Kitchen Disaster

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but we've been dealing with some kitchen drama.

Brent noticed a bad smell coming from under our kitchen sink.  When he opened it up and removed the contents, he discovered our faucet had been leaking for awhile.  Enough that the cabinet was saturated and warped on the inside.  Also, the cabinet was covered in mold.  Even the drywall behind it was affected.

We have been saving for a kitchen remodel, but we had only made it about halfway to what we financially need for a mostly DIY remodel.  Brent was going to do the best he could to clean up and repair the cabinet, but this problem really needed special cleanup and more then we could afford.  Thankfully, after posting the problem on Facebook, a friend shared that we should make an insurance claim.  I did just that, and quickly got the ball rolling on repairing the damage.

We have a $1,000 deductible, but our water restoration company provides deductible assistance.  In the end we'll only have to pay $500 for the clean up and repair of the damage.  I'm so thankful for this because a lot more damage was discovered after the contractor from Oregon Restoration came in.  The water had also saturated under the linoleum around the cabinet, and spread to nearby cabinets.  In the end, we'll need new cabinets, new counter tops, and a new floor.

Since we had added the mold endorsement to our policy when we bought the home, that clean up is covered.  We're also being reimbursed for the additional electricity fees associated with the equipment currently drying and cleaning the air in our kitchen.  They'll even be reimbursing us for our meals out since we have no use of our kitchen.

Since insurance will be compensating us for clean up, replacement, and labor, we'll be able to do our kitchen remodel now.  We'll be able to keep some of the money since Brent can do a portion of the work himself.  That money, along with what we have saved, can then be used to pay for upgrades.

So far this is turning into a blessing in disguise.  It will be exciting when we have everything complete, and I'm no longer washing dishes in the bath tub.

A picture from last year of our kitchen. (These before pictures are from when I entered a kitchen make over contest.)

Our cabinets and counter tops have looked like this since we bought our house 3 years ago.  I don't think any thing but the linoleum floor and appliances have changed since 1981 when the house was built.

Yep.  Ugly, damaged, old linoleum.

I look forward to getting rid of that drop ceiling and florescent lights. (The ceiling was not damaged by water and mold, but we've been wanting to take it down whenever we did our remodel.) 

Want to replace this sink with a farm sink, or at least a porcelain under mount sink. (This is also a cost for us.  Replacement of the sink and faucet is not covered.)

The damage under our sink.  We'll probably take this opportunity to buy a new garbage disposal too.

Yuck!

These pictures are after Oregon Restoration came in and started the tear out and cleaning process.

This equipment has been running for a couple days, and is cleaning the air.  The remaining bottom cabinet will be removed tomorrow, as will the floor.

The oven remains because it is hard wired.  An electrician will be coming tomorrow so that it can be removed.  Also, these upper cabinets should all be coming out eventually too.  Since we need new lower cabinets due to the damage, insurance will have to pay for all the cabinets to match.

Our kitchen lives in a bubble while the air and moisture is cleaned out.  Thankfully, we still have access to our pantry, and the fridge was moved into the dinning area.

Most of our kitchen contents are now on and under the dinning room table.

 I look forward to redesigning our kitchen, making it bigger, and removing the wall that divides the living area from the kitchen and dinning room.  We'll finally have the open floor plan I so want.

The only knew appliance we'll be buying is a microwave to be mounted over the stove.  Our dish washer is less then 3 years old, and I actually prefer black appliances to stainless steel.  We'll wait on updated appliances until they need to be replaced.

-Anna