I want to start off by expressing my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has sent me well wishes, prayers, and given amazing advice on dealing with a house flood. Hearing your personal flood stories has been two things, both scary and comforting at the same time. Many of you have been though so much worse and now I feel a little less alone and scared of what this whole process will entail. THANK YOU!
If you aren’t sure of what happened last week you can read about our kitchen and family room flood HERE. We left off wondering whether or not the hardwood floors and cabinets really had to come out. Removing everything was a worse case senario in our thoughts. We called in a different water restoration company for a second opinion to see if the first company was doing things correctly. The second company also agreed that the floors were already too far gone and that they had to come out. Oh yes, and so did the cabinets because the hardwood runs under the cabinets and were very wet.
This is where I took a big breath, held it, and bit my lip. All I could think was, “My husband is going to totally FREAK!” And he did. It took a good 3 days for him to come to terms with everything that was happening.
We emptied all the items in the cabinets and piled them up in the dining room. The process of removing part of the kitchen floor and cabinets began. It was hard to watch.
The scariest part was watching the cabinet guy try to carefully remove the quartz countertops without breaking them. Unfortunately the largest section broke at the sink. Now I have massive slabs of quartz weighing hundreds and hundreds of pounds, with crazy sharp edges lying in several rooms in the house. I’m not sure what will happen with the counters now.
The cabinets overall looked pretty good so those were moved into my office and kitchen dining area along with the oven and dishwasher. I’m pretty sure we will be reinstalling them again.
The subfloors showed signs of wetness along the walls under the cabinets, under the kitchen island and and all around peninsula bar into the family room.
The family room floors and carpet are dry as best as we can tell and hopefully the adjuster will give us approval for new flooring and padding. Dust from the floor removal is covering every surface.
That is where we are at one week later. Things are slowly drying out. The adjuster comes later today and we’ll find out how much money we get to restore things. Feeding the family has been interesting for sure….t he grill and the crockpot have become our new best friends this week! 😉
I hope to get back to doing some creative projects to share with you soon! So hold tight! I appreciate your patience and understanding. 😉
Again, thanks for all your advice and well wishes!
KIM
Oh Kim….I am so sorry, breaks my heart to see your beautiful kitchen like this. Brings back so many not so great memories. You will get through it, it won’t be easy but you will. So glad insurance will be covering. Hang in there, hugs!
Oh God! I missed the first post! My heart goes out to you. We’ve had an onslaught of what seem like very minor repairs compared to this, and the financial stress was bad enough – I can’t even imagine what your household is like right now. I am so sorry, and all I can really say is: Hang in There! Hopefully you’ll end up with two rooms you love even more!
My heart is just aching for you! I hope the adjuster covers everything you need and want. Keep us posted!
I’m SO so very sorry! We had a leak in our upstairs yesterday and as I was cleaning up my wood floors and praying they weren’t ruined, I was thinking of you and hoping all was being restored on your end. I hate to see your beautiful kitchen all torn apart and I especially hate that your countertop broke! Praying they give you plenty of money to get things back to working order quickly!
Oh no Samantha! I hope yours are ok! Thank you for the kind word and prayers.
Oh Kim! Praying for good news from the adjuster so you can get your beautiful kitchen back in order.
Thank you Maryann!
ugh- thinking of you! our basement flooded a few weeks ago and it’s not as bad so i can only imagine. thank goodness for grilling season!
Oh no Cassie! I’m sorry to hear that! We’ll get through… one day at a time. 😉
Kim, so sorry to hear this. I must have missed last week’s post while we were moving baby girl into her apartment. What a nightmare!! Praying all gets put back together quickly.
Thank you Lauren!
i know it is hard to go through this because we have, too. We were able to keep our kitchen tile
because it was sealed and did not have any mold. Sorry about your countertops. Our kitchen cabinets and remodel and living room floor cost about $39,000. But that included new baseboards everywhere. I am just glad the drywall was not ruined. I always think it could be worse, without a working kitchen it is hard. Glad you are coping with the crockpot and grill.
Did I mention we had two hurricanes during our remodel? Yes and our cabinet order was damaged and we had to pick new cabinets and wait for them to arrive. Our process went over 6 months. Our problems started with a washer that kept filling up and not draining! My prayers will include your family as you get back to normal soon.
Hi Debbie! That is EXACTLY what we think happened to our dishwasher, that it just kept trying to fill and fill and fill all night. Crazy!!! Ours was a Kenmore. Do you remember what your was? I can not even imagine going through a remodel with two hurricanes! 6 months is a long time…. I’m praying our time will be less hopefully!!! Thanks for sharing your experience with me! ~ KIM
I seriously just want to cry for you. I would be a quivering heap in a corner. Hope all goes well with the adjuster!
Thank you Anele!!! I’ve certainly shed a few tears. I’ll make it through as long as I don’t dwell on it and change my focus to looking forward. 😉
I know it’s tough to watch, but I have a feeling everything will come back better than ever! Hang in there!
