Yeah.. about that washer

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So, Samsung, Elite Appliances came out today. Apparently the technician was a good guy and there were no complaints from my partner about the technician.

However, given the detail that was given to Samsung about what was going on, and after talking to Elite Appliances to confirm the appointment, it had been suggested that the technician would more than likely have the part to replace.

However that didn’t happen.  We were told that it would take 2 to 5 days to get a new part in, that is a commonly failing part for a washing machine, that often needs this part replaced within 3 years.  I’d expect you to have the front gasket available given how easy it can tear, etc…

Now that said, I do have to give you kudos.  Calling us before to remind us that our appointment was today and to call Elite if there were any issues.  We also liked the fact you did a follow up call after the appointment asking if everything was fixed to our satisfaction.  Scott let you know how displeased we were at the fact that

  • it’s now a week since the new washer and dryer arrived,
  • it’s been 6 days since the issue was found, and we did do a bunch of testing to make sure that it wasn’t user error,
  • 4 or 5 days since we submitted a call to Samsung for repair,
  • and I’m going to assume it’s going to take another 5 days to get the part,
  • add 2 days for Saturday and Sunday, and that part is not going to ship on a weekend…
  • almost two weeks without the washer.

My partner is an RMT and needs the washing machine to work for his work supplies.  And as Scott reminded you, almost all of our appliances are Samsung.  Like we said, we like you guys and hope it’s just a blip in our relationship with you.

Leaking Samsung WF405

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So.. yeah… Samsung.  Let’s have a chat.  Yes, we have Elite Appliances coming out to fix this tomorrow, but this is how our WF405 Washing machine arrived at our place.  Yes, that water, I’m hoping, isn’t a new feature that comes with this washer.  Personally, I don’t like that feature and would like it replaced, or maybe a new washer, same model, just one that doesn’t leak.

I’d really like a quick resolution… after all we have a fridge, stove, dryer, microwave and two televisions that are Samsung. I’d have bought a dishwasher to complete the picture, but the reviews were horrible and sales people are not recommending them either. But hey, we like your appliances.

Let’s just hope this is just a small blip. Okay?

Cool Lighting

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I’m not really sure how much Scott and I have reduced our carbon footprint, and made ourselves greener.  We’ve recycled our appliances – or at least, we hope they’re being used for parts, etc…

Yeah, I drive a Prius which means – theoretically, I use less gas and drive on recycled electric power from braking and slowing down.

Our televisions use LED lighting as well, instead of fluorescent tubes as well.

The lights we use throughout the condo have gone from incandescent to Halogen lights and CFLs.  However, there is new technology we are going to be using.

We’re going to be using LED lighting under our counters instead of Xenon lighting which was going to be used.

I’ve also decided to invest in LED lighting in the form of Philips Hue.  I can change the colours of lighting in my office, plus for now – in the kitchen and the laundry room.  Mmmm.. disco dancing in the laundry room.  This technology is part of the ZigBee alliance which is a cool home automation alliance.

Apparently they will be coming out with potlights and such in the future as part of the Hue line.  Which would be very cool since we have pot lights in the bathroom and kitchen.

I’m not sure we’ll do too much in the way of home automation – but, I do have to admit – a digital panel on the wall to control the dimming of lights would be pretty cool.

And, of course, I’d love to see if we can use Nest thermostats in the living room and bedroom in the future.  Shame that they’re not part of the ZigBee alliance – yet.  I think it would go a long way to helping us keep the condo cool or warm, smartly.

Day 1 to 3 Pictures

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Day One Demolition

Day Two and Three Changes

Day 3 – Kitchen and Laundry Room

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I was going to say there wasn’t much to report, but from a blog standpoint, I’ve not posted pictures from yesterday or today.

And I’m not going to because it’s too late at night.

BUT I will say – we have no kitchen.  The one wall was torn down and pulled back on the other side.  The cabinets, according to my sister, have gone for a walkabout – I’ve insisted they come back with TIm Tams.  I’m providing coffee.

