Get all new. The cathedral style on the doors is a pretty dated look. I wouldn't spend the monet to re-stain or paint.

A few options: 1) leave honey oak on top and on island, but change lower cabinets to a new color- two tone is very popular.
2)Consider staining over the honey oak- new stains are fantastic and no, you won’t see pink bleed through. I just stained over my honey oak bannisters and i love the look.

3. take the insurance money and use it towards overhauling the kitchen.

@suedonim75 - I plan to replace all of the doors for that exact reason, my question is: do I get them in the new stain and try to stain the cabinet frames to match and is that even possible? It would be a lot of extra work/labor to get honey oak doors again (that likely aren't a perfect match) and try to make it all cohesive for the stain I want. I know if you go super dark like espresso it can work, but I have so many cabinets, I'm afraid it will make the kitchen seem smaller to go really dark.

@djb10 - Like I said above, with a blend of new and old (with some old cabinets on the lower level as well as all of the upper, I'm worried it will look like a hack job with no cohesiveness. Will a mid-tone grey stain work over those? Most of what I've seen for staining over honey oak has been really dark stains, like espresso and with all of those cabinets, I'm worried my kitchen will seem very dark.

Sorry, I'm very new to this and have never remodeled. I'd just replaced old carpeting and repainted the areas of my house that had had carpet but hadn't tackled the kitchen yet. I have also never dealt with insurance for an interior (only a roof) and I am not sure what it is reasonable to demand to get my kitchen at least looking like it is cohesive and done at once, versus one of those that looks like 3 separate people tried different things and nothing matches.

@Kelly Kay - here’s the thing with insurance. If they cannot replace the exact cabinets at the exact match, they may have to pony up more money than just covering those costs. I have only submitted a roofing claim myself, but have had neighbors who’ve had a water main leak and it was impossible to just match 5 out of 20 cabinets so the kitchen was considered “totaled” if you will. It may be a possibility for you. The challenge may be the wait due to all the claims being submitted in Texas right now.

My guess is, as you have said-will be extremely hard to find same doors, both in style and color, so a lot of time and extra labor is involved, and insurance people -I'd simplify for them things, like "the kitchen was damaged to a degree that prevents me to match given also the age of the kitchen". And it's true too-financially, you won't be much ahead, if at all, if you have to replace all the doors(refacing is very expensive) etc.

I do indeed think it might be cheaper to get everything new

It's not like I worked with home insurance on similar problem, maybe someone else did and they'll comment and share their experience.

That's my intution speaking, though. From dealings with other numerous authorities. The simpler the better.

I'm sorry you have to deal with all of this, indeed nobody wants to remodel this way. I do hope though yours result, eventually, in a kitchen you love.

@djb10 - That is my point: I don't know what I can expect, because the matching issue is real (even if don't want to match the old, technically... I'd want the old to match the new, but still, matching anything is hard). They were custom built with the house circa 1997 and I learned the frames are particle board so I'm worried about any that any water exposure (the fronts are all wood).

At at the same time, I'm not opposed to keep the upper and having them stained to match (if possible) but I'd want new doors so they likely wouldn't match the doors since I am anti-paint cabinets. I am concerned about the wait because of so many in my exact issue (although they might not all be in kitchen... our damage was thankfully limited, as we turned off our main when we lost water pressure and attempted to drain all of the lines in the house. This was a dead pipe that went nowhere where a solder failed due to cold versus actual pipe split). We couldn't even get a remediation or restoration company out, as mine failed after so many others (we were one of later areas to get water back and no water to test the pipes, they had been fine before lost heat and water), so I'm worried about wet spots or mold as well as we had to DIY demo or not have water for an undetermined amount of time...

It's a mess and I'm told after meeting with adjuster, it could take a week to even get numbers back on what they plan to offer/cover so it's making it hard to figure out what I want to do, which I need so my kitchen isn't half torn up even longer before we even get to full demo and construction phase (sigh).

Any tips are welcome for both first time insurance issue, first time kitchen remodel...

@aprilneverends - Yes, given the labor to sand and re-stain everything, and possibly not having it actually match when done, I was wondering if full replacement was a thing. It does grate against my "that is so wasteful, those upper ones are find" inclination, but I really don't want it to look like something hacked together and incohesive.

And this is not how I ever envisioned starting a kitchen remodel. I am not mentally prepared but I have no choice.

Exactly, you don't know the full degree of water damage on this stage.

