A talk with my plumber buddy about subfloor prep got me thinking
I was finishing up a glue-down vinyl job in this old house in Akron, and the plumber, Frank, was there fixing a leak. He saw me pulling up some rotted plywood and said, 'You know, you guys are like surgeons. If the bone's bad, the new joint fails.' I mean, I've always known prep is key, but the way he put it hit different. It's not just about making it flat for the new floor. It's about fixing the actual structure so the whole thing lasts. I spent an extra two hours that day sistering joists and putting down a full 3/4 inch ply underlayment instead of just patching. Makes you wonder how many callbacks are from stuff we didn't see or chose to ignore. How do you guys decide when a subfloor needs a full rebuild versus just a quick patch?