dishwasher install

[Sasquatch69]

Our 20-year-old dishwasher died, so after getting a check for a replacement from our home warranty company this week, we are planning to go buy a new one this weekend. I found a good sale at Best Buy, and I am told they will do delivery and installation for about $130 extra, plus a mail-in rebate for the $50 delivery portion of that cost.

So here's my question: Has anyone used Best Buy for appliance installation, and if so, were you happy with the experience? And secondly, should I expect "hidden fees" that may be added to what I was quoted?

Also, has anyone done the same thing at Lowe's? If so, how much did that cost?

 

[WithoutAClue]

I just bought a dishwasher from Lowe's last Friday and they
installed it Monday afternoon. They charged me $95 to deliver
and install the new machine and haul away the old one. The
guy was in and out inside 45 minutes, even with some minor
glitches with my cut-off valve. I'm happy.

 

[NickDanger]

A dishwasher install is about as complicated as making toast. I'd expect you'll not be disappointed with the install. Can't say about hidden fees.

 

[goofybevo]

You should follow the Hayden_Horn/goofybevo "How Hard Could it Be?" model of home improvement, and do it yourself. We've done all sorts of stuff to Hayden's house, and have yet to destroy anything or be seriously electrocuted.

It also works for roasting a pig.

 

[jmatt]

We had Lowe's (the one in Round Rock) install one about a year and a half ago. Not pleased at all.

The door on the washer was damaged (apparently it had been dropped in the warehouse - and they knew it, even admitted it later on). And they still sent it out and installed it. The damage wasn't noticeable until after we had run it a couple of times (about a week later) when it started to leak.

When I called, they [sarcasm]politely[/sarcasm] told me it was my problem, but that for an additional installation and a return fee, they would replace it. F that...

A kudo though, we called the MFR and they sent someone right out and replaced the entire DW - no charge. The guy said that we weren't the first (or second or third) person to have problems with that particular Lowe's.

I've not dealt with Lowe's since.

 

[horn4life]

If you have a truck or van to get the unit home I would spend the extra money on the unit and install it myself.

the only thing you need to do is disconnect the electricity. Most DW's have a switch on the wall to kill the electricity.

I might also scour sratch and dent for a better moedl as well.

 

[lostman]

We just had Best Buy install our dishwasher a couple months ago - no problem, no hidden costs. Of course they will ask if you want to pay for the extended warranty and $10 for the BB card that racks up points or some such nonsense.

We did consider doing the install ourselves, except that BB also hauls your old one away and that was a good thing. The old one stopped working and had a bunch of slimy, smelly water in the bottom. I did not want to mess with it, and gladly paid someone else to do it and take it away.

No problems.

 

[minkwonee]

Install it yourself!! Save big bucks. Also you can buy NEW SCRATCH AND DENT stuff at either ABC Appliancs on Lamar or Appliance Associates on Romeria for a lot less money but with their full manufacturer warrantys.

to install:

1) Disconnect Electricity - Either an actual switch in the kitchen that turns off/on the power or the braker to the kitchen appliances.
2) Remove 2 screws right above door and just below counter. These are the only 2 screws holding the dishwasher in it's spot.
3) Depending on your dishwaser, undo the power source that's in the bottom. More than likely, it will be inside a little steel box. Very easy to do and self explanatory once you see it. You may have to remove the front bottom cover of the dishwasher which is just 2 more screws.
3) Slide out dishwasher and remove the 1) Drain Hose and 2) Water Supply Hose. Make sure you've turned off the water.
4) Remove dishwasher entirely.
5) Install new dishwasher in reverse order.

It really is easy. Also, ABC Appliances let's anyone dispose of their appliances for free. They recycle.

 

[Sasquatch69]

Thanks for the advice, all. We ended up deciding to do it ourselves, partially so we could buy a nicer unit and partially because we discovered our opening is only 33.7" high instead of 34", so all the less expensive GE-made units were out of the question. We found a great deal on a Maytag through Home Depot, so we got it home. Figured it would be easy given the instructions I had found online (as well as those posted here). How wrong I was...

First, we discovered once we removed the kick panel that the adjustable feet on the old unit were rusted through and immovable. The unit wouldn't budge with them on, so we used a combination of Dremel and hammer/chisel to bust them up. We thought that would do the trick.

The problem was that the large metal pieces that the bolts were
attached to still would not clear the edge of the tile. After trying
everything we could think of, the wife and I ended up having to chisel out the grout from around the three tiles in front of the dishwasher, and pry them up. This took forever, and in the process two of them cracked in several places so we're going to have to replace them (luckily there are several extra tiles in the garage so we'll be OK there).

Once we did that, I discovered the old copper hot-water line had rusted and fused to the connector on the dishwasher, so I had to
Dremel through that as well. The drain line came off OK, but a nice
sludge of funk oozed out of it onto the kitchen floor.

We finally got the old dishwasher completely disconnected and out into the middle of the kitchen, scooted it out the living room and front door on double-layer cardboard, and then turned it end over end out to the curb for bulky-trash pickup. The damn thing was rusted throughout on the bottom, and had numerous other problems, so I'm glad to see it go - I just wish we hadn't had to tear up our kitchen to do so.

We'll start installing the new one after we get back from church in
the morning. Whee......

 

[Clarence Iba]

I'm going to attempt this in a month or so. Hopefully I won't have any issues!

 

[Snoop_Dogg]

Getting the old POS out is the biggest hassle. That was our biggest problem when we had to do this last year. Once we got the old one out, hooking the new one was a simple as getting the right fitting. For some reaosn, the fitting on the hot watter was smaller than what the dishwasher came equiped with, so went to home depot, git the right fitting and some plumbers tape and it took all of about 10 minutes to install.

Your problems with getting the old dw out seem pretty common. More of a pain in the *** than when our hot water heater had to be replaced in our old house a few years back.

 

[Sasquatch69]

The new one works great, except for a couple little things: it's about 3/4" narrower than the old one. I mounted it to one side and was going to cut a piece of wood to fill the hole on the other side, but the wife threw a fit about it not being mounted perfectly centered, so I am going to have to uninstall it and move it, and put in two new very slimline pieces of wood on either side. IMHO it would look totally fine the other way, but nothing doing - a realtor friend of hers backed her up on her view so that pretty much sealed my fate.

Other problem is that, despite tightening them as much as I could and sealing with plumber's tape, the hot-water connection underneath still leaks very slightly. We need to have a plumber out anyway for an unrelated issue, so I am just going to have him look at it while he's there.

Wasn't a horrible experience, but I don't think I would do it myself again.

 

[spidey69]

Congratulations on the install.

I have worked for a major appliance manufacturer and wanted to make some observations.

In terms of getting the old unit out, I don't think your average installer would have risked damaging your floor to get it out. In the end, you would have had to pay more for that or take it on yourself. Company liability for floor damage is not something they want to take on.

For future reference, sometimes it is easier to loosen the counter top and shim it up at the front temporarily to get the additional clearance from being 'tiled in'.

Installation 'experts' have a lot of turnover. 50/50 if you get somebody that will not abuse your new appliance during handling or install it correctly.

In general, the individual consumer can do a better job(if willing) than a 'professional' because you will follow instructions and not just get in and out asap.