On Appliances and 30" Doors

So, did you know that you can order appliances online? Not just from stores like Sears and such, but from slightly dodgy websites based in anonymous midwest towns and dedicated to shipping appliances to tax evaders like us. How convenient! We shopped for appliances locally but were underwhelmed by both the big box stores and by the local stores full of ex used car salesmen. We did eventually find a fridge we liked at the local place and a washer and dryer we liked at Home Depot, but buying appliances from two different places is silly. A quick search online turned up a sketchy site selling all three items at a savings of roughly $400 beyond Home Depot's memorial day sale prices. 

Excited by this new found corner of the internet, we placed our order. Then we waited. For WEEKS. It turns out the price for cheap and tax-free appliances is that they take for bloody ever to get to you. 

For about a week after we moved in, we kept some food in a cooler in the garage. Then we picked up a mini-fridge from some friends and used that for another week. (It will eventually be a brew fridge.) It doesn't have a latch - that's where the bungy cords come in. It also doesn't have a built-in temperature control - that's the box on top and the reason there are wires all over the place. 

Classy, right? 

Anyway, we're moving rapidly towards the point of this post. 

The more we tell the following story to other homeowners, the more I'm convinced that EVERY homeowner has a story like it. It's still rather embarrassing, but at least we're not alone!

I was working one last Saturday, so Devon was home alone for the appliance delivery. We paid extra to have the delivery company put the appliances in roughly the right places and take away the packing material. The washer and dryer were moved into the garage with relatively little trouble. We are irrationally excited about our new on-site laundry facilities! 

The fridge made it all the way to the front step before Devon and the delivery dudes ran into trouble. Luckily, Devon was able to take the screen door off and the delivery dudes moved the fridge as far as the dining room. 

Problem solved? Of course not!

The fridge is 33" wide - actually the smaller size available. It's standard depth, though, because someone decided that counter-depth fridges should cost more. Anyway, the door between the dining room and the kitchen is 30". 30" is, unfortunately, less than 33". 

Devon proceeded to spend a lovely weekend afternoon taking apart the house and the brand new fridge, then putting one of them back together. 

Honestly, we didn't like those bi-fold doors anyway. We'll just think of it as a chore we were going to have to do at some other point! 

Soon refrigerator parts were strewn about the dining room:

After Devon took both doors and the drawer off the fridge, it fit perfectly!

See? Plenty of room! Devon had to cut little ramps out of wood so that he could push the fridge over the threshold between the rooms. Apparently refrigerators are heavy, but I wouldn't know.  

All in all, 3 doors in the house were removed and 1 was replaced, 3 refrigerator doors were removed and replaced, one (crappy particle board) cupboard was removed and replaced, and one bit of shelving was cut off with the sawzall. 

Devon did a good day's work, don't you think?

We still can't quite believe that it never occurred to us to measure the doorways. I mean, people buy fridges all the time, right? And they all have doors in their houses, I assume. 

I don't have a picture of the lovely washer and dryer, but you can use your imagination. They are white, because white ones are cheaper. They also play songs when you turn them on and when the cycle is finished. I guess buzzers are out of style.