Aynb-- Exactly the same thing (major water damage to our kitchen) happened to me a year ago. I am so sorry you are having to deal with this. You are so lucky you found this site early in your process. I know your pain about living without a kitchen, but I just wanted to tell you that for us it was really, really worth dealing with the kitchen-in-the-garage situation so that we had enough time to make plans. Take some time to set up your temporary life with temporary kitchen (we used downstairs powder room for washing dishes, microwave meals, take out) so you can get your kitchen right! In the FAQ on this forum, there is a lot of really good advice about reconceiving your kitchen and planning well. The only things I regret about our remodel are things where I rushed or had decision fatigue from the fast pace of decisions. Good luck!

Yes, he is licensed and insured and I met with him today to discuss all of these concerns. According to the contractor, the shower has been properly waterproofed. A moisture barrier was installed behind the wonderboard and all joints and corners were filled with polymer-modified bonding mortar over the joints and corners. That being said, I took a trip to the tile store to explore my options. The lady suggested using the basketweave on the bathroom floor, but my husband doesn't like that idea. Option 2 would be to get rid of the basketweave all together and pick out a tile for the floor that has a matching 2x2 that could be used on the shower floor as well. Unfortunately, she didn't have many options aside from a porcelain Carrara looking tile, but the gray was all wrong up against my subway. It didn't go at all. Do you guys think porcelain Carrara looking tile would work up against the real Carrara marble threshold? Or is there another style that would work better? I just had a baby (and I have 2 toddlers) so it's very difficult bouncing around from tile store to tile store. I'm hoping to get an idea of what I'm looking for and then go. Thanks everyone for your help!

@jslazart I am getting the value added numbers from comps and real market feedback. I just bought the house eight months ago. The house was on the market for quite a long time. It consistently had a lot of foot traffic coming through the house due to sq footage, number of rooms, location, neighborhood, etc. The feedback the real estate team kept saying is that the house was not open enough and they didn't like the kitchen. The price of the house drastically fell due to it being on the market for so long and potential buyers being scared away. Similar houses with less sq ft and yard size are selling for $50,000 - $80,000 more than what I bought the house for. The main difference being slightly more open and updated kitchens. This data is much more accurate than a regional breakdown. Real Estate works off of trends and comps. I personally didn't/don't like it either, but I am not afraid of a project. It wouldn't be so bad if the previous home owners weren't terrible at design. The counter tops are quartz, which is nice, but they are really ugly. I'm wanting to do this without a desire for immediate or really any ROI. I just want a better area for myself. I plan to be in the house for quite some time. I will work on the 2D prints. I might just draw over the existing blue prints to make it easier to read. I'm sorry, but I disagree with your DIY statement. It is a broad question, yes. However, I know I can do a lot of things myself. I can easily tear out the drywall, take out the existing cabinets/appliances, re-plumb the sink, move electrical boxes, etc. I just have done all of this stuff in single occurrences and never during a remodel. I guess I should have asked the steps of how to do this myself, but I didn't want this to be a DIY guide.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the great advice!!!!! I still have so many major things to do here before Monday morning, so forgive me if I don't thank each of you personally. I've now gotten our local, well-known electrician hired and put in touch with the H&A Company manager in charge of our project. Who, yes, will be here on site, he tells me, every other day. Yesterday, I got also got in touch with our local plumber that we know and trust. He's supposed to get in touch with H&A and get back to me today. BTW, this great H&A company would have been happy to hire their own plumber and electricians, but we know our local ones and trust them. Also, those further away in town charge $50-$75 driving time fees to come up here. I also did some more grocery shopping yesterday, as Localeater suggested. I hadn't thought of that on Monday, but it was a very timely suggestion! Planning easy or make-ahead meals ahead of time I also met one of my close girl friends in town for lunch . . . and to cry on her shoulder (LOL). So, today I'm going through each room, writing down what needs to be moved out when work is done in that specific room. We have a collapsible banquet table that I've just decided to use. I plan to set it up in one nearby room that's not being worked on that day. And, it will be a safe place to hold lamps, statues, and stuff in the room or rooms that are being worked on. Kept all together and making it easier to move back into finished rooms. We don't have an attic or even a crawl space, nor do we have a basement. Out here in these mountains, our ground is filled with huge boulders that make it very difficult and expensive to dig up and haul away. I don't know anyone out here who has one. And, no, I'm not leery of the having strange men in here with me. I'd feel safe with this well-known company even if I didn't have my dobie, Knight. It's just the in and out all day long. As much as it would help to have DH here during the day with me, his clinic is over 30 minutes away and his family practice is too busy to leave for hours. As it is, the poor guy even does paperwork through his lunch hour at his desk! As Arapaho mentioned, make sure ahead of time that there will not only be tarps to cover furniture, but ground cloths and daily clean-up before they leave. And, yes, I'm going to call the H&A people today about whether they will be bringing a Port-A-Potty. Thank you! I'm still up in the air about what to do with the dogs. I do NOT want Knight getting friendly with anyone (for future safety reasons), but I will bring them both out to see the workers many times. We have several acres of land so I can walk them close by. Just have to watch out for any rattlers not hibernating yet! We also have a large guest parking area that can accommodate 8 or so cars or small trucks, so my neighbors won't be affected. I have sent out a group email to them all, though, apprising them of what will be happening and for how long. My biggest stress is still the dogs and the amount of work DH is going to have to do this weekend clearing all personal and patient info/documents out of his study. Oakley, I LOVE the idea of your Beware of Dogs sign on the door!!! And, yes, you're right. IF the foreman seems on top of things, I can leave for short times if I make sure he knows. Yaya, thank you for the reminder to roll up my rugs and move them out! Also, snacks and drinks. It would take me almost an hour to run to town and back every morning for donuts, but I might try picking some up Sunday evening as a nice start for them. And, thanks, turn off alarms before they come and on again after they leave!!! CCrunner: good idea about planning ahead some portable projects to do these next two weeks! Eld: funny you should say that about housekeeping help. I drove my husband AND myself crazy when I had help, as I'd always run around cleaning up the night before they came! Morz8: OMG, I'd forgotten about the skylights in every bathroom. They're all frosted, but still, I will definitely plan ahead! UGH!!!! Well, enough sitting for now! It's time to starting moving things and putting plans in motion. Thank you ALL for you ideas, suggestions and comforting. I pride myself on being super organized but this upcoming project really has me rattled, and you're definitely helping! Lynn