Pointers to a Damaged Bathroom Subfloor
It is usually difficult to purchase a new home for several homeowners. Buying a new home is by no means an easy task. You will need to make sure that you make the best decision before you buy a house. Before buying a home you ought to ensure that every part of the home is in perfect condition. As many people look for a home to purchase, they end up overlooking the bathroom subflooring. If you overlook the bathroom subflooring you will end up making costly repairs in the future. This makes it essential to ensure that the bathroom flooring of your soon to be house is in perfect condition. The following tips will enable you to know if the subflooring of the bathroom is intact.
One tell-tale pointer of a water damaged bathroom subfloor is the visible growth of mold. Although you might fail to notice a water damaged bathroom subfloor, discovering the growth of mold should not be a difficult task. The growth of mold is caused by a number of reasons. One key reason of mold growth in the bathroom spaces is a leaky plumbing connection. The visible growth of mold is also brought about by the shower that is leaking. Nevertheless, it can be difficult for you to find mold as some sellers wipe it off before they sell the house to you.
Looking at the tenacity of the bathroom walls is the other thing you ought to do to know if the bathroom subflooring has been damaged by water. Faulty plumbing connections can cause leaks behind the walls. The accumulation of so much water by the walls usually tends to make them weak. If the issue is not addressed in time, the wall starts to crumble with time. Looking out for discolored walls is one way of identifying weak walls. You can also tell if the walls are weak by touching them.
The grout and the chalk is the other thing you ought to look at. You will get to tell whether the bathroom floor has been affected by water if you look at the grout or chalk. The grout or the chalk will be missing where there is a leak. This makes it essential to find out if the grout is missing.
Looking at the flooring is also important. Although bathroom floors are created to withstand high moisture levels, the accumulation of too much moisture can cause the floors to crumble and buckle. When you notice that the bathroom floor is crumbling at an alarming rate, you need to contact a plumber. Better still, do not buy that house.