Removing granite worktop

[leenowell]

Hi all

Some friends have moved into a new house some time ago and their integrated dishwasher has recently failed. Cutting a long story short it transpires t hat the precious owner has fitted very thick stone "tiles" on the floor rig ht up the dishwasher meaning that the dishwasher can not be pulled out. Onl y real option seems to be to remove the worktop above it.

The worktop piece is small covering the dishwasher plus around 300mm of the corner unit. Both ends are masticed to another piece of worktop. To add fu rther complexity, the wall tiles have been tiled down to the top of the wor ktop and there is a tap hole on one of the joints (although removing the ta p should remove that problem)

What is the best way of getting the worktop out without breaking it? My ini tial thought was to cut the mastic under the worktop with a long blade (eg those snap off ones) hoping that it is not stuck as the rear edge as that i s inaccessible due to the dishwasher being in the way. Then hoping I can le ver it up and slide out from under the tiles. Will this work?

Any ideas appreciated

Thanks

Lee.

[alan_m]

Wouldn't the appliance be shorter in height than the height of the opening. Can the appliance be lifted up before pulling it out. There may be a cosmetic blanking plate at the top/front that can be removed.

In a similar situation in my mothers' house I managed to get a washing machine out by using a sack barrow[1] at the front to lever it up and pull it out at the same time.

Sods law said the back was resting on a block of wood and getting it back in required the use of the sack barrow and a length of rope to firmly tie the appliance to the barrow to hold the back of the appliance high enough to put it back on the wood.

You can also lever up an appliance using a garden spade at the front with a scrap of wood as the fulcrum point if required. The spade also acts as a sledge to pull the appliance forward. Just watch out for cracking/chipping the edge of the tiles which may not matter if covered with a kicking board.

[1] Sack barrow

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

Bit of a long shot but I don't suppose the front feet of the dishwasher have any adjustment left so they could be wound up enough to allow them to pass over the floor tiles?

[Robin]

If it has failed terminally have you considered removing the door and then removing the front feet? (An angle grinder may assist.)

Fitting the replacement is of course another matter ;) But IIRC the "semi-integrated" models are significantly lower than free-standing models and may slide in with a suitable "ramp".

[Tim Watts]

The Miele freestanding ones have an optional "build under" replacement lid that knocks 20-30mm off the height, which would make replacement easier (once the old one is out!)

[ss]

As above, if failed terminally then I would if nothing else works get it out in pieces, sledghammers and angle grinders.

[Dave W]

It might be easier to remove the floor slab(s) in front of it.

[GB]

It's F***ing stupid to tile up to the front of any appliances, regardless of the thickness of the tiles.

I went to a well-known chain of flooring shops, and they insisted they can't fit sheet vinyl under the fridge or washing machine - both freestanding. So, the first time you pull either of those out the new vinyl will rip. Bloody cowboys!

[Tim Streater]

We recently had our kitchen redone - floor done in Amtico strips. One thing I *insisted* on was that the Amtico be put down *before* any units were installed, and that it go wall-to-wall in all directions.

That not only avoids the issue you raise, but also spillages won't overflow the flooring cover under the units, and silently rot the floorboards.

Find another installer.

[TimW]

Stone worktops could be secured with almost any kind of adhesive or mastic. there has never been a standard best practice that I am aware of but I haven't been in the trade for a few years.

I recall a wise fitter saying to put stone down on isolated blobs of silicone, never a zig-zag coating because with a blob you had some chance of getting a hack saw blade through it if you needed to get it off again. They aren't all wise men though, by any means. You will maybe just need to use patience, prudence and ingenuity and it may not even be possible to get it off without damage. You might hope that the tiles are spaced off the worktop so there is some sealant or grout you can remove to gain some play.

TW

[Brian Gaff]

Sounds like the designer used to work for Citroen cars by the design concepts employed here. Brian

[dennis]

Before you even think of removing the worktop get the install manual for the dishwasher.

On my Bosch one you put a screwdriver in a hole at the bottom and can jack the whole thing up and down by a couple of inches to allow you to slide it in and then make it flush with the worktop. I would not be surprised if others don't have similar arrangements or they would be very hard to get in and out.

[Dave Liquorice]

...

Or you can get furniture lifters, first hit with decent piccy:

/dp/B075XF8TGL

Aldidle have something similar occasionally. Pretty good, lift and move a bit with the lever to get the roller pads underneath. You do need something smooth and hard for the rollers to run on though, they are too small for carpet.