What are your subfloor dimensions...aka what's the right dimensions for replacements?

[Gothichome]

Smellyhouse, there you go Advice from a pro. My thoughts on having space under the current base moulding, yes. My thinking (what little there is of it) was to raise the sub floor above the molding you would need to commit to a total floor replacement, or you would end up with different heights in the floor between, let's say, the hall way and the room being re floored.

[SmellyHouse]

Hi all, thanks for the advice.

Although I started the thread talking about the 1st floor, the time has come. I think I need to rip and replace the 2nd floor subfloor. I hate, hate hate to do it. But, the master bedroom subfloor is literally covered in cat pee (look at all the lovely ammonia stains on the subfloor), and the smelly is not abating, even after repeated hits with the kennel enzyme odor removal (KOE). My allergies kick in the minute I step into the house...and I know that it's the 2nd floor. Reason I know this is that during the initial mold/cat removal on the basement/first floors, the mold company sealed off the 2nd floor...and I could smell the cat pee on the 2nd floor, but not the first (due to the barrier blocking the transmission of the smell/ammonia between floors).

I am concerned that given the original 2nd floor subfloor is only 1/2" thick, if I try to ground down the first layer of wood (to remove the ammonia, which is how they treated the basement joists) that I either may not fully remove the ammonia or the subfloor could become an uneven layer on which to install the HWF. And, a fair amount of the boards already have cracks/split anyways. As much as I hate to remove an original part of the house, I think I have to give up the ghost on this one, to the cat gods.

So, I'm thinking

1. In both bedrooms and the hallway, remove all baseboard and the plinth block on the doorframes. Number and store for re-install after renovation is complete.
2. Remove old subfloor and curse the cat gods (Bathroom as is until full renovation)
3. Sister blocking to the end joist and plate
4. Glue and screw 1 inch marine plywood (sorry, I'm overbuilding!) for subfloor
5. Hold off installing new HWF until renovations are complete (upstairs is getting new electric, insulation, replaster of ceiling, repainting, and new bathroom).

This unfortunately, will need to be done by a contractor, since I'm still looking at another 3-4 months in my walking cast. But, once this is done, I can finally move my sleeping quarters from the dining room to the master bedroom, get my beautiful OKM out of storage and into the house (in the dining room, natch), and finish my architectural planning. And, stop spending money on Zytec/allergy medication.

Thoughts? Am I doing the right thing, sad as it is?

[Willa]

1. In both bedrooms and the hallway, remove all baseboard and the plinth block on the doorframes. Number and store for re-install after renovation is complete.
2. Remove old subfloor and curse the cat gods

Thoughts? Am I doing the right thing, sad as it is?

You've got to do what you've got to do. Getting bad smells out of wood is next to impossible, as you know. Speaking from experience, once that bad smell is in your brain, it is next to impossible to block that association. The smell in reality may be nearly imperceptible, but your associations are very strong, so you will always smell it.

Rather than curse the cat gods, curse the human(s) who probably did not spay/neuter their cat(s) and may have been slobs who did not provide a clean litter box or worse.

With regards to the baseboards and trim, it would be prudent to use shellac or other sealer on the bottom and backsides of the boards. If unfixed tomcats were spraying. gravity will pull the drips down, which will run under the baseboards and plinth bottoms.

[Mick_VT]

Try a good soaking coat or three of bullseye seal coat before committing to tearing that up. I have very successfully used it for the same situation that you describe in the past - though perhaps not as extreme. It's simply a dewaxed shellac - but it gets into the wood and seals everything in

[SmellyHouse]

Mick, the big part of my problem is that I can't do anything. Everything I do has to be hired out since I cannot put any weight on my left leg.. If I was healthy, I would probably attempt it, but part of me just wants to get it DONE. Particularly since I am working from home right now...even with every single window open, my eyes are still itching and burning.

I just want it done so I can move on.

[Mick_VT]

Mick, the big part of my problem is that I can't do anything. Everything I do has to be hired out since I cannot put any weight on my left leg.. If I was healthy, I would probably attempt it, but part of me just wants to get it DONE. Particularly since I am working from home right now...even with every single window open, my eyes are still itching and burning.

I just want it done so I can move on.

Understood - though hiring a handyman to shellac those floors will be a darn sight cheaper and quicker if it works. Personally, I would try that first, you will likely know within just a day after if it has worked or not.

[SmellyHouse]

Mick, understood. Ideally, though, Id take an angle grinder with a wire brush wheel to get as much of the ammonia off the wood prior to bulleye-ing..which is what the mold company did for the basement, then seal with either poly or Bullseye.

I just hate to throw 500 bucks at the problem if it ends up not solving the problem.