So, somehow we had a rubber spatula fall on to the heating element in our dishwasher, where it proceeded to melt everywhere. We wanted a new dishwasher anyways, so this was a small blessing in disguise. Now the problem...
We had hardwood floors put in the kitchen, and the bottom of the dishwasher is now "walled" behind the new floor so that it won't slide out anymore. We have new granite countertops above it, so removing the counter won't work.
I think that with enough pulling and tugging, we may be able to squeeze the washer out, but I'm afraid it will damage the floor while I'm doing it.
Is it possible to completely disassemble a dishwasher so that it will come out in pieces? Anyone run into this before?
That's nothing. Just scrape off what you can and then use the dishwasher as normally. Eventually the pieces will fall off, and come to rest in the food filter where you can pick them up like food.
I had a similar problem and considered hack sawing off the legs and if that didn't work, hack sawing the u-shaped bracket that held the legs.
That would have given me plenty of room to remove the dishwasher but as mm says, we'd still need to get the new one in so the problem didn't go away.
the lower framework of a dishwasher is usually not made of much. You may be able to get a hacksaw in there and cut an inch or so off the bottom. 'Course that leaves the motor, and they're usually pretty close to the floor also... Just a thought.
Give some thought to the real possibility that after trying extreme and Draconian measures (including chopping and hacking and sawing), you still can't get it out. You will have what looks like a miniature car wreck under your counter.
That's the punishment you get for doing something really stupid like installing a floor over an existing floor instead or removeing the existing floor and replacing it.
Totally agree. The floor installer was probably not a very experienced person or he would have pointed that out. So at this point, the only logical thing to do is carefully disassemble and remove the entire counter and top, install flooring under the counter area to the same height as the new hardwood and reinstall the counter sans dishwasher. Although this sounds like a whole bunch of work, it isn't really all that tedious. A good journeyman would have it done before lunch. Good luck.
Totally agree. The floor installer was probably not a very experienced person or he would have pointed that out. So at this point, the only logical thing to do is carefully disassemble and remove the entire counter and top, install flooring under the counter area to the same height as the new hardwood and reinstall the counter sans dishwasher. Although this sounds like a whole bunch of work, it isn't really all that tedious. A good journeyman would have it done before lunch. Good luck.
To make that work I think you'd have to remove all of the cabinets to put flooring under them. Like someone else said, it may be possible to adjust the feet enough to get the clearance.
Well, if he's going to do all this, he needn't do what follows. He can take off the counter (including the sink if it is there) and put in the new dishwasher, then put the counter back on. My dishwasher has lasted 29 years. (although I've heard new ones don't last that long, I'm not totally convinced. Of course I live alone and don't use mine unless it is full.)
But his new one will still last another 10 or 15 years. By then other things may have changed. Of course like I say, he can just keep using the DW he has. If there is still a long rod stuck to the heater coil, he can cut most of it off with wire cutters or a saw. The rest will fall off, or can be pushed off with one's fingers, or it won't matter that it is there.
He can also cut out a few pieces of the hardwood floor, and later repalce them in a way that is less permanent, with some sort of strip to fill in the kerf if it is wide enough. I'm not sure I like this idea though. When I started I thought maybe only a foot would have to be removed but now I'm not sure it would be so little.
He can also shop for a new DW which either has adjustable legs or he can make them adjustable before installation. He can cut off the legs and replace them with angle iron, with drilling two holes in the leg stubs and the leg extensions, to be assembled after installation.
I don't think the motor is low enough, in the ones I've seen, to prevent removal and reinstallation.
I've had 3 DW's in my kitchen since moving in and none of them had any wood between the DW and the bottom of the counter. The DW has always filled the hole completely.
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