I am in the early stages of a bathroom gut and remodel. As I suspected, the toilet must have leaked many years ago, but was never fully repaired by a previous owner. By the time I pulled out the 1.5-2" thick concrete pad that was under the tile, I found the plywood subfloor completely delaminated. The joists are solid 12" full dimension beams and are sound, except for some pock marks along the top from the past water damage and some insects as well. Is there an epoxy or wood filler product I can use to fill in the damaged areas on the top of the joists and provide a solid surface for the new subfloor?
My other surprise was the wet wall behind the double vanity. instead of using 2x6 studs, they used two studs back to back. This is probably a load bearing wall. I might take advantage of this and install a couple of medicine cabinets above the sinks. If I box in an opening for the cabinets, will I need to worry about jack studs and cripple studs, or will the back set of studs be enough to support the wall?
Dan