Warning: a bad subfloor at a job in Dayton taught me to always pull up a corner first
I was doing a bedroom job in Dayton last spring and the old pad came up easy, so I figured the subfloor was fine and started laying tack strip. Halfway through, my knee hit a soft spot and the whole corner of plywood gave way, which turned a 1 day job into 3 days and cost me about $280 in extra material and a second trip. Now I always pull up a corner of the old carpet in two spots before I even bring the tools in, just to feel what is under there. On that job the previous installer had glued carpet right over a water damaged patch and never said a word. Checking first only takes 10 minutes and it has saved me twice since. Does anyone else do a quick floor check before quoting, or do you just trust what the homeowner says?