Basement Flooded, need advice

[Sprucemoose]

My basement flooded slightly and caused some damage to the side of my cab.  The cab is made out of MDF and it looks like the right side has absorbed water about 6" from the bottom.  Nothing else was affected.  Is this repairable or do I need to replace the side of the cabinet?  Has anyone had similar issues?  If so, how did you proceed?

Thanks in advance

[tmasman]

It depends on the finish of your cabinet...
If it's just painted you can cut off the damaged part(s), cut a new piece to fit the void, then putty/bondo any gaps to make it all pretty again. Paint, sand, paint & you're good as new!

Otherwise you might be replacing the whole side.

Good luck!
(Oh yeah! You can do the above if you're covering with something else, but you'll probably have to replace the covering... (laminate or side art type stuff...))

[Sprucemoose]

The cab finish is paint.  It would have been smart of me to include the finish of the cab.  I will have to try that method first before I replace the side.  I knew I kept the MDF scraps for a reason.

Thanks Tasman

[mpm32]

Fix the flood issue first.  I didn't even think about building my cab until my basement was waterproof.  I used a product called dry-lock on my basement walls.  It's thick as hell and a bi*ch to put on but it's working so far.  Also make sure that the cab is off the floor a little.  MDF will act like a wick and suck up the water.  Use casters or some wood blocks to raise the bottom off of the floor a little.

[Lilwolf]

Quick note on fixing the flooding..

get a professional..

If you have a flooding problem... and you fix it with just adding some super water resistent paint around the walls/floors ect...

what can happen is that the water still comes... but doesn't have anywhere to go... And will sit in the concrete around your foundation... and destroy it.

Like when painting a deck.  Its best not to paint the underside of the wood... why?  If water DOES get in (from a single crack or whatever) it just sits in there... and rots the whole thing out...

[Sprucemoose]

The basement flooded because my power went out during a strom and the sump pump failed.  I do have my cab on casters, but the reason it only affected the right side is because the cab was near the wall and the carpet was a little bit higher there.  Just as was mentioned, mdf acts like a wick and absorbs everything from just barely touching the carpet.  

Just when you think you're done...the cab sucks you back in to make adjustments, corrections or additions.

[Edgedamage]

May I suggest that you  get a generator or get yourself a 12v to 120v power inverter. Seeing your hard work get wet is harder to stomach then spending some coin on backup power system.

[Zakk]

And this time, prime and paint all the wood around the bottom of the cabinet...even the insides!  If water can't get to the wood, it won't destroy it.  Well, it'll have a harder time at it anyway...

[APFelon]

I managed to repair a water damaged machine by sanding the bajeezus out of it, flaking off the rotten wood, and wood puttying the holes. Of course, this is from a machine in an advanced state of rot, so I'm not sure what a freshly moistened machine would do if you sanded the hell out of it.

Is it possible to strip the paint in that area, use a space heater to dry it quickly, and repaint? I think that would work, but I am hardly a carpenter... I think you could prevent any damage (aside from cosmetic) if you just got the wood dried out quickly... No rot, no warping, etc.

Good luck and I am sorry to hear about your cab.

APf