Just ONCE it would be nice to have a project go exactly as planned… for instance, “Buy a new refrigerator and install it in a couple of hours!” Yeah, right… not in our house! Sometimes it takes us forever and then some to come up with the right plan for this crooked little house of ours. Well, it’s not “always” because things are crooked, but a lot of the time it is…
So this is what has happened since we bought the frig and got it moved into our kitchen… the plan was to open up the back of the wall behind where it will be sitting because it happened to be a little bit deeper than our original refrigerator… That sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Well, that’s not even close to what we had to do! We did get that hole cut out yesterday and thought it was just a matter of pushing it back into the space, plug it in and VIOLA! it would be done…
Well, let me tell you, it didn’t happen quite like that…
My hubby had to move the outlet from the inside wall where it used to be to the hallway wall so the frig can be pushed back as far as necessary to make it not stand out in the kitchen so much.
Then one of my jobs was the fill in the space where the wall used to be with bits and pieces of left over flooring… just to make it level.
We then thought we were ready to do a trial fit and see how things looked with the frig slid in place…
…but it stuck out too far and was “stuck” on the left side at the bottom and loose between the stars…
…and on the right side it was WAY TOO TIGHT by the upper cabinets…
So my hubby tried shaving off some of the edge of the wall on the left side…
…and when we tired again, it still wasn’t much better… so we began brainstorming about taking off some of those boards on the left side of the opening… that would be a lot of work and it would still have to be covered with something so that wasn’t a very good solution…
So we looked at the right side of the frig… the cabinets were just too close to let the frig slide in like it should…
So… we both decided to move the base cabinets over first about 1/2″ and see what happened… it was still getting stuck at the top… so we reluctantly decided we would have to unload everything in the upper cabinets and move them over the same as the base cabinets… It wasn’t going to be super hard to do but just time consuming… Oh well, at least this should work… (they were already screwed together in one big section, and that helped!)
So we took off the countertop on that section of base cabinets, he found 2 boards to lay across the top and then we stacked 2 coolers upside down and added pillows to cushion the upper cabinets when we took them down… and rested them on the pillows.
Once the cabinets on the wall and the bases were moved over a bit we could work at getting the frig in place much easier… It slid in easily and with some adjusting and one board in the back, it was almost perfectly level…
AND it went back even farther than my other frig. My almond frig had to be away from the wall about 3-4″ because of the water line to the ice maker, but since this one doesn’t have an ice maker it can go back as far as we need it to…
Here is a picture of the almond one…it stuck out at least 3-4 inches more than this one does…
It has hinges that they call hidden and they kind of go in on themselves as you open the door, so when you open it they don’t hit anything on the sides. We were able to push the frig back to where the doors seal is and it still doesn’t touch the wall. I love that part of it…
I also have left the protective film on it until we get finished with putting the cabinets beside and above it… just for protection…
I LOVE the bright white lights inside the refrigerator. There is one light at the top and one in the middle that shines on the crisper drawers and it’s truly wonderful… I may have been found opening the door and just staring in at it… :o)
I’ve never had a frig with those big shelves in the door…and I think I’m REALLY going to like them… I just kind of put like things together in them to see how much they would hold…
So it’s a wreck in my kitchen but things are looking up. We quit about 7 p.m. tonight because we were pooped… but I’m hoping we can get those cabinets screwed back up and my kitchen back in order… I’m not liking it messy like this…
I know this sounds goofy, but when you come from the back of the house and turn into the kitchen, there by the back door, it just seems bigger and brighter and I know what it is… our old frig stood out so much from the wall, when you first walked into the kitchen, it blocked your view of things until you got all the way around the frig, but now our new refrigerator is back far enough, when you walk into the kitchen, it feels like a totally different room… see I told you it was goofy, but it really is true! Even my hubby said so!
So, while I didn’t get any sewing done today, I did use scissors, (big vinyl snips) to cut those floor pieces…
Don’t worry, I’ll be back to sewing before you know it!
