Can particle board flooring in a mobile home go from swollen back to almost normal?
Manufactured Homes July 20th, 2009My father lives in a 1998 mobile home. His air conditioner drain pipe clogged up and water was leaking under the vinyl flooring for quite a while before I noticed the floor was swollen up. His unit has been replaced so there hopefully will be no more leaking water. Now that the particle board is swollen up, must it be replaced with new board or will it ever dry back out and go back down some? How big a deal is this going to be?
July 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
the flooring will not look the same nor will it ever be as strong. It will need to be replaced. Many contractors will splice the sub floor on a joist. this is a poor practice it is better to cut between the joists and glue and screw a 6" wide backer across the joint around the entire perimeter. The original sheets of particle board extend from side to side and are joined over the top of the floor joist with a 4" inch backer full glued and stapled many many times.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
what you have is water damage and need to be replace
July 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
it will never be like it was. Once the chemicals and solvents within the flooring absorbed all that water, they expanded because of the pressure within, not because of the presence of water. Therefore, when all the water evaporates, the flooring will still appear as it is now, lumpy and uneven. On the bright side, seeing as how it is not hardwood flooring, it will be a breeze to get rid of. Circular saw, jig saw, sawzall, anything will cut through it. I would recomend removing an oversized piece in a square of rectrangle shape, at least 4X4′ to make it easy to find floor joices to secure it to. Get a tube of liquid nails and smear all over the bakside and drop in place.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Unfortunately you will need to replace it. While your at it replace it with OSB or plywood so you won’t have this problem in the future if it gets wet again. You can do this yourself by tearing out the old at the seams where it is fastened to floor joists and cutting and screwing in new pieces.
Good luck.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
yes it can but be careful of mildew when it drys
July 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
nope it must be replaced. it is in all probabability a bigger deal that you think, if you understand construction, without seeing it hard to say, but most likely being that its from an ac unit, its near a wall, and hopefully didnt cause more damage somewhere else. that extra thinkness went somewhere, and I would bet it didnt go down. window problems, or possibly a roof problem. good luck and find a good contractor. I would go to the mobile home dealer and have them recommend a contractor who is familiar with mobile homes.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Yes, they will shrink after they dry..but it will not quiet be the same– and it may pull lose from the floor joists.
Let it dry out and just look at it. If he can live with it–you are blessed. If not- just pull up the carpet- cut out the old particle board and replace it with something else-but not particle board.
Its easy to do…just a little work.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I doubt it, you will need to replace the boards.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
needs replacing.fix the leak and move to a house.
July 20th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
It is WATER damage. You should call mungo homes and ask for someone who can do water damage.