What's the best thing to do with this kitchen floor?

Question

We are currently renovating a 105 year old house. The basement obviously has problems with leaking and there were also burst pipes in the basement...so, the basement was very damp. We have fixed the pipes and are going to install french drains to alleviate this problem.

The kitchen is right above the basement. When we pulled up the linoleum we discovered that there was plywood under the linoleum - it must be sitting on top of the original wood floor. The plywood itself was damp. It must have absorbed a lot of moisture from the basement and then never been able to dry out because of the linoleum. It is drying now that it is exposed to the air. If you bounce on the floor it shakes things in the room more than normal.

We haven't pulled up the plywood yet. What I want to do is tile the floor with ceramic tile. Can the plywood dry and be okay? Do we have to replace the plywood? Is it likely that we will have to replace the wood floor that is under the plywood? Are ceramic tiles out of the question since the floor has a bounce? Will sistering the floor joists fix this?

Tricia · Accepted Answer

you need to do a lot here as the moisture has compromised all the wood all the way down. best that you pull it all out and start over with new. since you are still going to have a possibility of high humidity in the basement,i would pretreat all the new incoming wood with a waterproof sealant. it may not be necessary but can alleviate a huge headache later on. I have ceramic tile floors on my foyer baths and kitchen n dinette area. we built the house. trust me you need heavy duty plywood as underlayment for your tiles. you cannot afford any flex in the floor as the ceramic will crack easily. in all 30 years here, I have one cracked corner and that happened from something dropped that was very heavy and pointed. you MUST correct the bounce for a good foundation for ceramic. if you don' t put in a steel I beam, then I would sister all the floor joists. this house is really old. you may need to additionally work on the exterior foundation with waterproofing below the ground line and regarding the land so that it is angled away from the home.i really enjoyed my construction project and we did all the ceramic work ourselves. wish I was able to do it now.

? · Answer

Personally I would sister the floor joists, then just lay cement board over the plywood. That should stop the floor from flexing and give you a proper base for your tiles. Best of luck with your project!

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What's the best thing to do with this kitchen floor?

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