Aloha! I've recently purchased a home built in 1976 in the middle of nowhere Florida. This poor thing was apparently built by people who knew enough about building a house to get it to stand up this long...but I'm not sure how much longer. It's cinderblock construction outside, wood framing inside. As far as I can tell, there has never been any kind of vapor barrier installed. I know this, because a section of my bathroom floor is removed due to a leaky shower causing mold.:vs_laugh: There is not much room to move around in the crawlspace. Most places it's only about 10" from the bottom of the joists to the Earth. Professional opinion given today is: tear up the whole bathroom, replace the rusting toenailed joists with proper ones, replace subfloor with pressure treated plywood, and (of course) lay a vapor barrier before sealing up the floor.
All this sounds GREAT. Except I am not made of money.
That being said. Is it feasible/possible to sister new joists in place without removing the entire floor? As in, can it be done from below? Or, is it better to just bite the bullet and get a heloc to have everything done in one fell swoop?
The remaining flooring has some, but not much moisture damage on the underside of the subfloor. Wood is not spongy and only covered with a light dusting of mold. I am not afraid of hard work, but I am afraid of further damaging what is supposed to be my retirement home. I've got 30 years to go, but I don't wish to spend the entire time with my home in an uproar. Hindsight says I chose poorly, but I am stuck and must play the hand I was dealt.
Advice is good, constructive criticism is good.
Thank you for your time!
All this sounds GREAT. Except I am not made of money.
That being said. Is it feasible/possible to sister new joists in place without removing the entire floor? As in, can it be done from below? Or, is it better to just bite the bullet and get a heloc to have everything done in one fell swoop?
The remaining flooring has some, but not much moisture damage on the underside of the subfloor. Wood is not spongy and only covered with a light dusting of mold. I am not afraid of hard work, but I am afraid of further damaging what is supposed to be my retirement home. I've got 30 years to go, but I don't wish to spend the entire time with my home in an uproar. Hindsight says I chose poorly, but I am stuck and must play the hand I was dealt.
Advice is good, constructive criticism is good.
Thank you for your time!