# Rotted subfloor question



## rmexeco (Jan 22, 2010)

I had water damage to a subfloor around an old sliding glass door.  The worst damage was directly under/in front of the door, with slight water damage visible to the side of the door (floor there is solid, but stained).  When I recently had a new sliding glass door installed, the installer replaced the rotted subfloor directly underneath/in front of the door during installation, but did not replace/repair the portion off to the side that bordered the exterior wall.  When I pressed him on it, he claimed that cutting out that piece of the subfloor and leaving the remaining small piece between the upper plate and joist (split level home) would jeopardize the structural integrity of the floor.

I'm not sure if he is being straight with me, or is just trying to get out of coming back and finishing the job that I paid for.  I am waiting to put a laminate floor in until this issue is resolved.

Any thoughts or insight would be greatly appreciated.  

Thanks,

Matt


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 22, 2010)

Matt, welcome to House Repair Talk, Would it be possible to post a picture of the area you are describing?


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## rmexeco (Jan 23, 2010)

I've attached three pics.  One is a bird's eye view of the entire section in question.  The next are closer views.  You'll notice that one small portion closest to the door is worse than the rest and is not as solid.  Thanks again for your help.


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## rmexeco (Jan 23, 2010)

Here is the second pic


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## rmexeco (Jan 23, 2010)

And the third pic..you can see off to the right that the damage is more severe.

Also, someone just recently told me that wood rot will spread even if it stays dry.  If this is true, it lends to the argument that the section of floor needs replaced.  Has anyone else heard that?  Many thanks.


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## roycam678 (Jan 23, 2010)

Hey Matt,

Looks like quite a bit of damage to me. This part of your floor will always be weak unless its fixed. I've also heard that the wood will continue to rot even when it looks or feels dry. There is also the problem with mold.

Roy


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## rmexeco (Jan 24, 2010)

Roy,

Thanks for the input.  If this were your home, would you replace the entire section of the subfloor, cutting it at the wall?  Or is there a more throrough/appropriate way to fix a bad subloor that runs under an exterior wall?

Thanks again,

Matt


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