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Kitchen Remodeling . . . it WAS going so well, and then!

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
We've been living in our home for almost 11 years and the lovely Mrs_B decided that we should remodel the kitchen this year. As we had already decided to do several other projects, including building me a new garage/shop I was not in a position to argue since I was spending the bulk of the money on something for me and she knew it.

Besides, I'm still trying to live down last year's birthday present when I gave her a new HDTV and she still doesn't know how to turn it on. Sort of have to wonder if that really was a gift for HER? :whistle:

Anyway all was going along pretty well with the kitchen. The new tops were installed yesterday and look great. I got home to find that the counter top installer even installed the new faucet and sink, although he did not hook up the plumbing. But he did more than I expected so that is less work for me.

I decided to devote my attention to installing the new cooktop. This is a 36" ceramic top unit with touch screen controls so it is perfectly flat. Its a standard 220volt unit, hardwired in. Looks like a snap to install so I pull it out of the box and set it into place. Snug fit, but other than that it goes into the custom cut hole in the top without a hitch. I crawl under the unit to begin to wire it up to the wall.

That is when I hear a shriek that would have scared the last mastadon into extinction. Now my head is under the cooktop so upon hearing the blood curdling yell I sit up and smack my head. Hard. :mad: Upon regaining my senses I crawl out from inside the cabinet and find out there are 2 hairline cracks in the surface of the cooktop. No way to repair it, no easy answer other than to return it to the store and order a new one. :(

And yup you guessed it, this is a special order unit, not kept in stock ANYWHERE because we never do anything the easy way :smileywac

So back to the appliance store I go this morning with the cooktop. They are very nice. They will order me a new one. I explain that we are having Christmas dinner at our house and there is now a 36" wide hole in our counter.

A replacement is due to arrive Dec 24 at the store.

Can someone call my wife and tell her?:4_11_9:
 

Wannafish

Floppy Member
SUPER Site Supporter
I hate it when that happens.

Good Luck - hope it turns out well...in the time frame you need.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Is that just a polite way of saying you won't call the lovely Mrs_B and explain it to her?
 

BadAttitude

New member
B_Skurka said:
Can someone call my wife and tell her?:4_11_9:
Sure...give me her # and I'll tell her that your gonna fire up the grill :whistle:


better yet, maybe we can share...

I gots the range and cooktop & you gots the sink:D
Then all the wimmens will be happy:tiphat:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
BadAttitude said:
Sure...give me her # and I'll tell her that your gonna fire up the grill :whistle:


better yet, maybe we can share...

I gots the range and cooktop & you gots the sink:D
Then all the wimmens will be happy:tiphat:

Heck now I have an EXTRA sink because the old sink & faucet are sitting on the floor of the garage. You can have it if you want it! (you pay for shipping)
 

Cowboyjg

Country Club Member
Site Supporter
Bob....it doesn't have to be all that bad if the real interest is in being able to prepare Xmas day dinner. Yes the new one has been ordered and we all know (including the Lovely Mrs. B.) that she WILL have the cooktop she wants!!!

Go to the used building supply place...there is one in every town, some have several....pick up a temporary for the dinner and then install the right one when it gets there. One benefit here is that she doesn't have to mess up the new one for all those folks. Another benefit here is that you won't have to worry on Xmas eve if the new one works or not.

Heck.....I have one in storage at the company building that I removed from a house we demo'd...it works great....what dimensions do you need....pay to ship it and I'll send it...
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
I have the old cooktop (sitting under the old sink) on the floor of the garage now. The problem is the shape of the old unit. Now way rig it up. I'm thinking a hot plate may be the temporary solution. Cheap enough too.

The lovely Mrs_B still doesn't know the status . . . :whistle:
 

DAP

New member
Well, if I was a bettin man ... I'd say ...

3 possibilities ...

1. Pay now
2. Pay later
3. Pay now & later ...

One thing not made clear ... is the Vendor replacing the cooktop free of charge or not ....

What did you tell them regarding the cracked cooktop?

