06 / Boulder and Weld counties / Longmont
When Cabinets911 designs and installs custom cabinets in Longmont, we think harder than usual about water. Cabinets fail from the bottom up. A slow sink leak, a weeping dishwasher line or a damp basement does the same damage a flood does, only slower, and the fixes overlap.
Longmont learned that the hard way. From September 11 to 15, 2013, St. Vrain Creek overran its banks and pushed water into neighborhoods across the city, including some outside the mapped floodplain. The city's Resilient St. Vrain Project has since been rebuilding the creek channel to carry larger flows. Inside houses, water that soaks particleboard doesn't always show right away, so a lower-level cabinet that was dried and left in place deserves a close look.
Brief 01 / Longmont
Particleboard and MDF swell when wet and never shrink back. The bottom edge of the box, the toe kick and the cabinet floor go first. Plywood tolerates a soaking far better, though veneer can delaminate and face frames loosen. Solid wood doors often come through fine, then warp as they dry.
Hidden damage is the bigger problem. Water wicks up the back of a base cabinet into the drywall and insulation behind it, and a cabinet that looks clean from the front can hide mold. If a cabinet ever sat in water, pull it and look behind it before you decide to keep it.
A toe kick that's swollen or peeling away. A cabinet floor that's soft or stained. Drywall behind the box that's discolored, crumbly or musty. Hinges that won't hold an adjustment because the side panel has softened around the screws.
Read the disclosures for past water events, then look at the lowest cabinets in the house: the basement bar, the laundry, the lower-level bath. If the history is unclear and the boxes are particleboard, replacing them is often simpler than investigating them.
Brief 02 / Longmont
Day to day, the sink base is still where water does the most harm. A drip at a supply line or dishwasher connection can soak a particleboard floor for months before anyone notices. If the rest of the run is sound, replacing just that cabinet is a fair repair.
Basement wet bars and lower-level kitchens deserve a stricter spec from the start. In a house near the creek, cabinet replacement should plan for the next leak, not just repair the last one. None of the items below is exotic. They just have to be decided before anything is ordered.
Brief 03 / Longmont
Prospect New Town is a different kind of job. Planned by the firm Duany Plater-Zyberk and started in the mid-1990s, it was Colorado's first full-scale new urbanist development, with houses from many architects who were encouraged to experiment. Expect modern lines, unusual ceiling heights and kitchens inside one big open room. Cabinetry there reads like furniture: slab doors, consistent grain, integrated pulls.
The Historic Eastside and Westside, on either side of Main Street, are the opposite. Queen Anne houses on the east side, and Craftsman, foursquare and farmhouse styles to the west, with old plaster and settled floors. Here kitchen cabinetry means boxes scribed to the walls, shaker or painted doors that suit the house, and a plan that expects surprises when the old cabinets come out.
Response units / Longmont
How each service applies to Longmont houses, from the historic districts to Prospect and the newer edges of town.
Furniture-style kitchens in Prospect and period-appropriate ones near Main Street.
Plywood vanities with sealed edges, especially in lower-level baths.
Lower-level cabinetry specified to survive a leak, plus bookcases and entry storage.
A single sink base or a whole run, decided after checking what's behind it.
Installed only on dry floors and walls, and scribed tight in older homes.
Cabinetry for builders working in Longmont and the growing towns to the north and east.
Routing
IfA cabinet sat in water, recently or years ago
ThenPull it and inspect the wall and floor behind it before deciding anything.
IfOnly the sink base is failing
ThenFix the leak first, then replace that cabinet if the rest of the run is solid.
IfYou're finishing or redoing a basement bar
ThenPlywood boxes, removable toe kicks and a leak sensor from day one.
IfYou live in Prospect or a historic district home
ThenStart with design. Door style and detailing carry more weight in these houses.
Coverage / Boulder and Weld Counties
Longmont sits where Boulder and Weld counties meet, with Niwot to the southwest and Mead and Firestone to the north and east. The historic districts around Main Street are close-in and compact; newer subdivisions run out toward the edges.
Call transcript / Longmont
Rarely, if they're particleboard or MDF and sat in water. Those materials swell and stay swollen. Plywood boxes and solid wood doors sometimes survive brief exposure, but the walls and floor behind them still need inspection. If there's staining, mold or a musty smell, replace the cabinet and fix the cause before new ones go in.
There's no single answer, since Prospect houses were designed by different architects. Many suit slab or flat-panel doors, consistent grain and minimal or integrated pulls. Match the cabinets to the house's lines and ceiling heights, not to a catalog trend. A design-first process helps here, because the small details decide how the kitchen looks.
Often, yes. If the leak is fixed and the rest of the cabinets are sound, a new sink base with a plywood box and sealed edges is a sensible repair. The catch is matching: on older or discontinued cabinets, door style and finish may not line up exactly. We'll tell you how close the match will be before you request a quote for the full job.
A plumber, then whoever handles drying. Stop the water, document it for insurance and get the space dry before anyone talks about cabinets. Once the damage is visible, a cabinet contractor can tell you if you need one new box or a whole run. Installing over damp framing just restarts the problem.
Open a case / 06
Send pictures of the sink base, toe kicks and any lower-level cabinets. We'll tell you what can stay and what needs to go.
Accessibility / Language