Electrical was looked at today, and we do have some challenges.  Mainly the phone line that was on the wall is standing on a piece of conduit that goes down several floors.  We need to cut the conduit down.

We’re considering hooking into the ventilation system out of the condo for the fan in our over the stove microwave/fan.

All the new electrical will be roughed in tomorrow for the kitchen – lights, dishwasher, microwave…

For the laundry room, all the gross peel and stick tile has been removed.  Our washer arrived defective so that’s going to be serviced on Thursday.  The electrical work that’s stopping the dryer from being stacked is going to be moved tomorrow.

Floor tiling starts on Thursday, and it’ll probably Monday when we actually have tile on the wall for the laundry room for the backsplash, and a painted, new laundry room.

Our living room/dining room area has everything but the kitchen sink.  Literally – Fridge, dryer, washer (once fixed), stove, table, food, computers, music, TV… LOL!

Once the laundry room is done, and the electrical panel replaced (next week), that means we can put the laundry room back and remove a pile of stuff from the bedroom – Chest freezer, cleaning supplies, Christmas boxes – tree, ornaments, etc…

If the monolith is the fridge (as I’ve nicknamed it), I think the dryer is a big HAL 9000.

Tomorrow – this will all be gone

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Bye bye old kitchen!  Thank you for 6 years of putting up with us!

Ode to a dishwasher…

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Our dishwasher, picture right, is just completing it’s very last dishload for us before it gets replaced, tomorrowOur old dishwasher.  It’s kind of sad because all of the original – our first ever – appliances,  have now all been replaced.

Big bang

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Yup… Tomorrow is the big bang, aka demolition day for our old kitchen.  Finally!  The day is here.

But true to form, ‘big bang’ also has another connotation for Scott and I.   We never seem to do anything simple.

We’re adding on a renovation to our laundry room as well.  Why?  Well, see, we got an awesome deal on a Samsung washer and dryer.  Problem is, the plug for the dryer is very close to the ground stopping us from stacking the units.  And we were counting on stacking the units.  So why not move the electrical plug this week with all the electrical work to be done in the kitchen, plus replacing our electrical panel.

At the same time the tiler is here working on the kitchen, why not tile the laundry room?  Same with painting?

And on top of all that, our new washer is leaking out the front door and needs to be services – and I know it’s not due to user error.

The stress of the renovation has been quite something.  Trying to figure out what faucet we want, paint colours, throwing out/recycling stuff we don’t need, not wanting to deal with the sales rep cancelling the order for our dishwasher when we found the next model up for $50 more, etc… It adds up.  We seriously could use a vacation after all is said and done in 4 to 5 weeks.

But, you know, the renovation will be worth it.

As with any renovation…

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CToldnewwithGiottoAs with any renovation, there are always challenges.

Our challenge has been – what colour to go with?  Wait, didn’t you pick your cabinet colour?  Yes we did, however the cabinet maker came back and showed us that relative to the sample we had, what we actually would have gotten is much darker than we wanted.  This is mainly due to the wood changing, and what part of the tree is used.

Cherry can range quite a bit from dark to light – and in the stain and you have a whole new variable.  As a result, a darker cabinet.

So back to the drawing board we went, and admittedly such a pain. We had our heart set on the cabinet colour we wanted, and every time we looked at the colour we picked relative to others and not realizing what it was, both Scott and I were drawn back to the original colour.

So we didn’t go with “Copper Tray” on Cherry, but now we’re going with “Giotto Brown” on Maple.  It’s deeper and redder, and the picture above doesn’t quite do it justice.  In person the colour looks great.  It will mean a slightly darker kitchen, but it works.

This also means a delay in the start of the kitchen renovation by two weeks which sucks as the condo has already been in a bit of shambles as we start moving things out of the kitchen and we have another 5 weeks of this.  That said, I know we will get through it.

First step will be tearing out the old cabinets, tearing down the walls and rewiring the electrical.  I’m looking forward to this.

Ultimately, I am looking forward to getting this all completed.  I know Scott is too.

Where are we starting?

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Here are pictures of the kitchen from when we moved in.  We did nothing to it when we first moved in, etc…