DH are (were) 95% done with a DIY kitchen remodel that began last fall. We knocked down walls, re-did all wiring, moved the plumbing (the only thing we hired out, and the only thing to fail inspection), installed new red oak engineered floors, etc. I found new to us oak cabinets at restore, filled all the grain and painted them a beautiful off white. The counters are ikea stained butcherblock with a routered edge that I did myself--my first routering project. Just saturday morning I was taking pictures and thinking how proud I would be when I posted to the FKB.

So this saturday, DH was installing the sink. Or preparing to install the sink by adding the valves to the rough plumbing stems. He shut off water to the house and opened all the faucets to relieve pressure. And no water was coming out any of those faucets. I was putting our little one down to nap when I heard him yelling for me to come quick. And I saw water rushing out of the cold water pipe with the pressure of a fire hydrant. Turns out that when our house was built many years ago (not by us), that the builder bypassed the shut off valve for our house and plumbed the kitchen from the main water line off the road. By the time the fire dept left--another long story, but only they could get the valve at the street to budge, we had standing water in our "new" kitchen.

We got the water cleaned up right away, and had a restoration company come out to set up industrial fans and dehumidifers. They erected walls around the area with plastic sheeting and told up to stay out of the area as much as possible. They were pretty optimistic about being able to save the floors. Luckily, they could not detect any moisture in the walls or baseboards. I took a peek at the floors yesterday, and they didn't look too good near the sink. Found out this morning when the company came back to take new readings that the moisture level had not improved because the dehumidifier was unplugged. They are coming back to take new readings tomorrow and we are having another company come out which was recommended by our insurance broker.

I am just sick over this whole situation. I can't tell you how awful it felt to see your hard work going down the drain, and feeling rather helpless to do anything. Thank god for the fire department, and for roto-rooter for suggesting we call them. Our only child is starting kindergarten tomorrow, and I really wanted to be able to make him breakfast in the new kitchen. I had been working until 1 or 2 in the morning for the past few weeks to try and make that happen. And now it won't.

I know I just need to pick up, accept what happened, and move on. Luckily, we are insured. But the flooring runs under the cabinets, so replacing the flooring will mean taking out the counters, and the cabinets, which means a huge delay. So right now, instead of accepting and moving foward, I think I will pause and have a good, long, cry.

To secondalf: My husband has the same philosophy. He thinks that what took us months to do working nights and weekends can be done by professionals in a couple of days. I am paranoid, though, that because my husband was doing the work, because the builder's plumbing bypass was a major code violation, and because the restoration company dropped the ball, that our insurance company will refuse to pay. We live in hurricane prone south Florida, and insurance companies are quick to drop people. We've had three homes, and never filed a claim, so maybe that will help. Any advice on dealing with insurance companies?

OTOH, how exciting to send your DS to kindergarten! The years will fly by, so relish every one of these days. I hope that in the future, this will turn into a funny story about how he was sent off to kindergarten with a scone from Starbucks. My guess is, all he'll care about is the kiss he gets before he gets on the bus.

Please know you have our sympathies. Bear up!

A bright spot: your son will remember this is a way only a 5 year old can. You'll be amazed at his version as the years go on. Much better than a special kinder breakfast for story telling in the future.

As this goes on, be sure to let us know how it goes with the insurance. Hopefully they'll decide to cover your losses and go after whoever made that horrible plumbing connection.

How exciting that your only child is starting kindergarten!! That takes me back to some very fond memories . . . :)

I have no experience with insurance companies, but by chance is this builder still around/in business? If so I would not hesitate to call them and give them a huge piece of my mind.

We had just had a new hot water heater installed and it was put up on a stand. Fortunately! So far that's the only thing that has happened in the 'gone wrong' dept. But we've just barely started this project so there's plenty of time for more things to go sideways.

So take heart, even if the floor by the sink buckles, you may not have to replace the whole floor.

Really, you must have done so very very very much hard work on that space. My kiddo is close in age to yours, and it's simply a wild concept to me you were able to do all you did with such a little one around.

And so I add my voice to those who are crushed for you. Yes, no one hurt, just things, etc. But these particular things contain your own sweat, bravery, and I am sure plenty of sleep deprivation.

My fingers are crossed that your insurance company will come through. And that the hired workers will treat your home with respect and attention to detail that comes close to what you originally gave to it.

ENJOY sending your baby off to school!! I am sure he will love his first day breakfast and lunch - made with just as much love :)

Absolutely a bottle of wine night. And virtual hugs to you.

On a side note my big guy starts Kindergarten right after Labor Day and I'm a mess even though he's been in full-time daycare since he was a baby. So I completely get that it's one emotional upheaval over another for you. He'll love the exciting story that he gets to tell his new friends.

Congratulations on your little boy's first day of kindergarten!!

Before jumping the gun, be sure to give the fans and dehumidifier enough time to work. For one of our floods we had them going for 10 days before everything was pronounced ok. Our hardwood floors survived everything except for one hidden under-the-floor leak that was probably there for weeks before we noticed. If you got everything cleaned up and the standing water removed in a few hours, then you might be fine after a couple weeks.

so, so sorry.

