Water damaged chipboard bathroom floor

gundo

New house has chipboard floors upstairs. The bath has leaked at sometime and the chipboard undearth is now dry but very dark and crumbly. I've had the ceiling downstairs repaired but a neighbour reckons the bathroom floor is sloped and needs replacing.



How much roughly is it going to cost to rip out and replace. Is it lots of hassle (I'm useless at DIY)? I know the sink, toilet and bath will have to come out I guess. But also normally do the chipboard floors run under the internal walls (all plasterboard)? Haven't even taken the carpet up to look.

I dread all this stuff as it's additional expense I can ill afford. The kitchen also urgently needs ripping out too and I haven't the skills to do it myself. Also I just never have the time or the right tools/knowledge to do anything.

Yes I am starting to panic. Haven't moved in yet as GF owns the place we live in now but it's not ideal paying a mortgage on an empty house.

Needless to say the useless RICS Homebuyers report I had done doesn't mention the bathroom floor (the surveyor failed to mention the living room ceiling until I told them about it and made him do the report again).

Malestrom

Normally the upstairs floor is laid and then the stud walls are built on top of it. If the only flooring thats in bad condition is that under the bath then just replace that bit, no need to do the whole floor. Easiest way to get the old chipboard up is using a circular saw, set to the depth of the chipboard, usually 19mm (3/4"). Cut out the bad piece and replace with moisture resistant chipboard, which has a green dyed finish. Make sure that the new piece is sufficiently supported by the joists or extra noggins, especially where it meets the original chipboard. Use screws rather than nails to fix the chipboard into place, decking screws are good as they are zinc coated so won't rust and are also self-drilling. Nails may cause the plasterboard ceiling in the room below to 'pop' if its been nailed up. Ensure that any hidden services, pipes, cables, etc are clearly marked before you fit the new piece of floor so you don't screw into them!