Which to Do First When Buying the Kitchen: The Countertops or New Appliances?

Remodeling jobs modernize the texture of a house more than an updated kitchen. New appliances and countertops are each cook’s dream but a small preparation will be in order to ensure results. With a variety of countertop materials from which to choose and today’s new appliance styles, installing the elements in the order is essential.

The Kitchen Plan

Countertop design usually revolves round the appliance specifications. If you’re going to install any specialty type of appliances, like a range that is wider or narrower than the 30 inches, a drop-in cook top or a off-size refrigerator, you’ll need the blower measurements. If you’re not revising the cabinet configuration, however, the appliances should match the size of the appliances that are present.

Countertop Factors

Countertop’s type you select determines how it’s installed. When the countertop is laminate and in good shape, you can install new laminate right on top. If you want a strong composite-type countertop, a poured concrete top, the whole existing top must come off, revealing the cabinet bases. The new countertop base should be built to the specs. By way of instance, once you’re installing post-form countertops they break on the cabinet base. Granite slabs might require a foundation layer of plywood, though concrete plank might be required by a ceramic tile manufacturer as a base.

Appliances and Fixtures

The dishwasher inserts below the counter so it doesn’t alter the countertop arrangement. The same holds true for a trash compactor and other appliances. You might need to accommodate the edge of the countertop adjacent to the refrigerator so it doesn’t extend in the space allocated to the refrigerator if the refrigerator is a tight fit. Check local codes to ascertain the type of exhaust port required for your cooktop and microwave when you’re going with a cabinet configuration. Cooktops with vents that are built in right behind the appliance might require adapting the countertop backsplash to fit.

Countertops Go On First

The countertop must be set up, before you’re able to drop in slip or a selection in an dishwasher. Using a paper template of this countertop configuration, for example, placement of appliances and fixtures, such as the sink, will help you identify problems before you install the countertop. In some type of countertops, in advance , framed block workouts that represent the sink and range are built such as poured cement. When measuring for block workouts or cutouts, don’t measure the true appliance, then use the”rough in” dimensions provided by the appliance, or sink, manufacturer. Countertop materials are generally pricey so the old carpenter adage,”measure twice,cut once” holds true.

Appliances: The End Touch

Place and plumb the sink prior to installing the dishwasher, which depends on linking to the sink’s water supply and drain lines. If your slide-in range, dishwasher or refrigerator appears out-of-whack initially, don’t fret. The legs below these appliances are individually adjustable so that you may raise or lower each corner till the appliances are plumb and level.

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