Fixing it right wasn't that hard.
Good luck, have fun!
Dauntless
100 TW
Doesn't have to be urine, what you think of as clean water can make it smell. I don't see the whole thing you're talking about. Where all has it been wet? There's other possibilities for where there could be a leak.
dogman dan
1 PW
I agree, as a lifetime professional construction worker. They did it wrong. It takes more than 5 min to properly re set a toilet, but IMO, easier than fitting vynil around it.
Cutting it around the vanity is fine, till it does get so old it curls up and leaks. Most of the stink is not pure urine, but it does not take much to stink pretty good after 10 or more years. Just dirty mop water will have some piss in it, and any leak just makes stinky rot.
Replace the whole press wood floor top sheet is what I would do, since you do plan to remove the vanity as well. Under the floor, hit it hard with febreeze, or similar stink kill product real hard before putting back the new top layer.
Cutting it around the vanity is fine, till it does get so old it curls up and leaks. Most of the stink is not pure urine, but it does not take much to stink pretty good after 10 or more years. Just dirty mop water will have some piss in it, and any leak just makes stinky rot.
Replace the whole press wood floor top sheet is what I would do, since you do plan to remove the vanity as well. Under the floor, hit it hard with febreeze, or similar stink kill product real hard before putting back the new top layer.
marty
1 MW
Do you have a second toilet? Need a place to go? [poop] 5 gallon bucket and plastic bags from the supermarket works well. Use 2 bags just in case.
Remove toilet seat. Remove toilet. Take it outside and give it a good cleaning. Best solvent for cleaning piss is water. Clean hot water. White rags are best so you can see the dirt. Best soap is whatever you have. No need to buy anything. Dr. Bronner's is good. Cleans the mind, body, and spirit. Also good for floors. Rinse with water.
Different parts of the world have different plumbing. In my neighborhood we have mostly 3/8" supply tubes. When I remove a toilet, sink or whatever. Leaking supply tube valves are common. Use these:
Plug for 3/8″ O.D. tube
Remove toilet seat. Remove toilet. Take it outside and give it a good cleaning. Best solvent for cleaning piss is water. Clean hot water. White rags are best so you can see the dirt. Best soap is whatever you have. No need to buy anything. Dr. Bronner's is good. Cleans the mind, body, and spirit. Also good for floors. Rinse with water.
Different parts of the world have different plumbing. In my neighborhood we have mostly 3/8" supply tubes. When I remove a toilet, sink or whatever. Leaking supply tube valves are common. Use these:
Plug for 3/8″ O.D. tube
Cutting out the subfloor I would have to hire someone. hoping it doesn't come to that. This house seems to have the subfloor built first then the foundation on top. Would be a very big job to complete. I have my hepa filter fan running in there with a new filter. Can't smell nothing right now atleast. Just cleaning area's right now with a hemp cleaner, hemp just works wonders as a soap or cleaner, then shutting off the fan to see if there is any difference. Can't seem to spot any area by smelling, it is just the whole bathroom that will smell.
There are area's with discoloration however that could be from a tub overflow which did happen since one of the previous owners covered water damaged on the ceiling with spray popcorn(the one bathroom is upstairs).
http://imgur.com/a/5inXS
There are area's with discoloration however that could be from a tub overflow which did happen since one of the previous owners covered water damaged on the ceiling with spray popcorn(the one bathroom is upstairs).
http://imgur.com/a/5inXS
dogman dan
1 PW
Just cut out anything so rotten you cant get the stink out of it, or is soft. Cut from joist to joist, then nail new wood to the joists to support the patch on all 4 sides.
Any part of the floor that bad will just keep molding, since all toilets will leak, or at least, you get the bath floor wet at times.
If its not rotten out, then just kill the mold with bleach. I get the idea to use less toxic stuff, but to get the black mold out, you need to kill. Bleach, once it evaporates away, will not be toxic in the room forever. just the day you use it.
FWIW, to kill black mold where you can't reach it with bleach, or other odors, an Ozone machine works wonders. Ever buy a smokers car? the machine will remove smoke odor from a car almost completely, in 5 min.