Can you bail on them and get a new unit from another vendor ... (or is this entirely out of the question based on designs, expectations, etc. )

I'm thinkin #3 above Bob ... man that sucks.

:toilet:
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
The cooktop is being replaced with no issues, in fact they now are giving me the replacement for $125 less and they rang it up as a brand new sale so it also qualifies for an additional rebate of $50. So I cannot complain about that.

Before I ordered it the first time, I did a price check at several appliance stores, all had it as a special order item. Nobody stocks this unit. Most stores stock the mid-priced units that appeal to most people. The low end stuff is special order and they try to upsell to a mid-priced unit. The higher end stuff is just too expensive to stock but they gladly take your order. This was a higher end item.
 

BadAttitude

New member
Ya know Bob, you disappoint me...

if you had ordered 2 of those like everything else
you wouldn't be in this predicament:wave: :D
 

Chief

New member
Bob, if you have a scrap piece of plywood around the house, is is possible to make a cut out for the old cook top in the plywood and then cut the piece of plywood down small enough so it can safely lay over top of and cover the hole in your new counter top and safely support the old cooktop? This would at least give you a temp cooktop with materials you already have and not have to buy anything else. Just a thought. We did something like that once with a 3/4 inch piece of plywood. It ain't pretty but it worked and was good temp until the permanant cooktop arrived.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Quite the opposite. The old cooktop is larger than the new one, it extends farther forward and hangs over the front of the cabinets. The new cooktop is 36" wide just like the old one, but it sets into the surface of the top and is surrounded by the top on all 4 sides.

I sent my foodservice manager at my company out to the commercial equipment storage room to see what could be found to substitute for a burner or two so we can get by for the next 10 days.
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
Hey Bob, I have a couple of good torches...


You know, no wait cooking that way! :D
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Dargo said:
Hey Bob, I have a couple of good torches...


You know, no wait cooking that way! :D


Dargo, a torch is useful to carmalize the sugars on the surface of a true Creme Brulee, but beyond that, I'm not so sure I want torches used in the kitchen. Especially since the remodeling is getting closer to completion.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
The day AFTER Christmas and we still have no cooktop!

So we had a simple meal yesterday, veggies cooked in the oven and the microwave. No sauces. No sauteed veggies. Nothing fried.

I do have a 'single burner' plug in unit for simple cooking. I've got today and tomorrow off from work, hopefully the replacement cooktop will arrive and I can get it installed in short order.

But we had a great holiday meal anyway. It turned out to be a good thing that we only had the lovely Mrs_B's sister over for the holiday. Had my brother and his family showed up, I think we would have overwhelmed the single burner's ability!

I hope all of you had great holiday meals too.
 

Mith

The Eccentric Englishman
SUPER Site Supporter
Dont feel too bad Bob, we are 1 year exactly (we took the ceiling down last year christmas day) into our remodel thing.
We got a floor a couple weeks ago, before then it was just a mud floor with a bit of concrete on top in our kitchen. We still have no surfaces, just planks propped up on stuff, we have a new sink though, stood up on a frame made out of some scrap metal I found down the garden. The cooker is on a small trolley but is wired in on a long cable so it works. We finally got rid of the wood burner and now have central heating, even got some insulation in some rooms now too, lots warmer, this time last year I had to wear gloves when typing, now I dont, still have to wear 2 layers though. Its still really novel being able to just turn the cooker on, not having to stoke it up and add logs 2 hours in advance :D

PS, gotta love those press button hobs, really easy to clean, for what we wanted that option wasnt available here, ah well :(
 

BadAttitude

New member
Don't feel alone Bob, I still don't have a kitchen sink installed yet. :eek: Too many irons in the fire. In fact I should be in there doing just that, instead of doing what I'm doing now. :whistle:

I tried to use the excuse that I have to keep an eye on the new puppy...and believe me, she's a handful...yet I don't think Mrs BA bought it:D
 

Mith

The Eccentric Englishman
SUPER Site Supporter
Brian, I went and took some, it looks alot better now with the plaster on the walls and a floor, all starting to come together. The units in the picture are the old ones, just using them to hold the surfaces up. No new appliences except the cooker yet.
The table in the secong pic is one that we got from the college, they had the sceince rooms redone and we got all the old tables and wood surfaces. The wood (cant remember what its called) is really posh, solid wood, we are sanding it and refinishing for the surfaces, most of the surfaces will be just solid wood. Sorry the pics are quite close up.

