Project Upgrade, Phase V

Well, not really an upgrade, more like a replacement.

Last Sunday our microwave started emitting some pretty funky sounds while running. Maybe we could have lived with the noise, but it stopped heating as well.

We spent the afternoon shopping for a replacement. Since the extent of our microwave cooking skills stops at heating vegetables, we knew we didn't need anything fancy.

Our first stop was Sears. We were prepared to get the cheapest black microwave they had in stock. We picked one out, but the sales associate said we wouldn't have it until Wednesday. I knew I wasn't going to install it until the weekend, but I wasn't going through that again. So we passed.

Our next stop was Best Buy. Again, we looked at the microwaves and picked one out. Except they didn't have one in stock either. We passed again.

Finally, we wound up at Lowes. Sure enough, they had a nice basic GE oven in black. And it was in stock. Thirty minutes later, we were on our way back home with the oven in the back.

It took me about two hours to take the old one down and install the new one. Granted, the electrical was already done from the previous oven, so that made it easier. It had a really lightweight bracket that I thought would never hold something that big, but sure enough it's on there pretty solid.

So out of the four appliances in our kitchen, I've replaced three so far. Keeping my fingers crossed for the dishwasher, although I thought it would go before the microwave.

Project Upgrade, Phase IV

With any luck, we're rounding the corner on the "initial" projects.

One of the cabinets in our kitchen is essentially worthless. It's about five feet high, but has no shelving in it. Sure, maybe good for a broom, but not much else. The other side has pull-out shelves that are very useful. About four weeks ago when we were in Home Depot, we talked to a kitchen designer and found out how to measure our cabinets so we could put roll-out shelves in them. We came home, measured what we needed to measure, and went back to the store to order them. Three weeks later, they were in.

I started putting them in last Monday night. I just got done Saturday. It was just like every other project in so much as it took about three times the amount of time and money I thought it would. Spent lots of time making braces, shimming this, trimming that, and screwed about 20 extra screws. I the end, found out the the drawers wouldn't open because the european hinges blocked the drawers, so I had to put external hinges on the doors.

In the end, they came out nice, gave us some extra storage space, and I got a table saw out of it.

Project Upgrade, Phase III

Phase three of the Kitchen upgrade is complete. We upgraded from a plain-jane Magic Chef oven to a KitchenAid convenction oven. The good part is it only took a couple hours to swap the old one with the new one. Next up, changing the broom closet to usable storage.

Triple thanks to J again for her discounting magic.

Project Upgrade, Phase II

The new Cooktop went in relatively easy. We replaced this older Magic Chef unit with a five burner Jenn-Air unit. We ended up with the Jenn-Air unit because I didn't really look forward to cutting granite and the Jenn-Air had the dimensions that would fit the best.

The electric connections were extremely easy since the old cooktop had the same connections. Only had to take one trip to Home Depot in the middle of the project to get the right connector.

Next up, the stove.

Double thanks to J for her discounting magic.

Project Upgrade, Phase I

Why in a kitchen of dark granite countertops and black appliances someone decided a beige refrigerator would look nice, but who knows what the story was. We would have hung onto it, except when you opened it up, strange fuel-like smells from it. In fact, the ice smelled and tased like fuel. Needless to say, that had to go.

We researched various makers and with some advice from a family member in the business, chose a GE Profile. We ordered from Planet TV and the guys came in to deliver the new refrigerator and take the old one away.


We have ice again!!

Thanks for the tips and finagling J!!