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh Jeanne, that last picture is wonderful, and I didn’t even notice that it had things cluttered on the counter and that the top cabinets next to the fridge weren’t up! The new refrigerator goes so well and it looks like it fits like a charm, but now we know how much “charm” was involved! I’m wondering what would have happened if you had Lowe’s do the installing. Would they have gone to all the trouble to make it fit? I do doubt it!
The door shelves look like mine, and can be adjusted to different spacing, and yes, mine are always full too! I love the clean, white light inside, but of course once you get more food in there, it does block the light a bit. I’m glad you both are happy with it, and now your kitchen is really looking like a “model” kitchen!
HI Linda,
Just wait till you see tomorrow’s kitchen pictures. I can’t wait to share them… I do like this new frig… so does my hubby! My kitchen is all done… except for one or 2 little minor things I still want to do…
I’m pretty sure Lowe’s wouldn’t have done it as well as we did… not to brag, but we knew what we wanted and just went for it… it took us 2 days, but that’s okay…what else were we going to do? :o)
I am just about as thrilled as I’ve ever been… it’s nice to be done in the kitchen… let’s see, what can I do next?
We had just been talking about getting flooring for the back of the house and our bedroom… in fact, I measured the sitting room and our bedroom and made diagrams of how many square feet of vinyl plank flooring it would take to do it all… then the next day our frig went out… so I guess that’s on hold for a little while longer…
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
My first thought, Jeanne, was, Aren’t you glad your fridge didn’t go beside the cabinet holding the sink?! You wouldn’t have been able to move That one over very easily at all!!
All that lovely light inside is just wonderful! My new (1-1/2 years ago) fridge also has better lighting than my old one. The old one had one little bulb way up in the back corner; this one has one bulb but it is sort of “front and center”. Makes a big difference!
Your new fridge does look so nice where it is now; so glad you and George were able to figure things out, and it all worked just fine in the end! Now to get that overhead cabinet screwed in place!
HI Charlotte,
Yes, I am very happy that the frig was in a wall that could be opened up in the back…
The bright lights inside is one of my favorite things about it… and the shelves in the door… good grief, how can I be so giddy over a refrigerator?
Those upper cabinets are all finished, Charlotte… wait till tomorrow and you can see it!
Blessings, Jeanne
You and George remind me of my parents, who also did lots and lots of projects together, some just hard work and some pretty unpleasant hard work. There were a fair number of “maybe if we try” solutions. Some of my friends moved in next door to my parents and began a major remodel. My parents said, “They work as hard as we did.” They had never seen anyone do that before. My mom would have liked this blog. She could say, “Look, Virgil. See what they are doing now?” Or she might not have called his attention to some projects, not wanting to become involved in something similar.
The Mayo Clinic asked my dad, who had gone there for a check-up, what he did to stay in shape. He said, “I work.” They said, “No, we mean like bicycling or running or…” He said, “No, you don’t understand. I work all the time.” It was true — and like you two, there was very little they couldn’t do, and very little they didn’t do.
I too have a new refrigerator. In fact, I spent my last month in rehab waiting for appliances to be installed, because I couldn’t get along without them or be around installers in the early days of the pandemic. Mine’s black, but it has the same lovely bright light and the same wide door storage as yours. It’s perfectly lovely. You are going to love yours.
Thank you for that story about your parents, Marilyn,
I feel like that’s kind of like a little tribute to our hard work… who else would have taken 2 -1/2 days to get a frig in place? Nobody but us… it’s done right and the labor was free!
When we got it finally in place, we actually did a little happy dance right under Chandi! :o)
I already do love my frig and told my hubby, “woe to the person who puts the first scratch on it!” :o)
Thank you for your wonderful stories of your dad and mom…
George was measuring the top of the cabinet over the frig this afternoon and said out loud… Left – 3/8″ – Right, 3/4″ and I said we should write and book and that could be the title! But somehow it ended up being pretty evenly spaced up there…
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Well things are looking up and down and in between at the Weidlocker home. Tight squeeze and so glad you have those hidden hinges on the refrigerator that I mentioned earlier. Nothing like trying to open the door and hitting the countertop edge next to it. So sorry it was necessary to mess up all of your hard work, but everything will get back to normal soon. The new refrigerator looks great and really does expand the look of the room.
