Home remodelers, home inspector question | FerrariChat

Home remodelers, home inspector question

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by Mera, Jan 27, 2008.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. Mera

    Mera Formula Junior

    Aug 13, 2005
    768
    Milwaukee, WI
    Full Name:
    Rodney Dickman
    #1 Mera, Jan 27, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    This is about the possibility of a potential mold problem. First the story:

    I have a problem with the floor in my sun room off my master bedroom. This room has no basement under it like the rest of my house does. It is just a cement slab on gravel etc. One corner is settling. The other three corners seem to be just fine. I have lived here for just over 4 years now. A few years ago I took some measurements and wrote them on the tile. The floor is still sinking. Not much. Maybe a few mm's every year. I also keep a small very quiet dehumidifier in there as the humidity gets over 50% with the doors closed. This is not as much of a problem in the winter and on days the sun shines bright and warms the room. I just worry about mold.

    My original idea to fix this was to take up all the tile and pour a few layers of thin set and put carpet over it as the floor is cold in the winter. I have considered mud jacking but I do not like that idea as over time the floor will still settle plus the danger of them jacking just a little too much and doing damage to the tiles on the walls.

    My other idea and this idea is the one I would like to utilize is to make a sub floor out of 1x4's laid on their wide side so they are 1" thick (actually 3/4"). Maybe router out some slots so I can put in some 1/4" x 2's (maybe cut some 1/4" plywood strips) to make a frame with several rows of the 1x4"s. Then shim the low corner and everything outward to the good areas to make the floor level and cover it with 1/2" top quality plywood and carpet over it. If it settles more the carpet will hid it and if it settles too much in the years to come the carpet and plywood can be taken out and the frame reshimmed to make the floor level again. The tile on the sides is 2 3/4" tall so that would still look OK. There is a sliding door to the patio/pool on one end. Around that area I would maybe leave an area with no wood floor. I would need to do that or the floor will be too tall next to this door. The floor is OK in this area.

    This room is generally not used much. It is more of a show room thing. We see it when we are in the bedroom and if company comes over they can see what is in it from the patio/pool area.

    My concern and question is about the humidity. Before I would do the floor I would try to do something to seal the edges where it has settled. I had thought I would try thin set instead of caulk but if the floor wants to settle more in the future I am not sure if that is a good idea. My worry is the possibility of mold. Should I just do this and would I probably be OK if I keep the dehumidifier in there? How much of a chance does one take with mold? I do not see any real horror stories in the local newspaper so mold problems must not be a real big concern here locally.


    Any advice is appreciated. :)

    Rodney
    1990 348 TS
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  2. tatcat

    tatcat F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Sep 3, 2001
    11,013
    panama city beach FL
    Full Name:
    rick c
    well it seems a shame to hide that nice tile under a sub floor. have you had a concrete contractor look at the slab? if it's settling the problem might be solved with a larger footer. the slab is probably what's called a turn down slab where the footer is part of the slab. they may be able to excavate and reinforce the existing footer which would stop further settling. it is called mud jacking but they actually use concrete with a special mix. look around for someone who has done this type of repair and knows what they are doing. as for the mold question; in your climate is there really a mold problem. a contributing cause of mold is inadequate airflow. if this area is regularly damp the sub floor would be a poor solution as there would be no way for the moisture to evaporate from under the wood. keeping the air moving with a low volume system teamed with the dehumidifier should alleviate the dampness. maybe a regular spray of bleach in that area to kill any spores. good luck.
     

Share This Page