Cascades
When one thing leads to another, leads to another, and suddenly...
It all started back in 1982. Best as we can tell, that’s when the kitchen in this house was last remodeled. They put in new appliances, custom cabinets, the works. At some point after that, they re-did the floor. We know it was after the dishwasher was installed, but honestly given the lack of foresight and design in the kitchen, it may have had the floor built up and kickplates put in immediately following the dishwasher, and no one thought “gee! Someone might need to move the dishwasher for maintenance or to install a new one!”
Fast forward to us buying the house two years ago. We are the second owners of this little Texas cottage, which was built originally in 1950, and updated over the years by a handyman who lived here and was not, thank goodness, as gormless as some others whose handiwork I’ve seen and had to correct. Still, there were decisions made that baffle us. Why were the kitchen cabinets spaced less than 14” above the countertops? Standard depth is 18” and trust me, that 4 1/4” makes a difference that you will notice. Why didn’t anyone think about the dishwasher?
Really, I’m not unhappy. The range and the dishwasher were both dated to 1981 by their serial numbers, and they do still work. Not well, but they do what they are needed to do, even if cleaning them gets more difficult with every passing week as they flake, rust, and fall apart. They tided us over until we had the money saved up to replace them, which we finally did early in July. With delivery scheduled for late July (I wanted a special range!), we thought that we’d been enjoying new appliances soon.
And then, there was a weird noise. Which turned out to be a leak, initially thought to be from the dishwasher, then diagnosed as the refrigerator water line that runs behind the dishwasher and cabinets. The plumber came, wrestled briefly with the dishwasher trying to pop it out to get behind it, and then informed us that in order to remove it, the counter or the floor would have to be cut away. We looked at one another. A new dishwasher is coming, we have plumbing problems, and…
The leak was stopped by simply removing the water line to the fridge, because it was simplest at the moment. We may have it put back later. We may not - the 6-month old appliance had already ceased to make ice. So. (side note: I do not recommend Hisense brand appliances). At this point, we started to look really closely at the vintage, ugly, gray Formica countertop. Replacing the floor was definitely not in scope or budget. Counter might not be either? I made some calls.
It’s all a cascade, and we’re not out of it yet. This week I’ll be doing preparatory demolition to change the current drop-in range out for a slide-in which should be delivered on Friday. I’ll also cut the counter lip to ensure the dishwasher can be removed when that time comes and I’m a little afraid what is under/behind both of those appliances. If they can be removed smoothly, the stove can be put in and connected then next week I’ll be calling the local fellow to get him in for final measurements/templates and then the new counter and backsplash will happen. If all goes well. There is a lot of uncertainty.
We had the savings to take this in stride, although it looks like it will be more than double what our original budget was, which is painful. Still, the kitchen will be shiny new, easier to clean and maintain, and may even be pretty, once the fit and finish bits get done, which will be… sigh. Sometime in August. While we’d love to have been able to have a gas range, a sink more than three inches from the edge of the stove, and a ducted oven range hood (which is another thing I’ll be installing because evidently they thought it was ok to put in a range with 13 3/4” clearance between burners and wood?) none of that is possible with a full kitchen remodel and we don’t have the budget for that!
Sometimes it’s enough to stop the cascading failures, and have a functional system. If you try to make it perfect, it’s going to cost - time, money, energy, pick one or all three. Also, no plan survives contact with reality. My simple little kitchen upgrade got a lot more complex, and we’re not done yet. Be flexible, be willing to compromise, and be willing to question your assumptions. Calling in a local for the countertop got me natural stone, backsplash in the same material, and he threw in the kitchen sink to replace my chipping enamel. Sometimes things turn out better than you expected, while you deal with everything else falling to pieces.
Been there done that, although with the bathroom instead of a kitchen. You go to fix one thing and then you find another, then another. Two weeks later I dang near had a new bathroom.
My projects tend to turn into sagas. The Dishwasher Saga was by far the worst, to date anyway. Super-short version: Old dishwasher died. New dishwasher installed. New dishwasher died. Repaired under warranty. New dishwasher died, again. Repaired, again. Repair guy said, "it's the cold water. The heating element is right over a chip and if it runs too long, the chip fries." Looked up lemon-law. Shoveled snow into it to force the failure - three more times. Got a voucher for a new dishwasher. Got a new, new dishwasher. Guess what happened next. I went without a dishwasher for the next several years. It just wasn't worth it.