soft spot in floor, how do I fix it?

Hey guys am in the middle of my carpet job and have a small soft spot around the drain in the floor. It is only just around the hole, but I would like to repair it. I have no idea where to start.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

You need to cut the entire soft spot out in order to get back to good wood. You can then build a lip on the underside of the hole and cut a new piece to drop over the cut out area. Get some epoxy resin and fiberglass matting. Treat all lumber used with a couple coats of epoxy resin then cover the seam with epoxy resin and matting. Make sure you seal the screw heads too.

How do I build up the lip? I understand the concept but am fuzzy on the execution. Are there any good books or websites out ther?

Thanks, Mike

Cut the soft spot out as a square or rectangle. Then take some 1"x4" lumber and build a lip under the floor. Let half of the 4" lumber sit under the old floor and the other half is to support the new floor piece.

You are simply building a perimeter under the floor (attached to the old floor with screws), to support the new piece you need to put in, which you can also screw down to the other half of the perimeter piece.

I can't think of any good books or websites, but you can do a search and see what comes up.

An alternative method to Mike's. I would guess his would be a little stronger.

Cut an oblong hole, making sure to get all of the bad wood. Cut a replacement piece of plywood bigger than the hole in all directions. The trick is that the oblong hole will allow a patch bigger than the hole to fit through. Try the fit before proceeding. The bigger the better as long as you can get the patch into place under the deck.

Seal the bottom side and edges of the patch with resin. Put a good size screw in the center of the patch, protruding from the top side. Put the patch through the hole and under the deck. Now get a good coat of epoxy on the overlapping part of the patch. Pull the patch up to the bottom of the deck with the screw and drive SS screws through the good deck and the patch all around the hole. Remove the screw you used for a handle. Now you just need to cut another patch, close to the same size as the hole you cut to level the deck. Use plenty of resin to bond the upper patch and screw it in place.

We did this on an old ski boat of my uncle's, and when he sold it 10 years later it was still rock solid.

im not an expert, jusr was reading and i didnt see anyone recommend using treated material when patching, i would have to suggest this.

not that i know anything, just a suggestion.

http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif

resin does bond to treated wood fully.

if you cut a circle hole. cut a ring with a smaller diameter and a larger od. now cut the ring in half and screw to the under side of the hole. be sure to coat the part before installing.

Mike

Check out http://www.capndsboatshed.com. The guy helped me repair 2 cracks in the hull of my boat along with a casting deck replacement.
I believe his repair manual was about $20.00 but he saved me mega $$$$$.

Ubuck http://www.bassboatcentral.com/boardstuff2/beers.gif