Replace a Bathroom Floor

by Waltisa Moore
(Dearborn Heights)

My grandmother has a very old home and the floor in the bathroom has a hole in it...you can see straight to the basement.

I must tell you I have no skill in this arena of work but I will try. I had someone to come over and look at the flooring and he stated that only one of the joists(I don't know if I spelled that right) looks bad...I think the entire floor needs to come up and a new floor laid down.

Now from what I gathered, the floor will lay on the joists that lay below the flooring (right?) I know that I must remove the toilet and the vanity (right?) The floor that the bathtub sits on ok, but that half of that joist is no good. So do I replace that joist or cut the no good part off and add a new piece of wood to the joist and put a stabilizer to support it underneath the new half of the joist.

Last but not least what type of wood should I use because as I stated we have to remove the floor because of the hole.

P.S. You probably could tell I am a woman ;)




Our Response
Waltisa - Thank you for submitting a bathroom remodel problem question on our bathroom remodel problems page.

First and foremost, being a woman is not a problem!!!!

You will have an easier time of replacing the bathroom floor if you remove the toilet and the vanity.

The floor does lay on the joists - most home improvement experts suggest applying construction glue to the joists before screwing the flooring to the joists - this will prevent squeaking later.


The floor joist that is damaged can be repaired by "sistering" a new piece of floor joist (check with your local home improvement warehouse!) at least 24 inches beyond the damaged part.

Good Luck on your bathroom remodel!

Any and all comments are welcome!