Still working on the Sew along. I keep changing things around. In the middle of the night, I remembered that I hadn’t seen one of the many pattern pieces that goes to the outfit top in awhile. I looked this morning and nope, can’t find it. Guess I will have to go through all of the bits and pieces and see if it can be found. Maybe it is under the couch? If not, plan B. I’m usually very careful to return small pattern pieces to their awaiting plastic bag, but this time, no. Going to be late again posting a picture because tomorrow the next pattern comes out.
So glad “The Refrigerator Dilemma” has been solved. Almost like a mystery novel eh? Can’t wait for the all back in place photo, but please take care of yourselves. You both deserve a big reward. 🙂
I have a policy that I never empty the sewing room trash can until a project is totally finished. I’ve sometimes left pattern pieces behind when I cut out the pattern or have looked high and low for a piece like a collar or waistband only to find them in the trash can, don’t ask me how. Hopefully you have found your piece by now.
Yep, found the missing piece. 🙂
HI Joy,
Yes, my kitchen is all done… Hallelujah! I just want to put up one little piece of trim along the top corner cabinet over the frig. It had to be moved over about 3/4 of an inch, so I already have the trim cut and primed and painted one coat… will get the second coat tomorrow and be put up…
Joy, it is wonderful… and I can hardly believe it’s all done… We must be the slowest renovators on earth, but at least we know it’s done right! I love everything in my new kitchen… tomorrow… new pictures… Sorry everyone!
Sometimes I’m guilty of putting pieces of a pattern in the wrong envelope when I’m doing a little swapping of pieces… drives me crazy to track down the missing piece… Glad you found yours… I hope your next dress will be problem free!
Thanks Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
and they all lived together in a little crooked house.
Your dilemma just reminded me of this poem. Our house is newer than yours (1945) but it was built by the builder who lived in it so things are a amazingly plumb. Certainly better than a friend of mine who has a much newer home but when you sit it her living room and look up the hall you can see how much the long wall curves. My hubby has been involved in home building and he always looked out for things like this and had it fixed.
Your new refrigerator looks lovely in your new kitchen. I’ve been in the midst of enough renos that I can look past all the tools and the yet-to-be-dones and see the finished product. Probably by now most of that has been taken care of.
HI Barbara,
That should be our theme song for this house because it really is pretty crooked… I guess old rough sawn oak 3″ thick boards just have more “character” than the 2x 4’s of today… and with character comes curves… :o)
It’s all cleaned up now and tomorrow I’ll show some final pictures of the kitchen… I am more pleased than anyone can imagine… I love everything about my new kitchen… I feel like I’m going to burst!
Thanks Barbara,
Blessings, Jeanne
You two deserve a break after the fridge installation. Maybe a day garage saleing? It is nice that it is flush with the cabinets too I like the lights in mine too, When you open the door they go from dim to bright… kind of fun! My Meadow doll arrived and you will laugh when you see it dressed. Will send some pics later. Not sure why but the roses, the nearly wild and shrub roses are blooming like crazy this year… tea roses too.
Enjoy the whole new kitchen !
HI Kathie,
We finished it ALL Kathie! My kitchen is done! A day shopping at yard sales sounds fun! I just love everything about it! My hubby and I actually did a little happy dance in the middle of the kitchen floor when he put that last screw in the cabinets!
