How To Replace Subfloor Under Your Wall

So you own a home, and you’ve noticed a few differences around the house. Maybe it’s a lasting scent of musk. Or, perhaps you’ve seen the floor gives away in certain areas. These are the telltale signs of subfloor damage. Furthermore, the damage to your subfloor can extend to under your wall. What do you do then?

You’re going to have to remove the bottom part of the wall where the subfloor needs replacing. You do this by knocking out the drywall. After that, you will need to attach a ledger to the studs. This will allow you to jack the wall up for support. In turn, you can then remove and replace the subfloor.

The process of replacing the subfloor under your wall is pretty simple. Although, that’s not to say that it isn’t a lot of work. This step-by-step guide will help you to get the job done! As long as you follow these instructions, you will have a job well done.

First, you will need to tear up your flooring. Once you do that, take the shop vac and vacuum up the debris. Tear up the underlayment as well. Then, you want to take the circular saw and cut out the damaged subfloor. Make sure that your Shop-Vac isn’t blowing the dust out the back, as this will make the job so much harder.

It’s best to do this in a square shape, so it’s easier to replace. Be sure to cut all the way through until you see the stable structures. Remove any nails that are exposed.

Cut a section of the wall plate underneath one stud. If the stud lowers, that means your wall is a load-bearing wall. In that case, you will need your wall jack. If the studs have not dropped, you can safely cut out the rest of the plates in that area.

To mark your plywood, measure from the break-in of your plywood on your floor. The break is the edge of your plyboard. You’ll want to get the measurement from the break to the side of where you cut your subfloor. Now, measure the width of the gap you had cut out. Write these measurements down.

Remember to do all of these steps on both sides of your wall. When you are finished, you should have a perfect square or rectangle cut out of your subfloor.

Slide the replacement plyboard under the wall to set it in place. Make sure it fits perfectly. You may need to sand off or cut a little bit of the edge to wedge it in. Now you’ll want to nail it to the baseboard. Or screw it, whichever avenue you prefer.

After you have installed the plywood, you want to reinstall the plates. You do this by screwing it to the floor and nailing it to the wall studs as well. You can also use A35 framing angles for added stability. If you used a wall jack, you could slowly release the studs to fit onto the wall plate.

Of course, there is no one answer to this question. The length of your project will depend on several factors. How big is the damaged area? How much do you need to replace? Do you have tile, vinyl, wood, or carpet for your flooring? Is this a loadbearing wall or a non-loadbearing wall?

You can expect to take anywhere from 8 hours to 24 hours, depending. For an easy job, it will take about 8 hours, maybe even less. For the most demanding job, it will take 24 working hours. Working hours means that you’re actively working on it. So you could expect to have a more important job done within 3-4 days if you’re working on it every day.

The average cost of replacing a subfloor varies depending on supplies and the number of supplies needed.

For an entire room, this price can range from $500 to $700. Therefore, for a smaller project, you can expect to pay much less. If you hire a professional, you can expect to pay up to $40 per hour for labor. That said, you may just want to save that money and do it yourself!

The cost will also depend on the type of plywood you want to use. Plywood ranges anywhere from $4 a sheet to $12 a sheet. Although, since you’re using it for a subfloor, you may want to invest in a higher quality of plywood.

While replacing the subfloor under your wall is a bit of a challenge, it’s a pretty straightforward process. By taking accurate measurements and cutting the new plywood to fit, you will ensure that you get the job done a lot quicker. Take your time, and follow these steps so that you don’t need to go back and fix anything later on.

It’s so satisfying when you complete a big project like this on your own. It provides a sense of accomplishment. Besides, a job like this one is important. Now you don’t have to worry about safety, or whether or not you can do it! You did it!