It all started when the motor fell out of the dishwasher.
Apparently, the base of the dishwasher had rusted out around the motor. One day, with a load of dishes running, the motor made a new sound, and then water flooded both the kitchen and the basement below. So we needed a new one.
We researched, window-shopped, and otherwise checked out dishwashers for a few days until we found the one for us. We ordered it, arranged delivery, and looked forward to life returning to a state of normalcy.
On the day it arrived, we were very excited. No more dishes in the sink!
Heh.
It turned out that a floor had been installed after the old dishwasher - 1/2" plywood, a layer of sound-proofing paper, and a layer of vinyl. The old one wouldn't come out unless we either lifted up the counter top or cut out a chunk of the floor. So, carefully, I lifted while hubby prepared to pull the old one out.
"Crack!"
That is the sound a counter top makes when it breaks.
We needed a new counter. Well, at least it would be easy to remove the old dishwasher now. We removed the broken counter entirely and tossed it out into the back yard. It appeared to have been damp, or something - the particle board that served as the substrate under the Formica had basically disintegrated.
Back to the kitchen, we pursued the removal of the old dishwasher and installation of the new one. It went without a hitch ... as in, without a way to attach it to the wall.
Did you know dishwashers tip over if you open them without attaching them to something solid? We caught it before any damage was done and propped it up so it couldn't fall so easily.
Anyway, with the counter gone, I thought, "Gee, maybe we could just move the refrigerator over a few inches this way, and put in a longer counter.
I rolled the fridge forward.
This is the moment at which it became clear why the counter had been wet. The counter had been attached to the wall, and the wall was wet. In fact, it was so wet the drywall was punky. If you poked it, it crumbled.
Hmmm... What's that all about?
Maybe the roof where the porch connected to the back of the house leaked? Nope. Poking there revealed nothing but good healthy flashing. So where was the water from?
Up a bit higher, there was a window. Hubby took off the interior window trim to see if it might be leaking.
The window then promptly fell out of the house and landed in the back yard. It turns out the builders hadn't attached it to the house directly. The only thing holding it in was the trim. On the plus side, it was much easier to tell how the water was getting in. The window had tilted outward slightly at the top, allowing water to get in behind it, run down the wall, and into the kitchen wall, where it remained, nicely disguised as "the wall behind the refrigerator."
There's more. Watch for the next installment.
