Can't anything be simple.
We'll start simple. The dryer was getting old. Like It wasn't getting things completely dry any more old. So we decided to get a new one.
Now normally people get a washer/dryer together, but back when Mom was hospitalized and we discovered she had this thing called diabetes, the washer flooded and we had zero time between hospital visits to even attempt to get a repairman. So washer and dryer don't match. Meh. Whatever.
However, because of this, we were all very worried on whether they could get the dryer even in because it would have required lifting it over the washer. So we were very concerned.
We also figured, "why not?" the fridge is getting old so we might as well replace that too.
So delivery day came with much, much worry over the dryer.
The dryer was a snap. It still takes ever-so-slightly longer than we're used to, but it works beautifully and hasn't given us any heartache since.
The fridge?
Entirely different story.
Entirely.
Now we initially think that it went smoothly and everything is working out well. The only issue is a) getting the food out of the old fridge super fast since they guys arrived an hour early and b) getting the fridge set enough to get all the food back in. (The ice cream all died. Horribly. On the table.)
Or so we thought.
While irritating in rushing to set up the fridge, remove the tape that holds the shelves together, figuring out proper height for various shelves, etc, (and cursing that it came with an ice maker we DIDN'T want and thus losing space in the freezer), these were all relatively minor bumps along the road. They would be issues for maybe an hour and then, huzzah! New fridge.
But along the way, we realized something.
The new fridge blocked the dishwasher.
Apparently, in the last decade or so since getting a new fridge, the standard depth has changed. Our old fridge had something like 29-30 inch depth, and we had something like a quarter to half an inch of clearance to open the dishwasher. Not a lot, but enough. Now, apparently, after staying up to ungodly o'clock trying to find a fridge that had the old depth, we discovered that new fridges these days come at a depth of 32 inches or more. Why? Who knows. Maybe to accommodate the new-fangled and entirely unnecessary ice makers that our house isn't wired for and makes us loose gobs of space in our freezer for a thing we can't even use? The point was we were stuck.
The dishwasher only opened about 20-30 degrees, meaning the top shelf came out most of the way but the bottom was not only locked in place but almost inaccessible. Emptying the dishwasher every night became an acrobatics act to fish everything out, let alone put things in. And so, forced to live with this, we were required to creatively fix the problem. Meaning we hired an amateur carpenter to cut our 40-something year old cabinetry and moved the dishwasher over three inches, take the wood he cut and then put it on the other side to prevent a big yawning hole from being obtrusive and hoping it looked okay.
In the end, we did luck out though; we had some old leftover laminate from when we laminated the kitchen, and it make the final product look perfect; you'd never know work had been done.
At least it ended well.
Now normally people get a washer/dryer together, but back when Mom was hospitalized and we discovered she had this thing called diabetes, the washer flooded and we had zero time between hospital visits to even attempt to get a repairman. So washer and dryer don't match. Meh. Whatever.
However, because of this, we were all very worried on whether they could get the dryer even in because it would have required lifting it over the washer. So we were very concerned.
We also figured, "why not?" the fridge is getting old so we might as well replace that too.
So delivery day came with much, much worry over the dryer.
The dryer was a snap. It still takes ever-so-slightly longer than we're used to, but it works beautifully and hasn't given us any heartache since.
The fridge?
Entirely different story.
Entirely.
Now we initially think that it went smoothly and everything is working out well. The only issue is a) getting the food out of the old fridge super fast since they guys arrived an hour early and b) getting the fridge set enough to get all the food back in. (The ice cream all died. Horribly. On the table.)
Or so we thought.
While irritating in rushing to set up the fridge, remove the tape that holds the shelves together, figuring out proper height for various shelves, etc, (and cursing that it came with an ice maker we DIDN'T want and thus losing space in the freezer), these were all relatively minor bumps along the road. They would be issues for maybe an hour and then, huzzah! New fridge.
But along the way, we realized something.
The new fridge blocked the dishwasher.
Apparently, in the last decade or so since getting a new fridge, the standard depth has changed. Our old fridge had something like 29-30 inch depth, and we had something like a quarter to half an inch of clearance to open the dishwasher. Not a lot, but enough. Now, apparently, after staying up to ungodly o'clock trying to find a fridge that had the old depth, we discovered that new fridges these days come at a depth of 32 inches or more. Why? Who knows. Maybe to accommodate the new-fangled and entirely unnecessary ice makers that our house isn't wired for and makes us loose gobs of space in our freezer for a thing we can't even use? The point was we were stuck.
The dishwasher only opened about 20-30 degrees, meaning the top shelf came out most of the way but the bottom was not only locked in place but almost inaccessible. Emptying the dishwasher every night became an acrobatics act to fish everything out, let alone put things in. And so, forced to live with this, we were required to creatively fix the problem. Meaning we hired an amateur carpenter to cut our 40-something year old cabinetry and moved the dishwasher over three inches, take the wood he cut and then put it on the other side to prevent a big yawning hole from being obtrusive and hoping it looked okay.
In the end, we did luck out though; we had some old leftover laminate from when we laminated the kitchen, and it make the final product look perfect; you'd never know work had been done.
At least it ended well.