(In our new aparment which we got abroad, they had extensive leak, the previous owners. November 2019 or so. They repaired the leak. Tons of money. The wall improved significantly but is still slightly wet (it's not a drywall either, they build there differently. It's concrete)

I went through two kitchen remodels but frankly as one was rather a place for the kitchen to be built, and another-was part of a full reno..was slightly dfferent.

But there are plenty of people with different experiences here.

If you want pointers on what to do and which materials etc to use, so the kitchen works both functionally and aesthetically with the rest of the space-it's best to show plan with dimensions and the adjacent space. Maybe in a latter stage, in a separate thread when you know a bit more about what you can do/decide to do.

@aprilneverends The stairs lead into a kitchen archway (not pictured in my photos, it has the fridge, another set of cabinets, and then meets the corner pantry that I love) and there is only that kitchen island with the side that is 3-sided separating the kitchen from the family room area. The dining room (which is never used as one) is on the wall behind the fridge/pantry and was also damaged, which I'd just gotten new LVP flooring in Jan and had everything, including baseboards repainted. That room is mostly used to teach my fitness classes online now via Zoom though it will likely have another purpose one day. :) I'm hoping they will agree to replace the brand new floor as it has cork on the bottom side.

My other concern is the baseboards in the kitchen as they were obviously put on before the floor was tiles and are grouted in. Several were drenched and had to get ripped out but they flow into the rest of the entire open floor plan (which was not damaged). It's going to be a pain to replace those without pulling tile (which is in okay condition and out of my budget given the stuff we did in Jan and what I'll end up paying to upgrade countertops for the kitchen while it's destroyed anyway).

I feel very overwhelmed, and likely won't have answers for over a week while waiting for adjuster to come back.

My fear is they will go "it's dry now, you're fine" because it's been a week and a half since the leak happened. I did get a friend with an infrared camera to take photos showing "cool" spots 2 days afterward and we used that as our unprofessional reference for where to pull things to get it to dry out and try to keep the rest to use until re-construction so we have at least some functionality (we have a hole cut under the cabinets that have the stove b/c we didn't want to demo where the gas line was for stove and were pretty sure it still had wet insulation, and it did).

Here is a prettier picture when the house was staged before we bought it to give a better idea of the layout.

I actually don't mind the layout/flow of the kitchen, it is actually fairly practical. Other than the look the main thing I'd change is some cabinets with taller/wider storage for larger small appliances that don't fit in my cupboards, like a stand mixer, air fryer, and griddle.

I am so sorry this happened to you. Deep breaths. Take care of you and your family first. This is a huge project but you can do it. Making lemonade with the lemons just thrown at you. Use the insurance money to start fresh and be firm. Look over your policy and make sure you are getting exactly what you paid for all those years paying for insurance. Water damage sometimes doesn't show up for weeks and it can come in the form of mold or mildew. Meanwhile suffer through how it is right now until you can get this organized a bit. Don't rush yourself. You got this.

@Boxerpal - Yes, I am trying to look at it from the lemonade perspective, but with COVID still a thing, I cannot think of a more disruptive time to live in a house without part of a kitchen or to have it be very loud in your otherwise lovely open floor plan.

Not having the damage show up is precisely what I'm worried about, especially as I was unable to get a restoration company out immediately to fix things.

This is the current state of my kitchen, plus we ripped out the built-in that had the oven that is between the pantry and stove (which is why it is under the folding table).

Heartbreaking. Truly sorry you are going through this. Keep taking photos of everything. And perhaps put a list together on you pc of needs and wants. You will probably have to live like this for sometime but it will all be worth it in the end. I can't imagine having this entire mess forced on you as you try to care for your family. There is light and hope hang in there.

Your insurance company should pay for all new. Do not even suggest you are willing to take less. They will be looking for suckers to do that to limit their claims. I know that sounds rude, but it's true.

We had a neighbor with roof damage from wind. The exact shingles were no longer produced. They got a whole new roof.

Get a kitchen company to come in and give an estimate of what replacing your whole kitchen will cost, using custom cabinets of a similar quality. You will also need new countertops, because yours are likely to be damaged in the process of removing them. Be sure to include the cost of wallboard, new insulation and likely electrical, because you will need permits and codes may have changed.

You may need to get your own adjuster (not the company one) to get all to which you are entitled.

It will be disruptive, but a new kitchen will add value to your home.

