New house carpet

[scott_l]

Hello all….since it is a slow time of year on the site and I can’t find a good answer online I figured I would reach out to you to see if anyone has an answer or suggestion.

We just purchased new carpet for the main level of our house, boy they sure don’t give that stuff away. But any way my question/situation is last fall a window was left open and the carpet in front of the window got REALLY wet, If I remember correctly about a 3’x5’ area. I actually ended up pulling the carpet and padding back in that area and putting a fan on the sub floor and another fan on the carpet/pad for a few days to get things dried out good. Then reinstalled the old padding and carpet. Now that we are getting new carpet and padding installed (good stuff that will have for many many years) should/do I need to do anything to that area of the subfloor? One article I read online said to put a coat of kills paint down before installing the new carpet. I have not looked at the subfloor since I reinstalled the carpet, but I don’t recall anything other than basically a water “dry ring” in the area that got wet.

Suggestions/thoughts?

Thanks

 

[favoritos]

How long was the floor REALLY wet?
Kilz will not do anything for a rotten subfloor. I see no other reason to treat the floor other than concerns of rotting. I would simply cut out and replace anything that you suspect may have lost some structural integrity.

 

[mezz]

As long as it dried thoroughly & no separation of the laminate layers in the sub floor, you should be fine.-Mezz

 

[Woodtic]

A well built house takes two to three months to build. Do you realize how much rain and snow was on that sub floor? Don't sweat the small stuff. You and your family will be fine.

 

[garyl62]

Unless the subfloor has delaminated or rotted out there's no reason to replace any of it. You'll know when you pull up the pad if it's bad or not. I think you'll be fine without doing anything.

 

[chunk06]

your only worry will be if it's a two layer floor system and the second layer was particle board. The particle board might be swelled up and you have to scrape it or replace a piece, not a big deal.

 

[Hoosier]

Where did you buy carpet from? Just curious where the best places to look are - wife is ready for new carpet, and I don't have any idea on what to look for.

Sorry to hijack thread.

 

[ezra]

A well built house takes two to three months to build. Do you realize how much rain and snow was on that sub floor? Don't sweat the small stuff. You and your family will be fine.

don't forget mud spit and the occasional turd under the slab in the basement.

 

[Wyelde]

I just went through this. A pipe started leaking in my kitchen while we were on vacation. So, it depends a little on what the subfloor is made of. Typically, if it is plywood, you won't have any issues. If it is that particle board stuff, it absorbs water quickly. So, look for any swelling warping, softness, or crumbling. If it looks ok, it probably is ok. Killz is used to kill/prevent Mold. Probably not needed if you dried the area out promptly.

 

[scott_l]

thanks for the info guys.....there was something in the installation paper work about the homeowner being responsible for prepping/treating any sub floor stains before the installers get their so I was just wanting to pick your brains before I get started so I have some idea what to look for/do Sunday night at 8:30 pm (hopefully I get started earlier but we all know how that goes) when I start pulling the carpet. I am not to concerned, but figured I would toss the question out there. But like Woodtic said I am sure all these floors and walls get wet plenty of times.

Hoosier we ended up purchasing this carpet from Home Depot, they have a couple racks that they call their limited special or some thing like that. Supposedly Home Depot purchases a large volume of these carpets and the manufacture then gives them a great price. I was hesitant and still am a little about purchasing carpet from a store like Home Depot, so we also shopped and got prices from a couple other local places shopping the same weight carpet and pad and same type of carpet (I think we ended up purchasing 60 oz nylon). Home Depots prices where always in line with the other places or cheaper, then they had the buy more save more program and I think that knocked off another $500 so we went with Home Depot. There warranty was also good (*** LONG as we have the carpet cleaned once a year and keep the receipt). LOTS of options and LOTS of different opinions, but with carpet and padding I really think you get what you pay for.

 

[scott_l]

I just went through this. A pipe started leaking in my kitchen while we were on vacation. So, it depends a little on what the subfloor is made of. Typically, if it is plywood, you won't have any issues. If it is that particle board stuff, it absorbs water quickly. So, look for any swelling warping, softness, or crumbling. If it looks ok, it probably is ok. Killz is used to kill/prevent Mold. Probably not needed if you dried the area out promptly.

similar problem, my dishwasher drain line sprung a leak (it was ran through the floor joyes and at a bend it was rubbing up against one a the joyce plates). I ended up cutting out the bottom of my sink cabinet and then cut out the floor under that cabinet. O how fun that was!

 

[gary_in_neenah]

Over the years I've encountered a number of horror stories in carpet and vinyl installations in our house. I fondly recall the two guys that proclaimed, "no speak English, no speak English". I think they were talking about me the whole time they were here. Another guy laid some vinyl in a bathroom but the pattern wasn't parallel to the wall, really? Others who showed up late or not at all, still others with the wrong carpet or pad. Our last carpet came from Home Depot, we did the shopping at various stores but the wife liked the carpet from H.D. so we went with them. Excellent installers, on time, cleaned up their mess, etc. I realize that most installers work for multiple stores so maybe we just got lucky, but I would consider Home Depot as a resource in the future.

 

[snobuilder]

HD has been on a mission to rebuild there rep from 10 or so years back and it shows in there cust service as well as their stock market price which has soared.

If you have pets who have occasional accidents, you might want to have a gallon of Kilz Complete on hand when the old carpet comes up.
Just tore out a room of particle board that was beyond Kilzs due to a open window a couple times and pets.

 

[ezra]

I just went through this. A pipe started leaking in my kitchen while we were on vacation. So, it depends a little on what the subfloor is made of. Typically, if it is plywood, you won't have any issues. If it is that particle board stuff, it absorbs water quickly. So, look for any swelling warping, softness, or crumbling. If it looks ok, it probably is ok. Killz is used to kill/prevent Mold. Probably not needed if you dried the area out promptly.

killz will not kill or prevent mold just cover it. it will grow under killz and eventually out the side . the mold remediation guys tell me bleach is also a wife's tale on most molds. could be because of the 100 buck a gal they charge for what ever it is they use