I know.. #slacker… but let’s get back to work.
1. My back is rather sore because I just spent the last two episodes of Emily Owen practicing great posture on the couch. Working hard on my New Year’s goal. So, if you’d like, imagine me hunched over my computer whilst typing extra slouchy to give my muscles a break.
2. I’m finally going to share with you Brian and I’s microwave installation.
To help everyone, whether you’re a new reader, or a reader that doesn’t remember us purchasing a microwave because it has been forever since I talked about it, let me remind you of the high points. Brian and I have been putting together a list of improvements we want to make on his house. One thing on the list was to update the kitchen. Part of the update was installing an over the range microwave in order to clear up some counter space. This microwave needed to be stainless steel because Brian over the past year has replaced all of his other kitchen appliances with stainless steel ones. We hadn’t made all of the decisions regarding the kitchen update nor had (have) we saved enough money to start. But… while shopping at Lowe’s I came across a great deal on an over the range microwave that was in a display there. Enter microwave for $233.
This deal was too good to pass up and even though we hadn’t settled on our final plans, we knew an over the range microwave was going to be part of it. So, as you can see above, it was purchased and loaded into my car.
Now we are back to current blog time. Notice, I said blog time, because at present time the microwave has been installed for almost a month and I’ve been a #slacker.
Because the microwave was a display unit and really discounted it was missing a few things: 1. the mounting bracket that goes on the wall, 2. the screws that are used to secure it to the cabinets above, and 3. the filter for the fan. In order to mount the microwave we first had to procure items 1 and 2.
The bracket we found at Part Select. It was pretty easy, all we needed to know was our make: KitchenAid and our model #: KHMC1857.
Yep it was that cheap. Shipping was $7.49, so our grand total was $13.99.
The screws were really just guessing and checking using Brian’s contractor knowledge. In the end we ended up using (2) #10 screws that were 3″ long.
Item #3 we’ll get to in Part 2.
For a typical project the draw back to having to order a part online is the waiting. You get all pumped up to work on a project, just to wait. This project is a little different because there was a lot of prep work involved prior to installing the microwave.
Here is the before picture…
Notice the amount of counter space the microwave was taking up. Also notice how low the exhaust hood is. Not low for it’s function, just low when you plan to replace it with a big microwave. “A lot” of prep work entailed moving the cabinet. Instead of replacing the center cabinet with a shorter one we decided to move the cabinet up, making the top of the cabinet appear to be stepped. Based on all of our calculations the space above the cabinet was adequate thanks to the high ceilings.
First make sure to turn power off to the existing exhaust hood. Most hoods are hard-wired, so turning the power off, is a must.
Make sure to cover your stove. There is definitely potential for scratching if you have a flat top like we do. Do not let this covering trick you into thinking you can apply weight to the stove. Believe me, we almost stepped on it a few times when moving the cabinet.
There are wires running from the fan that connect with the wires coming out of the wall (hard-wired). We disconnected these and removed the screws holding the fan in place.
We then removed the fan and ran into our first surprise…
Here is a close up…
When I first looked at this I thought there were two problems: 1. there is a big hole in the wall and 2. there has been some kind of electrical fire. Brian set me straight on both fronts.
1. He said this type of hole is typical. When constructing a new house the electricians and drywall guys come in prior to the installation of cabinets and appliances. The electricians make their best guess about where the wire needs to come out of the wall, and the drywall guys do their work around it. When the cabinet and appliance guys come in they just rip the wire across the drywall to where they need it. They don’t worry about patching or anything because it will all be covered up.
2. This is no electrical fire. Under careful inspection Brian decided we had a mold issue. It appears when they moved the wire or when they installed the hood something cut through the vapor barrier or the plastic covering the insulation. Because the plastic was punctured, moisture accumulated. This was worsened by the fact that it was over the stove.
We couldn’t do anything about any of this until we removed the cabinet above in order to see the extent of the damage. Each cabinet is secured to both the wall and the cabinets directly beside it. Make sure you find all of these connections and remove all of the screws.
If you miss one you risk ripping it out due to the weight of the cabinet. Our cabinet also had a trim piece that went across the top. We removed this carefully in order to salvage it for later.
I don’t have any pictures of us standing awkwardly on the counter removing this cabinet because we haven’t trained Bauer to use a camera yet. It is on our to-do list.
The mold issue was confirmed once we removed the cabinet.
There was also mold on the cabinet we removed.
We stopped where we were and went to the local Ace Hardware to buy some bleach.
To be continued…
my morning coffee 