Took a bit longer, for my smoked house. But the smoke smell is gone now. $150 or so on ebay for the ozone machine, but I tell you what, it will de smell the whole apartment in about 10 min running the machine, then let it seep into the walls for an hour.
Any part of the floor that bad will just keep molding, since all toilets will leak, or at least, you get the bath floor wet at times.
If its not rotten out, then just kill the mold with bleach. I get the idea to use less toxic stuff, but to get the black mold out, you need to kill. Bleach, once it evaporates away, will not be toxic in the room forever. just the day you use it.
FWIW, to kill black mold where you can't reach it with bleach, or other odors, an Ozone machine works wonders. Ever buy a smokers car? the machine will remove smoke odor from a car almost completely, in 5 min.
Took a bit longer, for my smoked house. But the smoke smell is gone now. $150 or so on ebay for the ozone machine, but I tell you what, it will de smell the whole apartment in about 10 min running the machine, then let it seep into the walls for an hour.
dogman dan said:
I have seen those ozone machines. Are they similar to the ionic air filters? I have the ionic pro turbo. Ran that non stop in the bathroom for months now and doesn't help for a permanent fix. The hepa filter has been clearing the smell out completely, until I shut it off.
I might just try buying one of those. Otherwise I see what you mean about the cutting at the joists then adding more. How would you get a good connection to the wood though, for the new joists? That woudl be a hell of a job for me though.
I think the smell is coming from cut out spot under the toilet. That has some rot from the urine. Seems most of it must have leaked under there and into the wood.
ohzee
100 kW
Yea until you get rid of the actual sub floor and can see the joists or slab below the smell is not going to go away.
I know as a couple months back I gutted my downstairs bathroom and then redid it putting in a walk in shower.
Other then it takes time and money the work itself is not hard at all. This is what makes it easy IMO.
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-38-in-68-amp-heavy-duty-toe-kick-saw-62420.html
I used the same tool when I redid my kitchen and pulled up the sub floor there as well. It's made to remove that plywood and only cuts the exact
depth of the plywood. Get the old stuff out and just measure/cut the new plywood to size. Save the old piece so you can put it on top of the new
and measure out where you need holes.
Anyway that is my advice. Without that saw id be wondering how I am going to cut up against a wall so it's flush.
I know as a couple months back I gutted my downstairs bathroom and then redid it putting in a walk in shower.
Other then it takes time and money the work itself is not hard at all. This is what makes it easy IMO.
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-38-in-68-amp-heavy-duty-toe-kick-saw-62420.html
I used the same tool when I redid my kitchen and pulled up the sub floor there as well. It's made to remove that plywood and only cuts the exact
depth of the plywood. Get the old stuff out and just measure/cut the new plywood to size. Save the old piece so you can put it on top of the new
and measure out where you need holes.
Anyway that is my advice. Without that saw id be wondering how I am going to cut up against a wall so it's flush.
marty
1 MW
Are you all boys? Landlord Marty here. Reason I do not rent to boys is because they tend to tear out floors and who knows what else. They also sometimes start projects and don't finish them. Another problem with boys is when they pis standing up the pee hits the water and splashes out of the toilet. Ever see a steel baseboard heater next to a toilet in a building where boys live? It's usually rusted from piss splash. This don't happen with girls.
Examine sub floor. Use your nose. If rotted? Tear it out. Lets take a closer look. Download 3 pictures and reduced size to 600x800.
If sub floor is not rotten? I would leave it alone. When a building is built the frame is first. Then comes the bath tub. Then comes the plumbing. To replace a floor around a toilet flange without removing the plastic, copper, or cast iron, toilet flange can be tricky. Wood needs to go under the toilet flange so there is something to bolt it to. I usually do this with 2 half circles and more wood underneath. Glue is good. Could draw a picture. Floor needs to be structurally strong. Lots to go wrong if there are no joists where seams of plywood are.
Note - Added random picture of fat girl to illustrate why floor needs to be sturdy.
- 1. Remove toilet.
- 2. Remove vanity. Shave in the kitchen.
- 3. Remove old floor and underlayment. Pull staples or nails out. Don't pound them in.
- 4. Clean entire bathroom. Shop-vac is good tool. I like hot water in a big bucket with a nice towel type rag.
