When Water Damage is a Good Thing--

We used to have a hardwood kitchen floor and in the past 6 months we have had them buckle twice. Not so practical when it comes to water. The first time we suspected a dishwasher leak-- had minimal damage, paid out of pocket to fix the small amount of buckling wood and still never found the cause. Several months later, as I pulled down on the sprayer on our faucet, I realized that it wasn't connected properly and water had been spraying up into the faucet and down into the base cabinet, for who knows how long. We did everything we could to dry things up, run heaters, etc. But alas, the next morning they had all lifted again. We called insurance and had them do a claim. Because our whole downstairs is hardwood, they said that we would have to replace ALL of it in order for everything to match. Despite that only the kitchen was damaged, but it runs continuously. Who am I to argue with a claims adjuster? So, long story short-- we got a check to cover the cost of all the hardwood floors (-depreciation, -deductible, etc.) It allowed us to reseal all the hardwoods elsewhere, pull up the kitchen and tile, do new granite counter tops, cut down the existing two-level, builder grade island and make it into a big flat one. Which is good for cooking, eating, and entertaining. Lastly, we also did a tile back splash...resulting in a lovely new kitchen. No one wants to take advantage of the insurance company, but as long as we pay out and never have claims, every once in awhile it is nice to get a return. Ava loves the tile floor, she lays on it and claims that it's "cozy". She's like a dog that way. And Karsten, who has begun to eat more and more real food can throw all that he wants, including wet things and not have Pappa get all upset about water and wood damage. Sam can't scrape the tile as he runs out the back door. It's a win/win for everyone and we love how the new kitchen looks.