Kitchen Repair - Part One

On January 12, two days before I become unemployed, we notice that water is coming out from underneath our kitchen floor; on the other side of the room from the pipes. Not good. We check under the sink and all seems fine. But as my head is in the cabinet, I hear a faint drip . . . drip . . .drip. Kevin pulls the dishwasher out from underneath the cabinet to discover an inch of standing water. Ugh. The next day we begin making calls; home warranty and then home owners insurance.

Our insurance company sent out a restoration company to take a look at our situation. The lady at AAA went back an forth on a decision for our claim. At first it was going to be covered, and then when they found mold in our baseboards they decided it was a long standing issue and they weren't going to cover it. Finally they sent the restoration company out to tear open the wall so AAA could see how long the issue had been there. When a piece of the drywall was removed, we found particle board all the way up. This meant that the wood had been soaking up the water, now two and a half feet up the wall, and it AAA made a decision in our favor.

Here is a picture of the wall before it was covered up with plastic and duct tape. Wet.

The restoration company brought in two dehumidifiers to suck the moisture out. By the time they pulled them out of the house, I was going crazy from the noise. They weren't so much loud and just constant noise. Here I am being sly with my camera phone getting Joe checking the mold behind the baseboard in the dining room.

Here was my kitchen for 3 weeks. Dishwasher and dehumidifier in the middle of the room. You don't realize how much you use your dishwasher until it is useless; I am so tired of doing dishes.


Yesterday, they moved my dishwasher and refrigerator out of the kitchen. Today they came and packed up everything in my lower cabinets and drawers. So I have plates to eat off of, but no flatware or cookware.

The living room now holds my refrigerator. Convenient for entertaining. Not so great for smells.
And my family room has become a storage unit holding my dishwasher and everything from my kitchen.

I was able to do some cooking on Monday and Tuesday so we had some food for the rest of the week; casserole, quiche, enchiladas, granola, bread, and the much needed chocolate chip cookies.

Hang on ladies and gentlemen, we are in for a ride.