Thanks, worthy! That was sort of our feeling as well, but this is our first home and first encounter with basement issues... so we weren't sure if that was being "neglectful" somehow or just practical. :) I don't know the exact type of floor (the previous owners explained about the "floating floor" design), but after tearing back some carpet just now, I'm pretty sure it is similar to Dri-Cor. I'm assuming then that this style of floor is specifically designed to weather this type of water encounter...? My only lingering concern would be mold... but once it's dried up any mold should die, right? Looks like we'll be tearing up some carpet and busting a hole in the wall this weekend. Thanks for your input! Really appreciated.

I have had Wilson Art Red Label laminate flooring in our kitchen for about seven years now and am very happy with it. But, Wilson Art does not make flooring anymore. We installed it ourselves and did glue the planks. There have been a few times where ice-cubes have escaped from kids glassed from the fridge dispenser and landed under chairs under our peninsula, and I did not discover the water until the next day, and no damage was done. I brought numerous samples home and did the scratch test and let soda sit on them overnight. That helped me decide on going with the Wilson Art. We have dropped cans of unopened veges, etc. on it and so far no dents. Just make sure you get enough. We have an open concept living room, dining room and kitchen and had cheap vinyl on the kitchen floor and carpet in the dining room and living room. Of course at the time the carpet was in great shape. Now the carpet needs replaced and I really love the laminate but they do not make it any longer. So I am trying to find a laminate that is a bit darker than the oak we have. We would have liked to have used wood flooring but we have a large dog and decided on laminate.

I installed Natural cork's floating planks (about 12" x 36" each) in our kitchen in 2007. They are about 1/2" thick and have cork on both sides of the plank with a fiberboard sort of material in the center. The "subfloor" is a concrete slab. Some people feel floating floor have a hollow sound when walked on but our floor doesn't have that sound. Thinner material like some laminates might produce a hollow sound unless a sound deadening under layment is used.

Thanks David. I climbed up in the crawlspace above our basement and snapped this photo of the subfloor. There’s a small chance the Black stuff is mastic from the tub, but then There’s that teal stuff too... The plywood never changed colors like that, I suspect some of the other posters were correct in assuming that I awoke a previous issue more so than doing all of this damage in such a short period of time. I believe by “selective demo” and “minor surgery” some are implying that I may just be able to deal with the boards that are damaged? I‘m not sure the whole subfloor needs to be replaced up there, but I think those tiles are going to have to come up just to let me get to these. It seems like the whole job requires different skill sets, I don’t even know who to call first! Mold guy to assess damage? Then abatement guy so I can get to it? Then Someone to actually replace subfloor? Lol, what have I gotten myself into!