This ^^^^ was just what I was going to say. Hire a public adjuster, someone who will fight for you, not a rep for the insurance company.

@millworkman Honestly, that might not be an option given the high number of people in the same position I am in. Much like the attempt to get a restoration company (where you get an answering service, are lucky to get a call back within 24 hours, when most reviews say they were out in an hour or less... some have messages saying "we cannot help anyone new we are backlogged"). I also don't know what it would cost. I'm hoping with the massive disaster, the adjuster will be more understanding.

It doesn't help my husband is a salvager by nature and doesn't see the point of destroying things that are technically fine. (sigh) He feels keeping the upper cabinets is perfectly okay because he just wants it done and surely they can make it match...

@latifolia Getting a lot of estimates right now is also challenging, as most good contractors were already busy with people remodeling due to COVID and low interest rates (and no homes on the market to move to here, I think inventory is 40% of what it usually is). Adding tons of apartment buildings, hotels, and schools that were damaged, along with all of the homes means you might be waiting a long time to get someone to get back to you, and the last thing I want is one of those contractors that works one day a week and rotates between 6 jobs or something (I have heard horror stories of that) because at least now my kitchen is somewhat useable, compared to when it is fully emptied for whatever we have done.

My gosh!!! Terribly sorry for you guys!!! Hope it’s all worth it in the end. I’d say the same as the others. You. Deserve. A new. Kitchen. From insurance. The end. And they better do it stat! After that’s out of the way we can pick finishes, hardware, fixtures, and any upgrades you want to include. Stay safe. And I can’t wait to see what happens here!!

Don't call a contractor. Go to one of the custom cabinet dealers. New cabinets take a long time, so many of the other jobs will be done by the time new cabinets are ready.

Tell your husband you will take care of it. He is unlikely to understand that your cabinets are very dated and making your home worth less. You know this in an opportunity.

Make what you have left of your kitchen as functional as possible. Pack up seasonal and less used items and store them out if the way. This will not be fixed best week. You may be lucky: by the time work can proceed, vaccinations may make Covid not much of an issue. Good luck.

it's usually long, yes, when ,many were hit. So won't be fast.

But again, you might have water damage behind these upper cabinets.

And no, you can't match, -or at least you can't match unless you'll pay more than this insurance gives you. These were custom, and stain is harder to match than paint, as years go by. You'll need to reface even if you decide to keep the upper boxes=money. A lot of it.

It's a nice kitchen, and it's obviously a big unexpected blow-but it's not something you could have foreseen or prevented.

You might need redoing drywall, insulation, all the things mentioned upthread.

My fear is that if you will tell to an insurance company " we'll need to do this and that and this and that in order to try to match that"-they plain won't hear you. They'll either become confused, and drag the story-or all too happy to give you less money.

While you need to see the whole extent of damage, which might be a big and real concern.

And instead of painstainkingly trying to match, which will be exceedingly hard. and expensive to do, if not plain impossible--to do it right from the get-go.

You're not asking the insurance anything unreasonable. That's why home insurance exists, if I'm not mistaken. You had a functional kitchen, and now you don't. New one won't be stat-but will happen.

@aprilneverends @HU-187528210@latifolia - Just an update. My adjuster agreed with most of what was damaged could be demo'd BUT, apparently most insurance does not consider "making it match" a thing if it is not damaged. :( If it is connected, it is one thing. If it is not connected, like my area with the sink and dishwasher (although it has matching cabinets and countertops and is still in the main kitchen), they will not pay to even have it match!

I'm going to see how the numbers end up, whether it is worth it to go to a battle over it.

The lesson insurance is basically giving me is: we will screw you if you're responsible which is completely messed up.

So now I really do have to see how well a previously stained set of cabinets will match replaced ones, or make a design choice to have them be different somehow, yet cohesive. Or pay the extra to gut all which might be out of my budget because this was not a planned remodel. (sigh)

Look for a public adjuster. Many people are unfamiliar with this option, so they may not be that busy. They can also come in from elsewhere after a problem of the magnitude your area faced.

Of course they don't, and it's not a thing(c). That what my fear was.

One needs to talk about safety hazards and function with them.

Lousy arguments too, as for example the tower is damaged (from what I understood) AND connected, and when you redo it- as there are appliances there you might need to bring electrical up to code and whatnot.

Were you able to get someone to look for a signs of moisture behind the uppers?

All that wall needs to be tended to.