Replacing Water Damaged Sink Cabinet

Intro: Replacing Water Damaged Sink Cabinet

Water damage can be an ugly thing as well as a health issue with moldy rotten wood. Here's how to fix that with some simple easy steps.

STEP 1: Find Some Quality Wood Board to Use.

First thing to do is acquire a good OSB wood sheet. There's hopefully some laying around or a friend might have some extra. At first, I had the set plan of attack and had the measurements all out and ready to cut but then I decided to measure twice and cut once. This lead me down a road of the discovery hole.

STEP 2: Discovery Hole.

Cut a small hole in the center of the project. I used a drill for the hole and then expanded with a jig saw. This hole allows you to check out where all the support beams are so you don't go all crazy and slashing thru stuff you don't need to. Best to expand that hole by 2 feet at a time until you get to a support beam or run out of wood rotted board. Don't forget to vacuum along the way.

STEP 3: Balance Is the Key.

I ended up with some spare wood from a fencing project and some additional 2x4's to complete the weight distribution for the board (flush and screwed in). After placing the board on the balance beam, I noticed it was still a little off, so I added another fence post to the beam. After that, it's all just a matter of caulking the space around it. Then, at the same time, I measured the linoleum and started to also caulk the rest of the cabinet flooring.

STEP 4: Almost There!

So once the caulk is down and all the weight is being distributed evenly, find the other board and cover the rest of the cabinet flooring and weight it down. You can see I took advantage of this down time to make sure the outlets were cut to proportions.

STEP 5: All Done and Pretty.

Once the caulking is dry, you can move right back in. To the left is a sliding trash can. To the right, you can see the little thin wood beam I used as a levee if there happens to be another water leak.

Comments

[sitnah]

Yup, not IF it has a leak,, but WHEN!
10 years ago.. I was lucky,, had a matching piece of cabinet board.
My step 5.
1 quart can of polyurethane, throw away foam brush.
Literally pour a lot of the poly on the cabinet floir and spread it thick around and up the sides a few inches.
Lrt it dry really well. Done !!
2 days ago - water again, garbage disposal again. Slow leak that built up invisibly until it flowed out front of cabinet. Volia! Water had no place else to go. Quick dry up, looks perfect,, no damage,, back in business.

[soperdo]

Holey cow I randomly did this exact project yesterday and was considering making an instructable out of it. I used scrap plywood, 2x4's and comercial vinyl floor tiles to line the bottom. The were tiles were from the depot and only cost $0.86 each. They were super easy to cut and install and look great! The whole project cost a grand total of $6. I will post a picture tomorrow. I don't have any before pics but I can show you my results.