Water-damaged subfloor and framing repair in Los Angeles

A leak caught early leaves wet wood that dries and stays sound. A slow leak that runs for months feeds rot, and rotted wood is soft, crumbles and will not hold a fastener.

Those sections have to be replaced, and anything attached to them, like a toilet or cabinets, comes out first.

Rotted subfloor replacement is the most common repair, usually around a toilet flange, in front of a shower curb, or under a dishwasher or refrigerator. We remove the finish floor, cut the subfloor back to solid wood over the joists, treat and dry what remains, then install new plywood of the same thickness so the finish floor sits flush. Toilets get a sound flange base again, which is often what stops a toilet rocking. The toilet is reset on a new wax ring and checked for leaks.

Joist and sill plate repair deals with the framing under a raised floor. Long leaks under bathrooms or from broken lines in a crawl space can soften the tops of joists or the sill plate where the house sits on the foundation. Damaged joists are sistered with new lumber fastened alongside, or replaced where needed, and sill plate damage is repaired in sections. Anything structural is scoped carefully and permitted where required. Crawl space moisture is dealt with at the same time so the new wood stays dry.

Floor leveling after water damage corrects the dips and humps left when subfloor swelled, joists sagged or a slab shifted slightly. Before new flooring goes down, we check the floor with a long level, plane down high spots, shim or fill low spots, and add underlayment where needed. A level floor matters most under tile and floating floors, which crack or separate over uneven subfloor. We check it again after underlayment goes down, so the installer starts from a flat, stable surface and the finish floor lasts.