Thanks Debbie!
I don’t recall from reading your previous post whether you determined why the dishwasher leaked. Wouldn’t the manufacturer have some liability?
Hi Teddee!
It was the dishwasher but we can’t figure out where or how it leaked since the back hose didn’t show signs of leaking. The manufacturer liability stops after 5 years in the state of Virginia (our insurance adjuster told us). Grrrr…
Kim,
I can totally relate to flooding. I have dealt with this more times than I can count. I have had my house even rain on me which is also a nightmare. Imagine trying to find help when your ceiling collapses in the middle of the night during a 3 day thunderstorm. It’s all awful! I hope you get back in order soon! ! As they say…. life happens & hang in there- this too shall pass. 🙂
Best wishes! !
Jenny
Oh Yikes! Now that sounds scary! Thank you for the encouragement. I’ll try to stay positive. 😉
I’m so sorry Kim. I’ve been there and completely understand the shock you are going through right now. I can’t remember if I shared this with you or not (forgive me if I have.) http://www.prettyhandygirl.com/how-to-survive-without-a-kitchen-during-renovation/
Thank you Brittany! I’ll need to go back and re-read all your posts about that disaster you all went through!
Kim, What a mess! I hope it all gets put back together soon.
Hugs,
Sherry
Thanks Sherry!
Kim, good luck with all of this. Just take one day at a time. That’s all you can do for now. don’t worry about us (your loyal fan). We’ll be here when you can breath and begin blogging again. Hugs, Sandy
Thank you Sandy. I really appreciate your support! 😉
Let the stress leave you. We had this happen. We had 11 spaces damaged from a water main breaking in my daughter’s 2nd floor bathroom. My husband was home and the water only ran for about 25 minutes, before we found a neighbor with a T-bar to shut the water off at the street. We had to have the VBFB come out to investigate since we had water running through every electrical line. I called a water mitigation company immediately and they were out within 4.5 hours. I didn’t call the insurance company for 2 days, as it was a Saturday when it happened. The adjuster was easy to work with and never put up too much of a fight. We took advantage of already having a Class A contractor in our home, so we chose to do some upgrades to the damaged spaces, as it cost us less in the long run since they were already doing the job. Since our damages were extensive and we had no working kitchen, we spent 2 months in a hotel at the oceanfront and I enjoyed my mini ‘vacation’ of not cooking or cleaning. 😉 I would go to the house every day and acted as the GC, but the moment I left the house, I left all that stress and decision making behind. Remember it’s only stuff and while it is inconvenient you have the option to make any changes you have been wanting to do those spaces. Take advantage of that. And look at it that you are getting a ‘new’ upgraded kitchen for whatever your deductible is. For us that was $1,000. We actually came out ahead in the end and make a ‘profit’ which we put into the upgrades we chose. Good luck!!
A water main break?!!! How horrible! I know we’ll get through. I need to let it go and try to look forward. They aren’t replacing the cabinets unfortunately. But we might go ahead and look into getting new ones since I planned on painting these white already. I’d love to know who your VB contractor was if you don’t mind me asking. Thanks Amy!
What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? But sometimes ya gotta wonder how strong you’re supposed to be! Hang in there (easier said than done, I know). I promise there is a light at the end of the tunnel – and it’s not a train!!! 🙂
Very true! Thank you Regi!
i think you have had enough hang in theres you have no other choice so i will just say this when you can’t hang in there anymore take a break and go to your moms place she will feed you food and feed your soul xx
Ha! That’s for sure! Thanks Chris!
I missed the initial flooding post… I am so, so sorry!! We had water damage when our new fridge’s water line leaked from the main floor, through the flooring, the sheetrock & beams and into our walkout basement level family room through that ceiling. I hope everything went well with the adjuster!! Crossing my fingers for you. {{hugs}} Shannon
Thanks Shannon! We’re hanging on as this will surely be a bumpy ride. I think I’d lose it entirely if I had damage happen like you had! How awful! One day at a time right? 😉
Ohhhh no! So sorry that you are going through this. Stay strong. It will all work out in time.
Our first week in our starter home (back in the 70’s–yikes), my older step-daughter turned on the wrong stove burner, caught a pot of oil on fire and it torched most of the kitchen wall cabinets. Thank goodness for under-the-sink fire extinguishers! I put the fire out without having to call 911. It was the best thing that could have happened to that kitchen..we rebuilt it to our liking and it was the biggest selling point when we sold the house four years later. Take heart…this too shall pass.
That had to be so scary Nancy! I’m glad you all were ok and you ended up with a fabulous kitchen. Thank you for your encouragement!
Stumbled across your blog through another one I follow…now I follow you too!! Question for you, what is the paint color on your living room/kitchen walls. I’ve been trying to find the “perfect” blue/green/gray color and I really like yours. Would you mind sharing that with me?
Thank you Beth. It’s Comfort Gray by Sherwin Williams. Thanks for the follow too!