While he was there, we asked him what it would cost to repair the damage done to the floor and cabinets done by the faulty installation of the dishawasher. As you may recall, we had a problem in October when it turned out that the Sears contractors that installed our new dishwasher failed to reconnect the pipe to the sink. So, for about a month, water was running right out of the sink and into the floor. When we discovered this and reported the claim to our home insurer, they sent a "swat team" to prevent any further damage or rot. They tore out wet/rotted wood under the sink, the linoleum under around the sink, some of the cabinet facing in front of the sink, and set these huge blow dryers going for three days.
After that, the insurer sent an assesor out to figure the replacement cost. The insurance company sent us a check based on the assesment, less our deductible (they also paid for the "swat team"). So our claim is settled, but now we need to get the work done.
Of course, you know how it is with kitchens. As long as a big chunk of linoleum got torn out, why not think about replacing the whole thing? (Answer, because it is expensive.) Also, our cabinetry is all very solid antique stuff. The assesor told us when he came he didn't think a contractor could match it, and the best we could do was try to blend.
Sure enough, that is what the carpenter said. He also said replacing the cabinet under the sink will be very tricky, because it means removing the entire countertop. Unfortunately, it really needs to be done because the rotted wood helped support the weight of the sink. In the past few months, the counter has begun to sag a bit from the unsupported sink weight. So while it isn;t urgent, we can't just decide to live with ugly kitchen either.
So he has gone off to crunch some numbers. Hopefully, they will be in line with the assesment from the insurer.