Hurricane Sandy

5. Sort through the damage. Furniture. Any furniture that has been saturated should be thrown away.Carpet. If your carpet has been saturated, dispose of it. The best way to remove it is to cut it into manageable sections with a box cutter or knife. Roll up the sections, leaving the carpet pad, then cut the pad into strips and dispose of them too. Carpet is held down by wooden tack strips — thin strips of wood lined with hundreds of upside-down nails. These can be removed with a chisel and a hammer. Millwork and Sheetrock. Any millwork, such as baseboards, should be removed and discarded. Remove wet Sheetrock and any wet insulation behind it.Cabinetry. If water has gone underneath your cabinets, you may need to remove these as well. If only a small amount of water went beneath them, you may be able to save them. You can drill or cut holes in the toe kick — the bottom-most part of the cabinet that sits on the floor. The toe kick is slightly recessed from the rest of the cabinet, so drilling into it will allow air to flow under the cabinet and dry it out. These holes are fairly easy to patch when you begin the reconstruction.Flooring. Just because your tile or hardwoods look and feel dry on the surface does not mean they are completely dry. When hardwoods are installed, a layer of roofing felt is placed between the subfloor (plywood) and the hardwood flooring. This creates an excellent moisture barrier for the floor. Unfortunately, it also holds much of the water that falls on the floors. However, there are machines that can pull the water through the floors without removing them. I have had middling success with this process. If water is still present after you try this, you will need to remove the hardwood flooring. Tile often has the same issue — water can become trapped between the tile and subfloor — so you may need to remove your tile floors as well.