Well CONGRATULATIONS on Giggi finally arriving at your house… I hope she was one of the ones who didn’t have scratches on her cheeks from the face guard. I read that so many had scratches or rubs and Miroslava was refunding money to everyone so you could have it taken care of… I can’t wait to see pictures of her… :o)
Enjoy all your roses too! A new bouquet every few days! :o)
Thanks Kathie,
Blessings, Jeanne
What an amazing couple you are! I’m always amazed at what George does but also at what you do. You are the perfect builder’s mate! I have to agree that the kitchen does look better with the fridge further back. When I first moved in with dad he lived in a very small unit, the end one of 5. The laundry was an alcove with a tub and space for a washing machine. The fridge/freezer sat in the only space for it (it was a very small kitchen) in front of the alcove. My son suggested that we got rid of the tub and put the washing machine in that space and the fridge next to it. What a difference it made. When we moved to Medway St, again we had a very small, inconvenient kitchen (with no space for a fridge let alone a dishwasher) and a relatively large laundry. Knocking the wall out to incorporate both was an option but I would lose the space where the cooker was and there wasn’t anywhere else for it to go. So we turned the laundry into a kind of butler’s pantry with the washing machine, dishwasher, fridge and microwave in there. The last of the work, the tiling, was finished Feb 2010. A year later the house was red zoned and we had to find a new one!
Thank you Anne,
My hubby and I do work very well together… he told me one time he’d rather work with me than anyone else… I think we think alike and that helps when you are trying to solve problems.
It’s nice when you can move things around and make it more efficient… I am very happy that the frig could be moved back further… that was what I was most concerned about… our old frig was 29 1/2″ deep and this new one was 33 1/2″ deep… BUT because it didn’t have the ice maker and could be pushed back to the wall, it made all the difference.
How awful that you got everything just the way you wanted and then you had to move! I would be heartbroken now if we had to move… so sorry it happened to you…
Thanks Anne,
Blessings, Jeanne
Good work reconfiguring that space for the fridge! You two are problem solvers. While I was following your progress I kept thinking about those beautiful freshly painted cabinets. I know it must have crossed your mind too. Our kitchen predates our refrigerator only 5 years but in that time everything changed in the world of appliances and bigger became the norm. It sticks out beyond the cabinets at least 6 inches blocking the entry way to the kitchen. Enjoy all that coldness and space!
Thank you Debbie,
We ARE problem solvers because just about everything we’ve ever tried to fix or change in this house has had its fair share of problems…
I guess in the beginning, I just thought we’d measure our old frig and buy a new one that same size… well… that didn’t happen! I am very happy with the new frig and especially how it was able to be moved farther back and into the wall opening.
Tomorrow I’ll show some final pictures of my kitchen… I guess Take Two!
Thanks Debbie,
Blessings, Jeanne
Congratulations on a beautiful kitchen with a new refrigerator. Think about it, you will have peace of mind for a while and be able to sew happily. Greetings.
Thank you Alina,
Yes, I don’t have to worry about my kitchen any more…it’s ALL done… and I can return to sewing… :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
Boy, Jeanne. I sure know about crooked houses. Ours was built 1904 and originally was Salida brick, so some walls are incredibly thick and floors needed a lot of leveling. Very sorry that after feeling you were done, you have had to things take apart and live with a mess again. You and George are troopers and thank Heaven you have the skills and tools.
When you said you needed a new fridge, I didn’t want to mention that one of our sons waited 9 months to get his new fridge. Covid really put a huge dent in getting items and prices soared. You were lucky to find this one and very smart to grab it. From what I have seen of the work you two do, this will turn out really well. Just sorry that it had to be a production after all the work to finally complete the kitchen. 😣
The slip arrived and we love it. Thank you! 😘
HI Sally,
I think it’s funny that my frig has worked perfectly for 22 years and then 2 weeks after I got my kitchen all done, it conked out… I was sorry that we were going to have to do some more work, but it was kind of a bummer that I had a new white kitchen… well “almost” all white… my frig was almond that had yellowed pretty badly.. So really… I was a bit excited to be able to get a new frig.
I’m so glad the Lord saved that one at Lowe’s for us… I think we’d still be looking if we hadn’t snapped that one up… they were really hard to find… and the price was wonderful…as far as prices go…
I’m going to show new pictures tomorrow… taken by me and very much enjoyed doing it… We are truly blessed to have this kitchen for our very own! :o)
Thanks Sally,
blessings, Jeanne