Code:
[list]text[/list]If sub floor is not rotten? I would leave it alone. When a building is built the frame is first. Then comes the bath tub. Then comes the plumbing. To replace a floor around a toilet flange without removing the plastic, copper, or cast iron, toilet flange can be tricky. Wood needs to go under the toilet flange so there is something to bolt it to. I usually do this with 2 half circles and more wood underneath. Glue is good. Could draw a picture. Floor needs to be structurally strong. Lots to go wrong if there are no joists where seams of plywood are.
Note - Added random picture of fat girl to illustrate why floor needs to be sturdy.
None of it is rotten, still all very strong and sturdy. My last home had loose flooring in one of the bathrooms so I know what it is like. It is just stained. I will try to pull out the toilet so I can get a picture of the rotted part, again around the toilet it is sturdy. I can jump near the toilet and it does not wobble around, which is what the toilet in my last home would do.
Ianhill
1 MW
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2015
- Messages
- 2,871
I still live with parents and we had a small leak on our toilet tank inlet so I had to pull the carpet back to dry the area anf it turned out there was piss covered floor boards under the carpet with very little smell at all until the carpet was pulled back and whosh straight up my nose nice.
I could see I needed new carpet in the bathroom so I removed it all to see my shower had been leaking on the corner turned a floorboard black and rotted the base it was sat on so I checked the joists underneath and luckily enough the rot didn't go into them but I noticed while I was there that the central heating pipes were not secured and when someone came to fit an extra radiator they must of gone straight through the middle of the room with a circular saw and messed to floor boards some bits were a foot long and many of 5hem covering a small area so what started out as a small leak has transformed into a new shower, floor boards up in three rooms and the landing.
Luckily I'm quite handy so I have sorted the heating and floor boards and waiting on a 1200×800 shower tray so I can decommission my old one put in new larger tiles and seal it up correctly.
When I go hotels I always look at the work that's been done for a period of time I done that myself and so.e of the stuff I've seen is purely mind boggling dangourous a 130 year old wooden lintel heavily rotted with two floors above of a 5 story building that got expanding foam put over it to hide it and boarded over lithuianians removing aspestos no masks.
Damn in the power station there was lots of evidence that the guys that lagged all the pipes with the dangourous white aspestos was having fights with it rolling it into balls and growing them at eachother, when we found one we had to report it and a clean up team would come out everyone for 100metres was evacuated .
Rambled a bit by there.
I could see I needed new carpet in the bathroom so I removed it all to see my shower had been leaking on the corner turned a floorboard black and rotted the base it was sat on so I checked the joists underneath and luckily enough the rot didn't go into them but I noticed while I was there that the central heating pipes were not secured and when someone came to fit an extra radiator they must of gone straight through the middle of the room with a circular saw and messed to floor boards some bits were a foot long and many of 5hem covering a small area so what started out as a small leak has transformed into a new shower, floor boards up in three rooms and the landing.
Luckily I'm quite handy so I have sorted the heating and floor boards and waiting on a 1200×800 shower tray so I can decommission my old one put in new larger tiles and seal it up correctly.
When I go hotels I always look at the work that's been done for a period of time I done that myself and so.e of the stuff I've seen is purely mind boggling dangourous a 130 year old wooden lintel heavily rotted with two floors above of a 5 story building that got expanding foam put over it to hide it and boarded over lithuianians removing aspestos no masks.
Damn in the power station there was lots of evidence that the guys that lagged all the pipes with the dangourous white aspestos was having fights with it rolling it into balls and growing them at eachother, when we found one we had to report it and a clean up team would come out everyone for 100metres was evacuated .
Rambled a bit by there.
marty
1 MW
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone#Health_effectssilviasol said:
Leave the house or turn ozone machine off.
I ran it with the door closed. Like I said an ionic air purifier is the same thing only much less, the ions that it puts in the air are not harmful unless it is very concentrated. Outside the room with it running I can barely smell it, not as much as inside the bathroom if I had my ionic pro in the bathroom with the door closed so I assume it is safe to be at home with it running in a sealed room. Seems to be working though, still some light smell after running it for one hour but very impressive results. I think it got rid of all smell except what is sealed under the toilet. Going to remove the toilet later and run it for another hour.
