Several weeks ago, about the time I got back from Mobile, and in the throes of preparing for a deluge of company, we noticed that the floorboards near the breakfast area seemed rough. It was hard to get a handle on at first - they just seemed to scuff the bottom of our feet as we walked over them. About the same time, the door to the deck ceased to shut and lock properly - all very strange. As the days went by, the floor problem became more obvious, and the floorboards actually appeared warped. Horrors! Dollar signs flitted past our heads.... That sounded like water damage! But, where was the water coming from?
Over the next few days, we tried to assess the source of the damage. There was no evidence of leaking on the ceiling in the basement just below the affected floor. Curiouser and curiouser. In the meantime, Jeff arrived, followed by Leannah and Adrienne. We had a house full of guests, and were using the dishwasher more than ever, and the floor seemed to be getting worse and worse. Uh, oh! the dishwasher!
By the time we finally figured out that the dishwasher must be leaking, the floorboards were more than noticeably "cupped". We stopped using it and started washing dishes by hand. Larry pulled it out and inspected it, and, sure enough, we had a worn and leaking pump seal. The part was easy enough to find, and replacing it seemed straightforward enough, but what about the floor?!
Larry went into research mode. He found out that leaking dishwashers are a leading cause of floorboard "cupping", and that it takes a long time to dry things out. He claims that "it took two weeks to get wet; it'll take at least that amount of time to dry it out." Nice! We are still doing dishes by hand, but that's not the worst of it. Supposedly, there is a chance, albeit slim, that we can reverse the damage, so we are attempting to dry the floorboards out. Larry has a small portable heated fan blowing warm air into the space under the cabinet where the dishwasher was, in an attempt to dry out the sub flooring.
Below, we have three torchieres and a heat lamp (mounted on a ladder) pointing up at the basement ceiling, and we are maintaining an "optimum temperature" for dehumidifying the air.
Up above, where the "cupped" floorboards are, his approach (based on his research) is to weigh down the cupped boards as they are drying. We currently have a very large piece of plywood (cut to size) covering the area, topped with anything heavy he can find: bricks, reams of printer paper, firewood, the loaded magazine rack, tool chests - you name it, it is in the middle of the floor leading to the breakfast nook. And the number of items are continually growing as Larry thinks of new weights to add. It's a real obstacle course just getting to the table to eat our meals!
We can't eat in the dining room because that table is covered in tools and the parts necessary for making the repairs. Help!
The dishwasher remains on the deck. Luckily, the rainy season hasn't started yet, but it will be here soon. Larry will have to replace the part and put the appliance back in place before the rains begin. We are afraid to pull up the plywood and inspect the floor. (Again, those pesky dollar signs...) Stay tuned for updates...
