Floor damage around toilet/tub

[Packerswidow]

Okay, a weekend project seems to have turned into a big headache!
Bought this house last fall and we are re-doing the rooms bit by bit because the previous owner was a heavy smoker (and my husband and I are not).

DH removed the toilet today so that I could remove all the carpet and padding (planning to ceramic tile the bathroom floor) and now we note that the floor on one side of where the toilet was is moist (and smelly - like musty)and the subfloor (?) seems to be pulling away. Some of the floor pieces around the trim work must have been so moist at one time that, as I pulled staples from the floor pad, the pieces crumbled in my hand.

Question: Do I need to call in a professional to look at my toilet drain (the old toilet has been thrown away) and also to check out the damage to my floor? Like should I bother putting a new piece of plywood over this floor or am I just masking a major problem?

Any advice would be appreciated. We have no clue what we're doing (just learning as we go).

AMY!

[handyandy]

Welcome to the forum!

I would try to verify where the water is coming from.

Carpet and padding will hold in moisture, so it could be that water from the shower, wet feet, etc over the years have caused the wood to rot. Your new tile should solve this problem.

It could have been your old toilet, in which case replacing it would fix the problem.

Of course, it could be that the damage to the floor is caused by, like you said, the toilet drain, or some leakage elsewhere. I would definitely have this looked at. You don't want the problem to continue, especially underneath your new tile floors.

Are you able to tell where the water came from? Keep us posted!

[EasyE]

Guessing here Amy,but my guess isn't that your waste pipe is cracked or anything,I would say either the toilet came alil loose from resting on the rotted floor over time and the rocking may have made your wax ring go bad there fore causeing a small leak at times.That is very common.
If your drain is PVC it could be cracked from the stress of a rotted /rocking floor.If it is you should be able to see the crack in the pipe with a flashlite and moving the flange alil.If its a cast steel drain I doubt its cracked or has a hole in it.
As for Tiling the floor,I haven't much expierience at that but do know you need a solid surface so you may need to nail down some I believe its called "Masonite" and lay your grout and tile down to that.
By the way Go Ravens[]and Good Luck