I am very sorry to hear about this mess.

And I agree with the comment about leaving in the dehumidifiers longer than you think you need them. My mother's house had a flood that needed this and we had to ask for more dehumidifiers than they'd originally emplaced and then for them to put them back again twice after they declared all "Dry"; it wasn't.

That said, I also agree with the "just stuff" comments. Your little one off to Kindergarten is what really brings tears to my eyes. The good news is, s/he will not remember or know this mess, or even the excitement of the first day of school. *You* might want to make him/er breakfast in the new kitchen, but s/he would never register the accomplishment. I know, some people are different, YMMV, etc; but I'm pretty comfortable asserting that generality. Kids just don't seem to notice or care the most god-awful circumstances until way older than you'd think. Even if they remember it literally, the perception is just totally different from ours.

So while you deserve that wine, maybe you should grab a bottle of apple juice instead and head off to the bathtub ... with the new kindergartener! They'd love lounging and relaxing in there with *you*!!! You; it's you that their world is about. Never the new cabinets.... :)

Hang in there -- this too shall pass, even this.

Recovering from a disaster myself, I know how personal it is to work so carefully, and be proud of your space.

I have an odd suggestion. I know, as I build my kitchen, every so often I have a "shudda" moment. Take a moment, if they tear everything out, to see if you have any "shuddas" you might not have done, given the great progress you'd made. Moving cabs, putting in something unexpected. That kind of thing.

I hope your baby got off to school well and came home excited. At 53, believe it or not, I remember my 1st day of kindergarten.

Hang in there, keep the dehumidifiers running, put fans on your cabinets, and be optimistic. Even when you just want to sit down on the floor and bawl. Even that's not a bad idea. (((hug)))

How did the first day of school go for your little man? Hope he had a great day and I hope things might be looking a bit better or your kitchen today.

(((hugs)))

mmhmm

As for the floor, things are not so good. The restoration company said that the water saturation levels need to be at or below 10% for the floor to be considered salvagable. Our floors are around 25% and have not come down much. Worse, the finish is "wrinkled" at the ends and edges of many of the boards, and we are told that this will not go away even if the floor miraculously dries, and this will cause the finish to flake off easily. And because it is engineered, and not solid, it apparently can't be sanded and refinished well, even through the manufacturer and the box said otherwise. So the restoration company thinks we should replace the floor. We got this news on Tuesday. Then yesterday, the insurance-company-recommended restorers came in for a second opinion. They also think the floor needs to be replaced and that we should file a claim. We called the insurance company yesterday afternoon and they said an adjuster would contact us within 2 days. So maybe I will know more by Friday. I will keep you all updated with how our insurance company reacts.

This whole experience has made me rethink the wood. The wood we have now runs continously through the dining room, kichen, and a room we creatively call the fireplace room because it has, you guessed it, a fireplace. There are no walls between these rooms anymore. I think we may cut the floor at the transition between the kitchen and fireplace room (where a peninula run ends), and replace the wood in the kitchen and dining room with travertine tile, which we have in other parts of the house, including an adjoining foyer area. The wood in the fireplace room suffered no damage. The travertine is cheaper than the wood, and it is more resistent to moisture damage, but will stain more easily and be harder underfoot. I'll have to embrace the idea of a floor with a patina. Any thoughts?

I am feeling better about everything, although I do avoid going into or even looking towards, the kitchen area. You all amaze with your outpouring of support, virtual hugs, and virtual bottles of wine. I feel fortunate to be a part of this community. Stephanie

Which leads to my thought--an option for your floors might be solid wood. Our floor is not ruined and will be as good as new once DH gets around to a little spot damage repair. This might sound like a strange suggestion after your flood, but houses typically have water lines all over them running up and down walls, across ceilings, etc., that cannot be accessed (unlike kitchen and bath), yet no one worries about that when laying hardwood.

As for my "shudda moment," suggested by CFFreeman, (good suggestion!) mine was that items that can be damaged by water should not be stored directly on a floor. Real light bulb moment here. :) I had a number of art items I value standing and lying down in a closet (some were too large for shelves, and smaller ones just joined them). They were all damaged to various degrees, of course, as the water spread through three rooms. Even an inch up off the floor in my case would have kept it all safe.

Tincture of time.

It can take months for wood to return to equilibrium with the RH in the house.

If you sand it, when it finally shrinks it will be dished out.

To my way of thinking, you found the problem, had the flood, fixed it. How many folks have one internal flood in their home, much less two. You found the problem and fixed it and are now ahead of the curve. You could consider any water sensors or another water shutoff valve for the kitchen if that would give you greater peace of mind.

I put wood in my kitchen a year ago and would never go back to tile. I wanted to try cork (even less forgiving of moisture), but that didn't work out for us, but I never want to spend hours standing on a tile floor again. I'd stick with the wood. Unless you can get cork or something else kinder to the feet.

Enjoy kindergarten The years will start to fly past.