Among Friends

[Bird mama]

Yesterday I nearly made myself blind researching new cooktops.  My kitchen cabinetry is set up that I have a cooktop in the counter that's over the silverware drawer (at least that's what I use the drawer for) and the oven is set in to cabinets along side the other wall.

This is a novelty for me because I grew up with a fridge and stove that weren't tucked into anything - they were normal

This set up most of the time seems like a good thing - until you want to replace one of the appliances   The fridge isn't bad because I got some wiggle room.  The oven, dishwasher and cooktop are constrained by the size of the existing cut out.

I have a Dacor glass cooktop in a Bisque color.  Because the wonderful woman who sold me this house also gave me every stitch of paperwork for everything, I know she bought it and installed it in 1992.  I like the cooktop but have been on the hunt for replacement burners - the things you set a pot or pan on for years and I mean it started in the early 2000's.

I think the one set I saw was $400 and I thought not in this lifetime and then I stopped looking.  Anyways it's one of those with electronic ignition and after a while the tick-tick-tick of the ignitor would keep on even when there was a flame.  It really got on my nerves and a couple of years ago I said, that's it and I unplugged the darn thing.

I use kitchen matches to light the burners.

So..... yesterday I finally tried to remove the cooktop so I could get a proper measurement of the cut out.  My God!  I turned off the gas, removed the clips underneath and gently pushed up from the bottom as instructed.  I'm the first to admit that arm strength is not my thing.

I removed the three drawers in that cabinet, took my shoes off (had socks on), laid down on my back and scooched my butt near the cabinet so I could get my legs and feet under the cooktop.  Using my leg strength I was able to gently push and get the cooktop to release.

Well that was fascinating.  All of the cooktops that I looked at online, including another from the Dacor line, require a cut out that is bigger by an inch in the width and an inch in the depth.

It's considered a 30 inch cooktop so I looked at 27 inch cooktops to see if a smaller one would work better - nope, the cut out for those are much smaller.

I would seeing double by the time I said, you know what, just do it Bernie, get the GE one that you think you can tolerate and trim the darn countertop.  I had to do that when I installed the built in oven back in 2008.

So, this morning I ordered my cooktop from the home depot in black.  My oven was and is black and the dishwasher is black so I guess a black cooktop will be okay.  I would have preferred a bisque color but what are you gonna do.  Did you know they have 'SMART' and wifi compatible cooktops and washers?  I learned that too yesterday.  I am not having appliances that are smarter than me in this house

While I was at it I also bought a window insert for the front door.  Right now I have a window in the door that has these funky diagonal muntins on the outside of the glass.----------------------------------------------------------v

Now if the muntins were black like lead glass I probably would say, ahh just keep it.  They are plastic or something like it and you can't really paint them and they yellow and frankly they look bad.

I've watched videos and learned it's easy to replace the window in a door.  I ordered this one 

The blinds are in between 2 panels of glass.  The door is good and I don't want to replace it because the seal is airtight.  

[viva923]

hey all

birdmama this is landline phone hard wired into the house. the last time something like that hit about 15 yrs or so ago it was a wall jack went belly up.since saturday when  you disconnect the bedroom phone jack I get my computer desk phone back remainder of phones still dead., plug it back I lose the desk phone you lose desk phone. the desk phone is wired in to the new FIOS set up done in the 9o's . i think it has to do with a bad connection in bedroom.

did get walk in, tuesday chores done, have clothes to fold

not much else guys later. still humid but can feel cooler air filtering in

[geezerette]

@Bird mama 

I can relate to your stove/burner dilemma.  I had a similar one last year.

I also have a cooktop stove built in the counter.  And I have a dual oven built in to the cabinets--microwave over the conventional oven.  My husband was the brilliant one who decided to put these in when he was building our house.  I questioned it immediately:  what happens if one of them needs replacing?  I just wanted a regular stand alone stove and a separate microwave.

Well, of course you know where I'm going with this.  Last year, after he's gone of course, my microwave goes out.  Had it checked; can't be repaired.  The regular oven below was still perfectly functional, but because they're a set and built in, I had to buy both.

