Replacing Electrical Outlets
Posted by Wayne
The electrical outlets above our kitchen counter were cream colored and old. Because I had installed a half inch thick backsplash around them, they were now recessed into the backsplash and I needed to extend them outwards before I could install faceplates. While I was at it, I figured I should upgrade to new outlets as well which matched our kitchen.
Before
Completing the Wood Floor
Posted by Wayne
We had two gaps in the wood floor that I had completed some time back. One of the gaps was between the sliding glass door and the flooring, and on the other side of the floor there was a space between the flooring and the carpet of the living room.
We had bought a matching threshold and t-molding piece to fill these gaps, but I needed to wait until the baseboard trim was in place before installing them to cut them to the right size. Once I had the baseboard trim installed cutting and applying these pieces with my nail gun was a breeze.
The nail gun left tiny holes in the top of the pieces, and I could fill them if I needed, but they aren’t noticeable so I just left them as is.
After
Kitchen Sink Plumbing Modification
Posted by Wayne
Installing Trim and Casing
Posted by Wayne
At this point in the kitchen project everything major was completed. All that was left was to install baseboard trim, casing around the sliding glass door and pantry, trim the vinyl window, cut and install the wood floor thresholds, and replace and bring out the electrical outlets to be flush with the newly installed backsplash.
Installing trim is pretty straight forward, but requires accurate measuring and great attention to detail to end up with a seamless final product.
Before I could start on the actual trim and casing work, I had to build out the sliding glass door to be flush with the interior wall.
Installing an Oven
Posted by Wayne
This was about as easy as a project can get. Once again, you’re probably thinking that you don’t “install” an electric oven, you just plug it in. But ours didn’t come with a plug to plug in.
When we bought the our appliances the salesman asked if we wanted a $40 cord/plug for the stove. “No,” I says to him, “I already have a cord from the old stove.” I didn’t want to get a new cord because of the cost, but also because what if the male plug I got didn’t fit into the female outlet that was already installed behind the stove location? It’s probably standard, but you never know. There are a lot of 220v plug configurations.
I removed the power cord from the old stove and connected it to the new one in about 15 minutes. Then I plugged it in and pushed it back into place.
The electric stove we picked is our only “regret” in the whole kitchen. It looks great and we’re not professional cooks so I don’t think we need the additional capabilities of a gas, but the ceramic stove top is a pain in the butt to clean. If we could do it again we’d definitely choose gas.
After
Installing a Refrigerator
Posted by Wayne
Okay, so you’re probably thinking that you don’t really “install” a refrigerator, you just plug it in. I had hoped it would be that easy, but it wasn’t the case.
Our new fridge has a water and ice dispenser, which means it has to be hooked up to a water line. Previous owners had already run a copper water supply line over to the fridge location, but the fridge that I removed was not connected to it. I put the end of the copper supply line into a bucket and turned on the water valve underneath the kitchen sink for a few mintues to drain the line of the water that had been sitting in it for years (I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be healthy to have that pipe right into the fridge). It was filthy and brown, but quickly turned clear.
Installing a Microwave
Posted by Wayne
I was not particularly excited about putting the new microwave in after the trouble I had getting the old one out. It was attached with two bolts coming in from the cabinet above and on the back with a wall mounted bracket. I removed the two bolts, and then lifted and pried from every possible angle trying to get it off of the wall bracket. I took half of the old microwave apart from the bottom because I believed there must be a hidden screw attaching it to the wall bracket somewhere, but I couldn’t find anything. I eventually just ripped it off the wall. I still cannot figure out why the old microwave was so tough to take down.
DIY Burnout
Posted by Wayne
It’s been about 3 weeks since my last entry. At that time I was just wrapping up on kitchen work and we were preparing for a big party with about 40 of our closest friends. Read the rest of this entry »
Installing a Dishwasher
Posted by Wayne
When we were purchasing our appliance set the salesman asked us if we wanted to have their guys install the appliances, and I told him I could handle it but I was curious about installing the microwave because I had such a tough time getting the old one removed. He told me if I could install the dishwasher, I could easily install the microwave. That removed my fears about the microwave because I knew the dishwasher would be a piece of cake.
It certainly didn’t hurt that I removed the old dishwasher so I had a good understanding of how the new one would go in. There are 3 things you have to connect: the dishwasher drainage, the water supply line, and the hardwired electricity. The water supply line has it’s own shutoff valve underneath the sink and the electricity is on its own breaker, both of which I turned off before removing the old dishwasher.
