tiles getting spongy and water coming up between the cracks

Question

I have press-on tiles in my bathroom. We noticed they are getting spongy near the cooling vent. When I press it with my foot, I can see little bit of water coming up between the cracks. Duct work is underneath that floor (I believe).

Is it because duct is getting too cold and leaving moisture or there is some sort of pipe leak? I cannot see the pipe or anything from underneath but it could that duct is hiding it.

Do I need to worry about it and get it checked or is it normal? Do I need to call plumber or a handy man?

Answer 1

It does not sound at all normal to me. I would call the handyman first, since you haven't pinpointed the problem to piping. If you have to rip up flooring you'll need a handyman to put it back together anyway.

Answer 2

The tiles (if you can even call them that) themselves are soft and flexible - that spongy feel is not from the tiles but rather the subfloor itself. I don't think a small amount of condensation from the vent would cause this, especially considering you see water come up, it sounds more like there is a leak somewhere. Even if you spilled and entire bottle of water, it is unlikely to destroy the subfloor like that, this type of damage occurs from a constant leak. This is a serious problem, and there might be even more serious problems underneeth (like your joists rotting away).

Can you get under the floor (basement, crawl space, first floro, etc.)? Do you see water there (I bet that you do!).

I would call a plumber. Be prepared to have your floor ripped up.