And, like you, my choice was limited.  To one.  I had to go with the same GE that I already had because of the opening size and the color I wanted.  At first, I debated about whether to just get a countertop microwave to use and leave the built-in as is, but then I thought about the possibility of me moving and figured a working set was pretty much necessary for a sale.  And I also thought that I'd better get it right then instead of waiting until the models changed yet again and the very real possibility of not finding any models that would fit.

It was maddening to have to shell out that much money for something that I only needed half of.  But I have a workable microwave now, even though I hate the way it works.  I swear that some of these appliances are designed by people that never use them!😖  Good luck!🤞

[geezerette]

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@viva923 wrote:

hey all

birdmama this is landline phone hard wired into the house. the last time something like that hit about 15 yrs or so ago it was a wall jack went belly up.since saturday when  you disconnect the bedroom phone jack I get my computer desk phone back remainder of phones still dead., plug it back I lose the desk phone you lose desk phone. the desk phone is wired in to the new FIOS set up done in the 9o's . i think it has to do with a bad connection in bedroom.

did get walk in, tuesday chores done, have clothes to fold

not much else guys later. still humid but can feel cooler air filtering in

---

@viva923 

My landline is hardwired too.  I have ATT.  All my phones went out the other day and I couldn't figure out the problem.  I went through all the hassle of making an appointment for them to come out, and then I happened to unplug my call blocker from the line.  That was it!  Apparently something happened to it and it knocked out all the phone extensions.

I hope you can finally get someone out and get your problem fixed once and for all!

[viva923]

hey all

results in from verizon. All my jacks are bad, tech replaced all jacks but 2 are so bad no longer usable. We are now using our old phone jacks from my dish t.v. Days golly i bet 20 yrs ago. He checked them and said they were good connection.  Every blip on the phone i wonder if lines are still bad. I worry.

got test results from blood work on the 13th . Great results, all in green range except 2 can';t remember what they were. So doing good

ok guys dinner. Tomorrow all

[Bird mama]

OMG I would have madder then a wet hen @geezerette   I had an under cabinet microwave that was above the cooktop when I bought this house.  The microwave died in the fall the year that my husband was diagnosed with cancer.  There was no way I was gonna bother him about that so I bought a regular microwave and a cute butcher block cart thingie.  The fall after he passed away I removed the microwave - my God it weighed a ton and I replaced the microwave with a range hood.

In 2007 they sold range hoods that came with a plug that you plugged into an outlet which is in the cupboard that the range hood is attached to.  I don't really like the ****** thing and thought about replacing it too.

Well, now they sell range hoods that are hard-wired.  So then I think - hard wired to what?  I am not about to futz with that outlet and remove it to hard wire it to a range hood.  They sell some crazy conversion kits to wire the range hood to a plug.  I get nervous about electrical things when I have to take a connecting flight like that to get it working.

I don't even use the stupid fan - I use the range hood light.

I have the exhaust thing set up from the days of the microwave and I'm trying to figure out what I can use to attach to the underside of the cabinet (think like a false bottom).  This way if I ditch the range hood, you won't see the exhaust hole however if I get rid of the house one day, the venting is available.

I can always attach an under cabinet light if I need one.

[Bird mama]

@viva923   I'm thinking of you and will say a prayer that your foot surgery goes well tomorrow morning 

[hellie jo]

Had my EGD today.They put a tube down your throat and into stomach and duodenum to check things out.You are asleep for this. I had to have a covid test Saturday before being admitted to hospital. So now I know  my test for Covid was negative (never a doubt in my mind).The Covid test stung a bit and brought tears to my eyes,nothing horrid.So anyway they did a biopsy and all went well,no ulcer. My pain is just gastritis.Just rested the rest of the day.

@viva923  Best wishes for your surgery tomorrow.

Have a good week all.

[viva923]

hey all

ultra busy day for me, all blended together, tomorrow all

[Bird mama]

@hellie jo   I'm sorry that you have gastritis however I'm really happy that the biopsy was negative.