Series: An 80's Kitchen DIY Reno - {Part 2- Modifying a Cabinet to Replace an Old Double Oven}

Welcome back to the walk thru time on the kitchen reno. Today I'm going back to the beginning, shortly after we moved here.  One of the first big things we did was go looking for new appliances.  We ordered a new dishwasher, fridge and oven after catching a Labor Day sale.   With a double oven, you have to pay for and schedule a 'measure' for it, and once you order your new one plus the install that initial measure fee goes toward your balance.  So we scheduled a measure and later placed an order for a new oven.  The new one came, it was significantly smaller than the original opening, and the installers had nothing to offer to fill the gap.  So back to the store the oven went .  We would need to find a larger oven.

  

I searched high and low in big box stores to find a larger oven.  Perhaps on the higher end brand of things I would have found something, but I couldn't find one the same size in the everyday brands.  I guess they just made things bigger in the 1980s.  

Unfortunately the original eighties oven was so old we had no plans to use it.  I had actually purchased a full size toaster oven to cook in while we waited for the new oven to be installed, but that gets old after a while.  So we adjusted and began to use the original oven.  Would you believe that it actually worked very well up until the day we replaced it?!  The owners over the years had even left the original manual, haha!

I couldn't give up though.  There HAD to be a way to replace this oven!  I mean I know they eventually break for some people, and there's no way that people just put in all new cabinets just to accommodate an oven!  So I went back to Lowe's and talked again with their sales agent, and this time I was told that there were these decorative metal trim kits you could buy to cover the gap.  Why nobody told me about this in 2016, I have no idea!  The oven would sit on the existing shelf in the cabinet and the gap above or below would be covered by the metal grill.  They were around $300+ depending on the size and style.  If you aren't looking to refinish or paint your cabinets, it could be a decent option.  But it still wasn't quite the look I was going for. 

 MicroTrim

So I started brainstorming on what else I could do cover this gap.  I finally had an 'aha' moment.  What if I could have a carpenter raise the platform to remove the gap and just add that extra space to the bottom and have a larger drawer made for down there?  So back to Lowe's I went to schedule a measure.  The installer liked my idea and agreed to implement it.  Finally a solution! 

{Double Oven}

Here she is all installed. I went with a GE brand double oven.  We've had and used it for a little over two years now and I love it!  One reason I went with them was the reviews were good.  But also, at the time they offered a 'Guaranteed to Fit' warranty where they would reimburse you up to about $300 if you needed to modify your cabinet.  With that credit, the cost of the cabinet mod plus the new drawer was a wash.

Now I just had to take new drawer measurements to a local cabinet door shop and have them build me a drawer.  And it worked out too, because the cost of the drawer plus the cabinet mod was about the same price, maybe a little less even, than the metal grill I could have purchased. 

{Double Oven}

 

I used a local company, Harris Door and Drawer, to build the drawer.  They're out in Buford, and they have been wonderful to work with.  I love them because they work with builders all the way down to individual homeowners like myself.  I used them again last year to make a few new doors for me as well.  Well, I got the oven installed, but the cabinets stayed unfinished for almost another year.  Up next, moving on to demo, carpentry, and design plans!

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{An 80's Kitchen DIY Reno Series}

 

-Part 1 - Before and After

-Part 2- Modifying a Cabinet to Replace an Old Double Oven 

-Part 3- Demo, Carpentry, and Design Plans 

-Part 4- Demo Day

-Part 5- DIY Peninsula and Fridge Surround

-Part 6- Ordering Materials and Fixtures

-Part 7-Running Wiring for Sconces thru a Header Beam

-Part 8- Matching an Older Door Profile