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Warning: Stop using particle board underlayment near bathrooms
I pulled up a floor last week in a 5 year old house and the particle board under the vinyl was completely rotted out near the toilet flange. The homeowner said there was never a leak, just normal humidity from showers. I measured the moisture content at 18% in spots that looked fine on top. Has anyone else run into this or do you just use plywood near wet areas?
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wright.leo6mo ago
paige166 said "held up way better so far" but "so far" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. I actually think particle board gets a bad rap for stuff like this, people just install it wrong or skip the basics. If you seal every edge and joint with a good primer before putting it down, it holds up fine in my experience. The real problem is people treating it like plywood when it's a different animal - you gotta prep it right and keep the bathroom vent fan running. Has anyone here actually followed the manufacturer's instructions to the letter and still had it fail?
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paige1666mo ago
Did you try putting a layer of RedGard or something similar on the plywood before the underlayment? I started doing that after a similar mess in my own place and it's held up way better so far lol.
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the_mia6mo ago
Yeah but RedGard on plywood can trap moisture if it's not perfectly sealed... kinda risky honestly. I'd rather use a vapor barrier sheet myself, less chance of failure down the road. Just seems cleaner to me.
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