Thanks moonshadow, and bud. . . I went by around noon yesterday, just to run in and pick up some beach towels quickly, and there was alot of activity - the kitchen was completely sealed off with heavy plastic sheeting, floor to ceiling, even taped securely to the floor, with a zipper entry (it was zipped up at the time - and I saw no vendors but heard alot of activity from behind the sheeting). A tube, maybe a foot and a half across, made of the same heavy sheeting, was running from the sealed-off area out through the sliding glass door - venting whatever it was to the outside (most likely through a filter first). I had read online about the need for negative pressure environments in cases of toxic mold and the sheeting was definitely being drawn in toward the area, so that was good. Also they had unloaded the cabinets that were directly beneath the hole in the ceiling and brought the contents into the living room - meaning maybe they took out that whole bank of cabinets to look behind the drywall there as well. I took some pictures and left. Around 4pm I checked back - the vendor's truck was gone and I wanted to be sure everything was locked up (also a bit curious for sure) - this time the vent tube was gone, the whole area was still completely sealed up, and now there were motors running from behind the sheeting (dehumidifier or fans or both). Even the electric cord, which was running through a really small hole in the sheeting, was surrounded by tape, and the small hole was also surrounded by tape. I said all of this to indicate it does seem like they are being super careful. I took more pictures and will go by again this morning (Tuesday) to see what's up. I appreciate your replies and I agree that at this point the complex does seem to be doing everything right. I know they are concerned about long-term damage and making sure everything is ok for the future - it's their investment and who knows where we will be in a year - but they are absolutely taking good care of us with all of this and I really don't think they could've handled it any nicer than they have (so far). I will be really curious to know what they found - do they always test in cases like this or just assume the worst and take all the precautions and that way they are covered for sure? I need to read about air testing or whatever but it seems reasonable to expect that if it was repaired under those negative pressure/sealed conditions and if we (as the residents) didn't uncover the sealed area or stir anything up over the weekend before they started work on Monday (we had moved out on Friday afternoon) - - everything else inside should be ok, right? We did consider asking about another unit - our complex has a program where you can change to another apartment with no penalty - we will see what happens over the next several days. And, we will see how everything shakes out with the whole situation before involving anyone who isn't already involved.

To get access to the defective lath & plaster, you will have to detach the cabinet and move it out of the way. But, before you move the cabinet, you will have to turn off the hot and cold water, and then disconnect the plumbing, as necessary. There should be shut-off valves under the sink. It is possible to remove the soft and cracked plaster, and replace it with fresh plaster. After moving the cabinet back into place, you can put up some new tile, and do a thorough job of sealing the tile and cabinet, so water does not get to the wall. All of this is doable, but it sounds like quite a project. The kitchen sink could be out of commission for a few days...

Mother....so sorry for your loss. I would call in a HWF specialist asap. A lot of cleaning companies are either duct cleaning companies that do cleaning on the side or full on cleaners..but they are not HWF specialists. If your subfloors are wet, you may need to rip out the HWF to get the subfloor dry. Trust me, I had mold in this house when I bought it...best to be conservative in the repair as mold is a real PITA to get rid of. Also, I happened to watch a This Old House one night....there is now a clothes washer shutoff valve on a timer. Similar to a light timer, this valve bolts directly onto standard plumbing and if you open the valve, the valve automatically closes after 2 hours of not being touches. I want to install one, as this is my biggest fear of throwing in a load of laundry before leaving for work. Good luck, hope the cleanup goes okay!

So, an update: we decided to skip the ceiling fans after all. The only ones we liked were about $450 a piece, plus installation, and we'd need at least three. And we'd probably only use them about 15 days a year in this climate. So we're going to get a couple of nice stand fans instead. OTOH...we did wind up with can lights on a dimmer switch. Sigh.