On Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:57:48 -0700 (PDT), Joe
wrote:

I have some water damaged floor that I have to replace. It has long
since dried out now. I had some estimates done, found only two people
who would do it and one was twice as expensive. Anyway I spent the
difference and the cheaper guy (who had great references) left the
country, so I'm stuck doing as much as possible by myself. I'm going
to at least tear out the old floor and then decide whether I want to
try putting in the new one or not.

Right now its a part tile floor and part vinyl, under both of which is
OSB. The plywood sub floor and joists are both fine, I as told. I've
already torn out part of the vinyl, and am starting to chip away at
the OSB boards that are obviously swollen beyond hope. Now for the
questions, since I've never done anything like this before.

How can I know which OSB absolutely must be replaced? Can I just
eyeball it? Some parts that got wet dont show any swelling; other
parts I dont remember whether they got wet or not because the damage
is old. I dont want to remove boards that are OK, and I dont want to
find out when I'm (or whoever) start to put down the vinyl that there
are still bad boards.

Other than that, what do I need to be aware of as I do this? I'm
worried I may accidentally damage the subfloor (though I cant imagine
how) or do some other expensive mistake. There is very little mold.

I'm guessing I will have to remove a min of 5-6 OSB boards across two
rooms, but at worst it could be closer to 10.



Don't do half a job. Remove all the tile, lino andOSB together. Sinply
set an old skill saw for the thickness needed and cross hatch cuts to
make manageable pieces. Start again with new materials as you will
not be capable to clean the old OSB enough to put a finish floor on
it.