Is a floor repair required? A reader question

A reader writes "faulty fitting on the dishwasher was discovered over Xmas dinner.. the new subfloor of 2 yrs is swollen in front of the dishwasher.. Flooring man wants "several hundreds" . today I have a heater in the dishwasher space ,
My question is if we dry out the subfloor through the lino would the swelling go down some .. so we dont need the repair.
Insurance has some issures as we had a claim two years ago.
and if we claimed now they take us off the Mobile Home policy and go on Special Risk and 1000 deductible..
If it wont bother us.. Is it okay just to dry it out and proceed with hooking up dishawasher again.. th patch would be probaby 4ft by 4ft... but if we can save hundreds letting it dry.. that would be great.. not a flood leak.. just the faulty fitting split but we dont know how long ago it started dripping. Thank you."

I doubt the flooring will level much even when dry. On the other hand, it's your house so if you are comfortable living with it, I don't see any reason not to. If you can get the subfloor completely dry there will not be additional damage. You may have to work on that for a while because it is not gong to dry quickly if it has vinyl or some other floor covering that won't let water through it.

If the floor starts to fail completely to the point you worry about falling through you need to fix it or have it fixed. In your situation this might be a great time to study my floor repair suggestions and plan to do it yourself. A 4' x 4' section means you would not have to work with a huge piece of plywood to make the repair. Since the floor is already damaged there is no harm in drilling a few holes to see exactly where the floor joists are located. That will tell you how big an area and exactly where you will have to patch.

The patch does not have to be the same material as the original. With a good plywood subfloor repair you would have enough strength to support a ceramic tile surface. That would have the advantage of being water resistant. You could also think about wood laminate, although it wouldn't be as water resistant.

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Mystery water leak

A reader writes "i have a 2000 clayton home and i wet spot in the master bedroom doorway where the carpet meets the tile but i can not find the water leak. checked under the house no signs of water leaking all dry. the spot was wet for a day or two and dried up and was gone for a couple of weeks but now has come back and has been wet for a few days. is it possible that the water heater is leaking from the closet and only getting wet in that one spot. i am at my wits end and can not find where the water is coming from."

You home is old enough that if the water heater has not been replaced it could be beginning to fail. Can you slide a cookie sheet or some other non-flammable material under the water heater and check if for drips?

Has it been warm and humid enough where you live for condensation from the A/C to be a problem?

Water leaks can be tricky because if they are slow there not be any visible drips. The water will run along a supply line until it touches something. You may not be able to see a leak because it is getting out of sight before it leaves any traces.

Try touching any nearby supply lines and see if your finger tips get wet. You can also look for lime deposits on supply lines or at connection points.

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Buying Plywood for for your floors

Mobile Home Renovation

I always used 3/4″ A/C plywood when replacing or covering damaged subfloor. It costs a little more than 1/2″, but when I considered the time and effort of re-doing the floors it seemed like a small price for a large improvement. For those of you that don’t know, the A/C refers to the quality of [...]

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Bathroom Drain Clogged? – Video

Mobile Home Repair

I am working on a video which shows how to use a simple, inexpensive, tool to clear the clog.  This is the first time I have tried something like this so it will no doubt take a few tries for me to get it right. Please use the comment box to let me know what [...]

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Phoenix Brand Faucet Repair – A Reader suggestion

Mobile Home Repair

I got this faucet repair suggestion from Derek. He says “The “Phoenix” brand shower handles seem prone to ‘strip out’ where they engage the splined part of the valve. After a few trips to buy new ones at a local home improvement store, I created a fix for this problem. Cut a short (3/4 “) [...]

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Bathroom Floor Repair – Update

Mobile Home Repair

For most floors in a mobile home I think wood laminate flooring makes a lot of sense.  It looks good, is reasonably easy to install, and is easy to clean. I wrote How to Install Laminate Flooring to show exactly how it can be done and how it looks in a mobile home. Unfortunately, today’s [...]

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Finding Competent Repair Help

Mobile Home Repair

I am frequently asked for help finding someone who does good, affordable, repair work. I find that difficult because repair people tend to work in a very limited area and there is no way for me to hear about them. Many handymen won’t work on mobile homes which makes the problem more difficult. I refer [...]

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Mobile Homes & Water Leaks

Mobile Home Repair

Water is the kiss of death in a mobile home so extreme care should be taken to be sure leaks are quickly discovered and fixed.  Unfortunately, the variety of materials used, the terminology and the sizing issues, all combine to make water line repairs much more difficult then they should be.  In addition the defective nature of the Poly tubing which [...]

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Mobile Home Water Heaters

Mobile Home Repair

Mobile home water heaters are NOT the same as those used in site built houses; they are taller and  narrower to fit in the space and maintain clearance from the walls.  They  cost more than those designed for site built houses, so people are always tempted to make them fit.  It can be done, but an inspector who spots it [...]

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Vinyl Coated Drywall in Mobile Homes

Mobile Home Repair

From a reader.  Thanks LeAnne I have a 1995 Palm Harbor that has regular drywall in all the public spaces, but the vinyl covered wallboard in the bedrooms and bathrooms.  I would like to say that I’ve had GREAT success texturizing and painting this stuff.  So far, in one room, I simply applied two coats of regular latex primer, then [...]

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