I have always liked Dr. Seuss and although not one of his best, this is a good book to read to a little one that likes to make silly sounds. BTW, what the hell is a wocket anyway?
Becoming a man...finally.
I installed a dishwasher in our kitchen the other day, and let me tell you, it was possibly the hardest thing I have ever done. Seriously. I didn't know that you had to do electrical work in order to get the machine operational. I just figured it came in a box, you took it out of the box, and you plugged it in. Oh no. It couldn't be that simple. I knew I would have to splice a water line under the sink, and that was the easy part. Hell, removing the old cabinet and cutting holes for the water lines was easy too. Then came the part where I had to strip power cords to bare wire and connect it to the junction box on the dishwasher itself. I said a little prayer to myself and told my family I loved them before I started. Most of the time, I am deathly afraid of anything more complex than plugging an appliance in. The funny thing is, I used to work in a high-end lighting store and told people all the time how to install track lighting and the such. Detailed instructions. Not a single customer came back to tell me that they were dead from electrocution. Not a single one. Now I had to do this sort of thing myself. Okay.
I don't own a wire stripper, so I had to use my teeth and a pair of scissors. Turns out, it is not as hard as I thought it would be. Just follow the directions. Simple as that. No wonder electricians make so much money. From my experience, a lot of folks are just as afraid as I was when it comes to electricity. And that's how electricians make it. They capitalize on the fear that most people have of the energy that powers our homes.
So now the track lighting that I want to install in the kitchen won't be as hard as I thought. I am just hoping I can get a sweet discount on my fixtures from my old boss!
Update on Monday, December 24, 2007 at 08:39AM by
terancedubya
terancedubya
One of the readers of this post (it was Joeprah, I believe) asked for a pic of the dishwasher that was recently installed. I figured sure, I'll post that up. Here ya go!:
As you can see, I need to cut a sliver of trim for the right (and also left side) of the dishwasher because of my refusal to use a level. But then I walked the eight feet to the garage, got the level, and found out that my eyes are just fine and that the cupboards are uneven. Go figure, huh? Adriana even helped me to install the kick plate on the bottom. She's a good helper. Picture taken courtesy of the mother unit.
11 Comments
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (11)
Congrats man! Sounds like it is coming together. Lets see some pictures of the DW. The worst for me was a garbage disposal unit...arg. I too hate electrical and plumbing, good drywall/framer guy, and I always think I will kill myself even if I turn off the main power grid to the eastern sea board. Catch you later!
You go, hon! I sooooo would have electrocuted myself, flooded the kitchen, and generally wreaked utter and complete havoc. This is why I'm not in charge of our country's nuclear arsenal. Apocalypse! :-)
You are insane! I have changed lighting fixtures and faucets. But water and electricity TOGETHER...that's scary stuff!
What's up man? I see you survived to tell about it. I work with electricity everyday, so it doesn't bother me anymore, but I remember when I first started and felt the same as you. It is scary stuff! and sometimes still scares me! Now go wash some dishes! :) Later...
Sssssnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnifffffff.
Smell that testosterone!
Arrgh.
Just be sure to turn the correct circuit breaker off. I turned the wrong one off once, once. It was a hair raising experience.
...and a Happy Christmas to you guys there, enjoy!
TDubz! Nice Dishwasher man! Thanks for letting me see it in all its glory! Seems to coming together my man.
Hey Housedad -
Found you via BusyDad's blog...you have a great site!
Dishwasher looks great...but be careful, man! After successfully adding chair rails to my home, I thought I could re-finish our cabinets. That was over a year ago, and we are still living with the aftermath!
Anyway, I look forward to reading more! Take care...
MrJourneyman (His2Dads)
hehe. you used the word *junction box*. makes me giggle with fond memories of ALA. You should be happy to know that I too, installed my first bit of lighting. A 28" halogen light strip over the kitchen sink (courtesy of Lowe's...shhh! don't tell Michael!). The FLU strip that was there bothered the crap out of stephen and myself...i'm sure as hell THAT installation wasn't up to code, let alone the flickering was enough to cause a seizure whilst chopping veggies. Seizures + Sharp Knives = Uh OH
BTW...you should get a wire stripper. For whatever reason, Stephen has one. They are neat-O, and I'm sure Dan-the-Man would approve!
However! Congrats on the accomplishment! Looks great!
I tell my family the same thing when I do anything with electricity.
Second note.. if you tell someone how to install tract lighting and they DIE, how are they going to come back to tell you that you were wrong? Ha.