We have quite a few of those tables kicking around, make great outdoor workshops and workbenches.


Bob, are we gunna be seeing pics of your kitchen, or are you just wating to wow us with the finished product
 
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bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Mith,

Sorry man. By the description you provided, it sounded like the decor was similar to your shop. I see now that it isn't such and is much nicer.

Brian
 

Mith

The Eccentric Englishman
SUPER Site Supporter
Ha, no, its pretty nice at the moment, doesnt look too bad, should be OK when its done (say, 3-5 years :eek: )

Hey, what are you saying about my shop! Nothing wrong with it, its very clean! :eek: :D

PS, Im gunna take the pics out so it doesnt block Bobs thread
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
HEY GUESS WHAT!?!

My cooktop just arrived and I can pick it up today. The lovely Mrs_B will be thrilled to see it. I just hope this one is not cracked!!!


Mith . . . as for blocking my thread, no problem at all. This thread is not one of anything more than a ramble.
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Well all is well is the household again.

The little temporary one-burner counter top warmer is banished forever. The new ceramic surface cooktop is now installed. Unfortunately I was supposed to play a goame with my daughter and her friends and the cooktop install competed with that game time. It took exactly the same amount of time to install as a game of Mexican Train Dominos took my daughter and her friends to play :whistle:
  • The first picture shows the hole I was left with when the first cooktop arrived cracked. :mad:
  • Picture 2 shows a piece of plywood that served as our countertop for 2 weeks.:confused:
  • Picture 3 shows the cooktop installed in place.:thumb:
  • Picture 4 shows the touch controls and one of the burners on. We've never had a cooktop like this, I was amazed at how fast it heats up. :eek:
  • Picture 5 shows the finished wiring under the countertop.:tiphat:
All photos were shot with my camera phone, so the quality is pretty bad, but you get the idea.

Now we have to work on the walls. They will be covered with ceramic tile from the countertop all the way up to the ceiling. I'm just not sure how long that will take.
 

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BoneheadNW

New member
I like the lime green color of the walls! :D
We had a similar cooktop installed in our house in San Diego. The cooktop worked great, but without a flame to remind you it was on caused some of us to, er, need to be reminded to keep his hands off the burners at all times. :pat:
Bonehead
 

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
The walls are actually yellow, the camera-phone really distorts the colors unless the photos are taken in bright sunlight.

I'm a little worried about the surface remaining hot, there are small red warning lights that stay on until the top is cool but I suspect there will be a burnt hand or two until we learn what "hot" really means!

On think that I like about the cooktop is that there are no control knobs to collect food debris. The surface is prefectly smooth and the controls are just touch sensitive areas on the surface. It should make it very easy to keep clean.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
B_Skurka said:
The walls are actually yellow, the camera-phone really distorts the colors unless the photos are taken in bright sunlight.

I'm a little worried about the surface remaining hot, there are small red warning lights that stay on until the top is cool but I suspect there will be a burnt hand or two until we learn what "hot" really means!

On think that I like about the cooktop is that there are no control knobs to collect food debris. The surface is prefectly smooth and the controls are just touch sensitive areas on the surface. It should make it very easy to keep clean.

I like our ceramic cooktop too. My wife hates it because it shows off all the crud that now has to be cleaned off after each use. I think she like the old elements where that crud just fell down below and she could pretend it wasn't there. Can you guess which one of us is the "clean freak"? Can you guess who used to spend tons of time cleaning the crud out from below the old elements? Can you guess who bought the new stove? It's all the same person.
 
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