A DIY success

Micah and I just experienced our first true DIY project success in the new house. With it, we also experienced all that comes with DIY projects: taking more time than you expect, encountering issues that you didn’t expect, and costing more than you were thinking because you need tools and supplies that you don’t currently own. But nonetheless…we did it!

The problem:

Picture from staging photos

See that red circle? That’s a nice range hood. But…there’s no place for a microwave in our kitchen unless we want to take up a good amount of counter space.

The solution:

Install an over-the-range microwave. This is typically a $150 – $200 installation fee with the purchase of a new microwave. That’s absurd. That’s more than the price of the microwave!

The reality:

Our plan was to remove existing hood, install new microwave. We were thinking an hour or two at the most. But upon removal of the existing hood – we saw it wasn’t going to be that easy.

Day 1: See that the project won’t be just two hours, watch several YouTube videos on electrical wiring, come up with game plan, check for tools that you don’t have, purchase tools that you don’t have, run out of time and energy to continue project work that day.

Day 2: Muster up energy and motivation to tackle undesirable project, rewatch YouTube videos, start playing with power tools, wire in an electrical outlet, celebrate mini-success that new outlet actually works, deal with complex microwave install instructions, install microwave, see that original drill holes aren’t in the right place, drill new holes, install microwave…and enjoy success that microwave works, microwave is level, and microwave isn’t falling down.

Yay!!!!