In preparation for porcelain tile installation in my kitchen I removed the vinyl stick-on squares the previous owner threw down before selling and the 1/4" plywood underneath those. When I pulled the stove forward to remove the rest of the vinyl and plywood I found this:
The front feet of the stove rested on the existing floor with nothing but subfloor under the stove, well, subfloor and a hole. The piece of subfloor was inside the hole. Here's what's in the hole:
My questions:
- Why does this hole exist and should I repair it? Now that the weather is turning I feel cold air coming from the hole but could there be a valid reason the subfloor wasn't repaired after work was done?
- Should the new flooring (porcelain tile over cement board) extend under the stove? Currently the edge of the stove sits 1/2" below the countertop.
Now that I've written out my questions it seems the answers are "yes" and "yes". However I don't know what I don't know and maybe there's a good reason things were left as I found them, as janky as they seem.
Are "yes" and "yes" the correct answers?
Best Answer
I would replace the subfloor by floating some scrap lumber under two edges of the opening and screwing them in place. Then screw down the patch.
I'd then run tile down both sides of the stove opening and halfway back from the front, but leave the patched area uncovered in case you need later access.
This gives you the impression of a completed floor from the front and through any gaps along the sides of the stove.