Lisa Kendrick: Complete First Floor Remodel Testimonial. After a second leak ruined her wood floors, Lisa Kendrick had True Builders take down walls and rebuild her first floor: kitchen, dining room, tile, and the countertops she loves.
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when we bought this house my whole vision was this 2017 we had a pipe burst in the wall upstairs it flooded all upstairs brought the ceiling down in over here in the laundry room flooded downstairs it was terrible called tree builders they had somebody come out fix it they repaired it i had wood they replaced the wood so then this leak happened march of last year so of course my first thought is i'm calling tree builders it was terrible the wood it was just all bowed up i said that's it i'm not doing wood anymore going back with tile and that's when i said you know what now it's time we've been here for seven years it's time for me to have the kitchen dining room i'm at the house like i want it used to when you would open the door there was a little hallway they converted this bedroom knocked all these walls down i'm actually sitting where a bedroom used to be and made this our dining room now i open my front door and i can see my dining room i can see my living room i can see my kitchen i can see all my beautiful countertops i love my countertops i'm just amazed with my countertops and my floor i will tell you that my neighbor came over and when he opened the front door and walked in he started crying he said lisa it's beautiful they work with you to make it the way you want it and this was my dream and that's the way i wanted it they pulled it off they are so uh meticulous they pay attention to the little details i mean the smallest thing and they're on it you don't have to you don't call them and say um i found this is there any way we can fix it they don't blow you off they're like okay we'll get right on it i can't tell you enough how much i love true builders i can't i'll never use anybody but true builders ever
About This Video
After a second leak ruined her wood floors, Lisa Kendrick had True Builders take down walls and rebuild her first floor: kitchen, dining room, tile, and the countertops she loves.
Read the transcript ▼
when we bought this house my whole vision was this 2017 we had a pipe burst in the wall upstairs it flooded all upstairs brought the ceiling down in over here in the laundry room flooded downstairs it was terrible called tree builders they had somebody come out fix it they repaired it i had wood they replaced the wood so then this leak happened march of last year so of course my first thought is i'm calling tree builders it was terrible the wood it was just all bowed up i said that's it i'm not doing wood anymore going back with tile and that's when i said you know what now it's time we've been here for seven years it's time for me to have the kitchen dining room i'm at the house like i want it used to when you would open the door there was a little hallway they converted this bedroom knocked all these walls down i'm actually sitting where a bedroom used to be and made this our dining room now i open my front door and i can see my dining room i can see my living room i can see my kitchen i can see all my beautiful countertops i love my countertops i'm just amazed with my countertops and my floor i will tell you that my neighbor came over and when he opened the front door and walked in he started crying he said lisa it's beautiful they work with you to make it the way you want it and this was my dream and that's the way i wanted it they pulled it off they are so uh meticulous they pay attention to the little details i mean the smallest thing and they're on it you don't have to you don't call them and say um i found this is there any way we can fix it they don't blow you off they're like okay we'll get right on it i can't tell you enough how much i love true builders i can't i'll never use anybody but true builders ever
Lisa Kendrick's First Floor: From a Second Leak to the Home She Always Wanted
Lisa Kendrick's house flooded twice: a pipe burst upstairs in 2017 that brought a ceiling down, and a second leak years later that bowed up her replacement wood floors. That was the moment she stopped repairing and started remodeling: "That's it, I'm not doing wood anymore," and if the floors were coming up anyway, it was time for the first floor she had envisioned when she bought the house.
True Builders converted a bedroom into her dining room, took the dividing walls down, and rebuilt the space with tile and the countertops she cannot stop talking about. Her neighbor walked in the front door and started crying at how beautiful it was. Her own words: "They work with you to make it the way you want it, and this was my dream."
When repair becomes remodel
A repeat loss changes the math. Insurance pays to put a home back the way it was; the labor of demolition and rebuild is happening either way. That is why the smartest time to upgrade a layout, a floor material, or a kitchen is when a covered loss already has the space opened up: you pay the difference for better materials, not the full cost of a standalone remodel. Ask your contractor to price the upgrade delta explicitly so the decision is clear.
What it takes to open a floor plan
Taking down walls, like this project did, is engineering before it is demolition. Some walls only divide rooms; others carry the roof. A contractor has to determine which is which, size a beam where a bearing wall comes out, and pull a permit so the structural change is inspected and documented. Done right, an open first floor is permanent and provable at resale. Done casually, it is a sagging ceiling in five years.
Tile versus wood after a leak
- Porcelain tile shrugs off standing water; wood and laminate cup, bow, and delaminate, exactly as Lisa saw
- Wood-look plank tile gives the warmth of wood in flood-prone homes without the flood risk
- Luxury vinyl plank is water-resistant and softer underfoot, a middle option worth pricing
- Whatever the surface, what matters most after a leak is a verified-dry subfloor before anything goes down
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