Planning and final choosing of kitchen appliances on this job – a Colonial renovation. I went to the dealer who I normally use because he realy knows his stuff to get “educated before I meet with the customer next monday.
I’ll share what I think he told me and see what feedback and experiences you all have for us.
Refers:
Between Sub-Zero and Viking, he felt that the Viking was the more dependable slightly, but comparing volumns, the subzero offered more CuFt of usable space inside. The Viking had a smaller vent space showing at the top of the unit, but with SubZ, you can cover that space in the overlay model.
Dishwashers:
We are likely to want the SS front so almost any one works in a fairly quite unit between 7-8 bills, but if we want to go to a cabinet style wood fron, we get up into the $1000-1200 range. The Viking unit is made by Asko so move to Asko if covering with wood front but then if you go that way, the Bosch unit makes it easier to mount the wood panel; and is rated a bit higher for dependability.
I have good thoughts overall with Asko because of past customer comments. We havce installed about eight of them over the past several years but have had a couple callbacks and they ain’t cheap to fix. The plumbers don’t like them to install, mostly because they are slightly different than the American configurations. But I’ve had two customer comment that they had to keep openning the door at first to be sure that it was even running because it is so quiet. Joe asures me that Bosch is in the same category for quite dishwashers.
Range hoods:
What can I say. They suck!
Range – this customer supplied an ancient thing themselves so I need to compliment it with the hood style. I migtht buy components and build a wood surrond.
laundry – Washer and dryer.
They already have the Maytag Neptunes in all their other properties so it may go this way so they don’t need to learn new skills to wash the clothes, but the Whirlpool front loaders looked pretty decent, the colours offered look good with the paint chosen for those walls, and they have more useable space on top fopr folding or piling the clothes after cleaned and dryed. An additional plus is that they can be had with a drawer in under instead of building an elevation base in the room. Another option we studied is the Bosch front loaders. Apparently, they are highly rated in terms of reliability and low water useage. They are pretty machines, like the Neptunes, but they sacrifice a lot of the top fron to the control system. We aren’t flying a 757 for crying out loud.
Just thought I’d compare what I ran across and see if any of you had other suggestions and feedback.
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Replies
i can vouch for the Whirlpool Duet series washer/Dryer. Have a Duet HT washer (has sanitarity wash) and the dryer. Total thumbs up. Id buy again in a heartbeat. Ive had that washer take out sweatshirts covered with drywall mud, plain mud and other stains and they take them out.
I suggest getting the bases to lift the washer and dryer up, they help you not bend over as much to transfer loads.
A buddy of mine has the neptune series, likes them alot. His dad is an appliance repair man and he likes the whirlpools over the maytags. But in a toss up he would take either in his home, but would lean to the whirlpool.
That was the comment I heard today - that there are fewer serevice callbacks on the whirlpool series.
Notre that the Neptunes were all the rage three years ago with pioneereing the front loaders which are definitely better than the old top loaders, but - Theyare now commonly marketed by HD and low cost box stores and the efficiency ratings do not measur eup to these newest members of the species - at least on paper
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Here's my minuuuuute experience in swanky appliances.
The lone sub zero I've supplied was spec'd by the customer. They love it. Getting it in the house b/4 the 7 grand worth of bamboo was down was a god send. Sombitch is one heavy unit. The water hook up on the bottom is a PIA. The interior is lit up better than the kitchen itself. All in all, a good bit of reefer for the exhorbitant price.
Bosch DW. Great to install. Mounts to the cabs rather than to the top. W/granite, a good thing. All levelors accessible w/screws up front. A breeze. Plenty of room inside, customer loves it. Beware, the sweeping handle sticks out a good bit. Make sure you have enough fill on an opposing cab in a corner where the drawer or door hiding pull out trays might become a problem.
that's it from frugalville.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Thanks for that.
In my Opinion, all top end units have their own peculiarities rthat require patience to install asyou refered rto with the sub Z. One reason I used the terminology I did for range hoods. There isn't any more burdensome unit in the whole house to install than this. I have considered buying components and building the surrond top match the cabinetry, but now that they are turning from the nice antique stain to a painted cab, it isn't worth the troubles. A SS hood will have to satisfy them.
On the Bosch DW, the easy install and remount of wood face plate is what he stressed, in addition to dependable ratings. Tjhe layuout keeps this unit far from the dining roo so the npoise is less of an issue than in some other homes where the DW is in the butlker's pantry right next to a formal dining room.
Even if I go wityh SS on the other appliances, I will push for a wood face on the DW because it is in line with sitghtline when you foirst walk fro dining area into kitchen, so if the colonial style and theme is more important to them than cost, they will agree.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
When considering high end stainless steel fridges, don't leave the GE Monogram series out of consideration. We looked at the Sub-Zero and Viking as well. We learned that, down here, at least, Sub-Zeros have had a lot of service issues. The Viking and the GE Monogram were similarly priced, so we went with the one that had a better handle: the GE Monogram comes with a nice tubular steel handle that feels right.
This is a cabinet depth fridge in an over/under configuration. We got the 36" wide model on account of space constraints, but it comes in a wider version. It is smaller than the freestanding fridge we had before, but so far, so good. And I'm someone who likes to cook (especially on our Wolf gas rangetop with its infrared grill, but that's a different story).
Just my two cents.
--Olsh
You are right about range hoods. there isnt much for off the shelf decent looking to match cabinetry. your best bet is to buy the fan/light unit and build your own surround.
this one I built for a client. I wish I had a finished picture.the flat spot between the mouldings had an embossed tile installed
Opinions? Here's mine:
I think the "built-in" style, countertop depth refrigerators are close to worthless, for the cost and the difficulty in getting a large pizza box or tray to lay flat in there. Also think the larger side-by-sides are crap for the same reason. Others may like them but I don't. For commercial high end, a dedicated refrigerator and separate freezer, like a True or Traulsen. I like the Kenmore Trio (a Maytag in disguise) for my own kitchen.
Range - local dealer told me Viking has a bad service rep, so does Thermador and DCS. He recommended Blue Star, which is made by Prizer-Painter and an offshoot of Garland. Have no experience with range hoods. I'm putting in the 36" Blue Star 6-burner gas range with infrared broiler.
Dishwasher, my personal preference would be a commercial under-counter Hobart, but for those who prefer appearance over functionality, a Miele or Asko. Bosch seems nice, but I've again heard not-so-good things about reliability. Haven't decided yet.
Washer-dryer. Just bought a Kenmore Elite He3 pair, in Graphite, was told they were top-rated, made by Whirlpool (same as the Duet) and a bit better quality (why? I dunno.) We'll see, but anything new has got to be better than a GE top-loader that convulses and leaks, and a vintage GE dryer that has two settings - off and burn. I like the capacity and low water use for my family of five, soon to be six. Three kids and me, the dad, playing every sport possible, makes a mess.