I was really hoping I wouldn't 'hafta....but I 'hafta.....

[Tina]

....I was sitting down taking a break from pulling staples up from the floor and got to looking at the counter top and stove. The stove had always looked lopsided, it's actually level in the front, it's the counter frame on the bottom that has pushed out of kilter.
Then I saw some particle board pieces on the carpet at one end of the counter, that had been cleaned yesterday before trying to rip up the carpet piece. Hmmmm....

Let's inspect. This is the back end of the counter top underneath. The particle board is rotted and falling apart as it dries up.

So, on down to the other end...now that things are drying I see ripples in the counter top at the back and the counter has a definite downward slope from the stove to the left wall. In this picture, if you look closely, you can see the ripples along the wall end.

I went to knocking on wood, particle wood actually (knuckles are good for something besides knuckle sandywiches LOL) and the familiar sound of wood rot met my hands.

Now, it's official. I am going to have to yank out the sink and the stove and replace the counter. {{sigh}}

This will be adding to my list of things new to me. I've never removed a sink or a stove. Repaired a few...but never fully removed them. LOL

Any tips or suggestions are more than happily accepted and appreciated!

The good news....it looks like the stove screws aren't stripped. Woot woot for small wins!

Done for the night. Pops brought dinner over for me. I guess he knew I wouldn't be eating the way I should while I do this. when I dive in, I forget to eat. The man knows me too well. LOL

:)

[M K Wilkie]

Oh damn. But you just couldn't ignore it and be happy I know. Particle board and flakeboard in our case are the devil to deal with. I'm old enough to remember when they stopped producing plywood in favor of particleboard. Mostly glue, water soluble glue it seems. You will be glad you are doing this in the end.

[Tina]

Thinking is keeping me awake. I have decided I am going to try to fix that counter without having to yank out the sink and stove. I think I made an error drying that too fast with the fan, and caused that warping in the laminate. I have an idea for a fix. I took a pic of that top from underneath and the particle board on that end looks pretty good, not rotted. I am going to try to train it back to straight. Lol Will assess it more tomorrow.

[Russell E Johnson]

LOL, glued carpeting I did not run into. They just used a bazillion staples along with a gazillion shorter ones, and a couple hundred nails for good measure.

[Tina]

Good tip Russ. :) Fortunately, I've taken a look under there and everything appears to be fairly easy reach to undo.  Looks pretty simple really.  I'll probably wish I hadn't typed that. LOL

This is actually kind of a blessing in disguise...It would have bothered me constantly about that carpeting mess under that counter.  Between critter pee and leakdamage, I would not have been  happy to leave that there and the only way to get it out is to dismantle the counter completely.  It's screwed into the carpeting and I think the carpet is glued to the floor based on everything else I've run into with the original carpet.  Blech!

[Russell E Johnson]

Stove screws not rusted and turning out is a good sign. Maybe the sink bolts will not be a mass of rust and you can get the to release without destroying them. My only tip is to carefully remove the center post of the cabinet doors under the sink. It will be much easier to lay on your back if it is not digging into your shoulder. Good luck.