Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 May 24, 2011 7:23 pm Alright, after my horror nightmare of my glass splash back not being starfired & turning out a weird green/blue colour we spoke to our cabinet maker about our dishwasher. There's a bit of a gap on the top of the dishwasher (about 5 cm give or take) and tiny bit down on the bottom (which I suspect needs a kick board). So I email him asking when will he get the chance to put on a panel/piece and this is the reply I get: As for the dishwasher , Can I suggest you get a new one ! This is really bad & is 100% not suitable for this kitchen. It is old fashioned in its design and does not wind up. The best I can offer you is a Panel that goes above it to fill in the gap. I will arrange this if you want but will need to charge for fitting , The panel is only $40 but install will take an hour which is $90 total $130 + Gst. is he *^$%ing joking??? firstly I wasnt born yesterday, when all my friends had their kitchen done this was just a standard expected thing (a panel to cover the gap of dishwashers) and even if i went out a bought a brand new dishwasher there would still be gap thus needing a panel. Just for the record is not old fashioned. its a plain white dishwasher.... pfft my friend has a brand new kitchen with a brand new Miele d/w and his cabinet maker put in the kickboard & a panel for the top gap. Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 2May 24, 2011 7:30 pm oh and by the way prior to making our kitchen he asked for the specifications/measurements of our dishwasher & we supplied these to him via email (I know he got the email b/c he replied to it). when he showed us his drawings of our kitchen he had the d/w in it with the correct measurements of the d/w so surely he would have known this. to me it sounds like he's just being a a-hole. Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 3May 24, 2011 7:43 pm Our dishwasher has adjustable legs, so when we had a new kitchen installed the installer wound the legs up so there was no gap above the dishwasher (we didn't have a panel above it) and it came with a kickplate that matched the dishwasher that covered the gap that winding the legs up had created. It looked perfect and neat. ~ trying to build our dream home by the sea ~ I thought it couldn't get any worse 4May 24, 2011 7:59 pm Was it specified that he would be doing a panel in your contract? Unfortunately you can't go on what you "thought" would happen - only what is in the contract and or drawings. Our Bosch also has adjustable legs and came with a stainless kick for retro fitting. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 5May 24, 2011 8:25 pm kyton Was it specified that he would be doing a panel in your contract? Unfortunately you can't go on what you "thought" would happen - only what is in the contract and or drawings. Our Bosch also has adjustable legs and came with a stainless kick for retro fitting. I'm going to disagree. There are certain standards that should be adhered to. Anything like a panel should be included. The basic rule is if it looks incomplete, it's incomplete. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 6May 24, 2011 9:24 pm Quote: Was it specified that he would be doing a panel in your contract? Unfortunately you can't go on what you "thought" would happen - only what is in the contract and or drawings. well he didn't specify it with our oven & yet our oven has a panel on the bottom of it as well as kickboard. he didn't specify that he'd put the doors on the cupboards yet all our cabinets have doors on them LOL we've looked at our drawings that he drafted & there most certainty is a kickboard drawn on for the d/w so I dont know how much more specific it should be. I thought it couldn't get any worse 7May 24, 2011 10:03 pm Ok if the kick is in the drawings then he has to supply them. What about the panel? Again specifics will always win - not always fair, not always nice but pretty much the more specific the drawings / contract the less "wriggle" room on behalf of any contractor. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 8May 25, 2011 9:44 am Regardless of it being in the drawing, if the dishwasher is not a fully integrated or semi integrated type by designation of the manufacturer I would not expect a kick panel in front of the dishwasher, nor any infill above it. As mentioned, some brands included color matched kicks to cover the legs and most have adjustable wind up/down legs to set height and levels. Did you supply the appliances or are they part of your building contract. If you supplied them separately then the builder is only responsible to install what you supplied. If you had supplied a kick panel initially he probably would not have charged for it. Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 9May 26, 2011 1:19 pm It really depends on the dishwasher. There are 3 types, Intergrated, Semi Intergrated and Free Standing. If your dishwasher is Intergrated or Semi Intergrated then there should be no go and they should have fitted a panel. If its a free standing dishwasher then its the cheapest of the range and is made to just sit there. Most dishwashers have adjustable feat on them allowing you to wind the dishwasher up to the underside of the bench top. Check to see if your dishwasher has feet. Unfortunately his price is on the money. To have a small piece of material painted isnt cheap. Did you ask for a panel above the dishwasher before the kitchen was built? The other option is that you pack the dishwasher up with two long strips of timber and then put a false kickboard front. This would be the ideal option! Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 10May 26, 2011 2:26 pm I've just had a look at our kitchen which was recently put in and there is a panel at the top of the dishwasher space which is already installed and the Bosch dishwasher we are thinking of getting has it's own kickboard. For info on our build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43093 Built the McLaren by Dechellis - slab down 22 Feb - handover 30 Aug 2011 - and gardens finished 9 Dec 2012!! Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 11May 26, 2011 2:37 pm Mclaren I've just had a look at our kitchen which was recently put in and there is a panel at the top of the dishwasher space which is already installed and the Bosch dishwasher we are thinking of getting has it's own kickboard. A proper dishwasher installation has the dishwasher hard up under the bench top. They should have adjustable feet allowing different heights. So installers dont pay enough attention to the fit and finish. The kickboard that comes with dishwashers is terriable. I throw them in the bin and run the kitchen kickboard through. I looks so much better. Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 12May 26, 2011 3:23 pm CuttingEdgeKitchens I throw them in the bin and run the kitchen kickboard through. That's a look that I also always prefer but am concerned about what will happen if the dishwasher needs to be removed for a service of any sort? Are your kicks clip-ons or are they sacrificial? I would imagine that regardless they have a silicon bead along the bottom edge. I'm always worried about how clients who are provided with this solution deal with the result of having their entire kick removed as the dishwasher technician won't be putting it back on. Cheers, Earl Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 13May 26, 2011 4:50 pm Strumer CuttingEdgeKitchens I throw them in the bin and run the kitchen kickboard through. That's a look that I also always prefer but am concerned about what will happen if the dishwasher needs to be removed for a service of any sort? Are your kicks clip-ons or are they sacrificial? I would imagine that regardless they have a silicon bead along the bottom edge. I'm always worried about how clients who are provided with this solution deal with the result of having their entire kick removed as the dishwasher technician won't be putting it back on. Cheers, Earl I build my kicks out of marine plywood and then laminate or polyurthane them. I dont like plastic feet supporting big slabs of caesarstone or granite. I always put a 605mm seperate piece of kick board infront of the dishwasher for when it needs to be serviced. The false kick just pulls off. Anyone who continues the kick through without a join should be shot! That way it looks good and can be serviced without an issue. Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 14May 26, 2011 4:56 pm Mclaren I've just had a look at our kitchen which was recently put in and there is a panel at the top of the dishwasher space which is already installed and the Bosch dishwasher we are thinking of getting has it's own kickboard. I just realised our benchtop will be 20mm higher than normal (920mm) so that's probably why there is a panel at the top - will have to wait and see For info on our build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43093 Built the McLaren by Dechellis - slab down 22 Feb - handover 30 Aug 2011 - and gardens finished 9 Dec 2012!! Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 15May 26, 2011 5:55 pm CuttingEdgeKitchens I always put a 605mm seperate piece of kick board infront of the dishwasher for when it needs to be serviced. The false kick just pulls off. Anyone who continues the kick through without a join should be shot! Ahh that makes much more sense to me - I misunderstood what you meant when you said you run the kickboard through. I completely agree that making sure a dishwasher is removable is mandatory in any installation. Cheers, Earl Re: I thought it couldn't get any worse 16May 26, 2011 8:53 pm Mclaren Mclaren I've just had a look at our kitchen which was recently put in and there is a panel at the top of the dishwasher space which is already installed and the Bosch dishwasher we are thinking of getting has it's own kickboard. I just realised our benchtop will be 20mm higher than normal (920mm) so that's probably why there is a panel at the top - will have to wait and see FWIW, companies such as Bosch and Miele will not cut silicon off to remove dishwasher kick fronts to access dishwashers during a service call. something to keep in mind. Depends how much direct sun it gets. Is there any shading (eaves or trees)? If the sun hits a window directly it doesn't matter too much if it's double or single… 1 12671 9 24816 Congratulations! Nice to put that to bed before christmas, now you can relax 3 7185 |