A few months ago I decided to have my kitchen and bathrooms remodeled. I was taking a walk in my neighborhood and there was a guy painting a garage, so I asked him if he knew of anyone. He gave me the referral and after a five week wait, they began. During the five weeks, I picked out the tile, faucets, granite, etc. The owner of the remodeling company said he could have it complete in three weeks. They began in the guest bath and one week into the project, a pipe burst. I had been taking a nap (I only average 5 hours sleep a night) and upon awakening, went to check out their progress. They had left for the day about 45 minutes before I woke up.

Approaching the door I heard a noise and when I opened it, water was gushing out from behind the new vanity. I tried turning the water off but realized a pipe had burst. That’s when I noticed the carpet in my foyer was completely soaked and partially in my guest bedroom. After turning the water off at the main line in the laundry room, I frantically called the owner and the guy that did most of the work and left them a voicemail. I called the owner back again, he answered and said they were on their way with fans. While I waited the 45 minutes for their arrival, I began researching water damage and called a water damage restoration company. They told me I would need a lot of “air movers” (a certain type of industrial fan), and an industrial de-humidifier.

Initially upon arrival, they thought they could salvage the carpet but realized they couldn’t. After cutting it into more manageable pieces, they took the screen off of the guest bedroom and threw it outside. Wet carpet is very heavy. They only had two fans with them and I told the owner what the restoration company told me, so the following day he had a company come out to survey the damage and give him an estimate. The following day the baseboards were removed and the equipment was set up. The noise level was off the charts…think jet plane taking off. After moving everything from my office and guest bedroom into the great room, I stayed in my bedroom or on my patio for four days until they removed the equipment. Nine days later new carpet was installed.

The night of the “mishap”…

Before and after photos…

Granite, backsplash, and new sink in the kitchen…

Master bath…

Master bathroom (the shower was enlarged)…

Guest bathroom (the photo isn’t the best…looks like there’s blue stripes on the walls, but there aren’t)…

Guest bathroom (tub removed)…

The middle drawer of the vanity needed to be replaced from the water damage, but it was missing the hardware, so I’m waiting for that to arrive.

I painted both bathrooms. The three weeks turned into 4 ½ weeks, but I’m pleased with the result. The only good thing about the “mishap” was that I now have new carpet in my foyer, guest bedroom, office and steps. Including some new decor, the project cost $22,000.00.