About a year and a half ago, our dishwasher broke. We had to buy a new one and install it. After a few hiccups, we were successful in installing it and it works perfectly.
Two weeks ago, our microwave broke. It had been making a weird noise for the last almost 4 years so I was not surprised. We were very proactive and went to remove it the next day. The uninstall/removal process was killer.
Two weeks ago, our microwave broke. It had been making a weird noise for the last almost 4 years so I was not surprised. We were very proactive and went to remove it the next day. The uninstall/removal process was killer.
Before we knew anything was wrong...
We watched some videos on youtube that made it look super easy. Little did we know that the microwave we had was installed on some kind of incorrect bracket and the bracket was installed incorrectly to the wall (hanging on by three points instead of four). After lots of tugging and frustration, we finally got it down.
Nate has it propped up with a table on the left and the faulty bracket (you can see the top left part not attached) on the right.
After we finally (finally!!) got it down, we realized that not only was that wall the wrong color (not the same color as the rest of the apartment), but due to the faulty bracket, there was a fun-sized hole in it. I patched it up using spackle (I used this DryDex spackle that went on pink and dried to white -- very handy!) and then painted the wall with two coats of paint. I also used this opportunity to patch up and paint other areas around the apartment that needed a bit of attention (mainly the light switch in the bathroom that was covered with caulk that had started peeling off -- eww! It's all fixed now so that is awesome!).
After everything was ready to go, what did we do? Well, Nate drove around with the purchased microwave in the trunk of the car for a good week or so. Of course. We were very busy in this time so it was sort of understandable. But only sort of.
Finally, we had enough time to install it (this was this last Friday night). That is when we started reading the instructions and realized that we needed a drill. We borrowed a drill from a neighbor and were ready to go. Except, now we needed a 5/8'' drill bit. After a crazy search around the lab and texting pretty much everyone we knew in a good 10 block radius, we were able to borrow a 5/8'' drill bit from Will (this was Saturday morning).
Once the template was up, we drilled some holes, located some studs, and made sure everything was level. Using those holes, we added the bracket (once again, making sure everything was level -- our cabinets are NOT level -- based on everything else in this apartment, I'm sure you're not surprised). There was also a template for the top of the cabinet that we taped up and drilled those holes. Everything was so simple and easy!!
Once the bracket was in place and the holes in the cabinet were drilled, we easily put up the microwave and everything popped right in place! We attached the screws through the top cabinet (which to our surprise worked perfectly fine and straight) and it was perfectly in place! It looks so nice. I was surprised I had no pictures between the bracket and the finished product but it was so easy that there was no time for pictures (Nate says it was because we were holding it up but even if that's true we were only holding it up for a few minutes).
So, in the end, it was much easier to install this microwave than to uninstall the last one (mostly because the last one's bracket was so messed up!). And now, we have officially replaced half the kitchen appliances in this apartment! I predict the next one to kick the bucket will be the washer/dryer but I hope that will not be for a long time!
