BLUF TL;DR: Previous homeowner trapped the dishwasher in place by installing contoured laminate counter top edges that hang down 3/4" into the rough opening. Now I can't get it out to fix it...



So I knew the previous owners of my home for 15 years prior to purchasing it. They were family friends. Money was always tight, so the husband did most things DIY. Except, he wasn't very competent at household work. He was a repair mechanic for a Pepsi bottling line, but homeowner projects were not his forte.

Yesterday, the dishwasher started throwing an error code. The troubleshooting steps I've found online show removing the dishwasher to access the water level sensors on the left-hand side of the exterior. No problem! I'll just pull it out and have it running again in an hour... So I thought...

Turns out, when the previous owner remodeled the kitchen in the winter of 2013/spring of 2014, he essentially built the dishwasher in. He was so cheap that he installed his own "custom" laminate counter tops by buying sheet laminate and gluing it to particle board screwed to the cabinets. First issue here is that the screwed it in from the top and glued the laminate sheet over the top. Makes it very difficult to change counters in the future. The bigger issue is that he used 1-1/4" tall contoured laminate edges. This is what's creating the problem. The contoured laminate edges hang down 3/4" past the bottom of the particle board. Well, the dishwasher rough opening is spot on from the subfloor (he didn't run the cheap stick-down tiles under the cabinets) to the particle board for the counter. However, he clearly installed the dishwasher, and then glued on the contoured laminate edges essentially permanently trapping the dishwasher.

The only saving grace is that he happened to leave one 8' piece of the contoured laminate edges tucked up in the basement floor joists. The problem is that the section I need to remove is an inside 45* on both ends and 87" long. Perfect! I'll pop the short piece next to the stove, and then the long piece and hope I can get the other inside 45* corner out without too much damage to the piece I'm leaving in place. Then I measured the piece by the stove...it's 10.5". I need 97.5" and I only have a 96" piece...

Next stop is to the Home Depot to see if they still have the same color available. If not, I'll be extra careful popping the short piece by the stove and hope to reuse it. If I damage it, it looks like it's new counter tops time.

We were hoping to sell next summer and move to a larger house. Why does stuff always break right before you start house shopping???

Welcome to my world.

Every repair or renovation in my home was done in the most hasty manner possible to finish the job with whatever products were on sale at the time.

Literally, every room had wallpaper of some sort. We've fixed that in about half of them.

In one, the wallpaper covered up some paneling that was pieced together from random scraps. There was just enough wall there to hold the wallpaper in place.

I guess you ran the feet all the way down, maybe you can wiggle them out to get a bit more clearance?

Oh the feet are as short as they go. The rough opening dimensions in the install manual call for 34-1/8". I have 33-3/8" from finished floor to bottom of counter top edge. The rough opening from the subfloor to the particle board counter backing is 34-3/8". It was perfect when he set it in prior to finishing the floor and counter. Even with just the flooring, I could most likely get it out. Not a chance with the edging.

It's a double whammy because he set the dishwasher on the subfloor and then installed a counter top edge.

Use a router to relieve the overhanging trim.

Feel your pain.

Daughter's house. Limited funds.

Builder used 10" board for stairs which leave 9" for the tread - not to code. Risers were old siding that was painted. She fell once already. Tore all carpeting and stairs out (14) and rebuilt with 2x12s and smooth finished plywood risers.

Also this week - trying to correct 3 different wood floors and some carpeting. Different wood directions no less.
Took three days and lots of headaches but she said it was good enough. Ex had put flooring over the vents - and he was a contractor guy.

Previous owner has nailed Hardiplank to existing foam insulation. Yeah. And on the chimney put the siding down touching the roof. More yeah.

Still trying to fix the master bath. 20 years of wallpaper removed. So much glue to remove before painting. Picked black vanity and white wall with black and white tile theme.

Bought new offset black vanity door hinges to replace the old brass ones that were shot. Oh wait - now made in China and are 1.5mm off in spacing from original ones. Doors don't close. Have to redrill new holes 1.5mm off the old ones.

Stop being poors and tear out the laminate counter.  

Haha I wish, but no. The previous owner used sheet laminate glued to particle board. He first screwed the particle board down to the cabinets from the top instead of from underneath. Then he glued the sheet laminate over the screw heads.

This guy had no clue about construction techniques.

That’s basically my current thought.

Use a magnet to locate the screws, and then use a hole saw to remove the laminate above them (assuming you don't mind destroying the laminate).

LOL!

I actually like Formica as a counter top.  It's durable and inexpensive.  What's not to like?

I bet OP could replace the entire counter top for $100.  

I also like the kitchen tables from the 50's and 60's that had steel legs and a Formica surface.  They usually had aluminum edge banding.



Even with wood

OP, I feel your pain.

My house has been remodeled so many times over the years by the previous owner/builder. I have found at least 4 different places where the kitchen sink has been in different rooms. The worst was when I ripped out the carpet and put down LVP flooring in the hallway. My bedroom was evidently open at one time and they closed it in. The idiots built the wall on top of the carpet which explains why I have a crack that I can never get rid of.

Attached File

Bought a house atbthe house beginning of the year.
Had just had a full kitchen remodel, looks pretty nice.
Once we closed and hot into the house, went to use the dishwasher, and the door was ha ging up on the side of the cabinet.
I take a look at it, the dishwasher was slid into place, they never drove the two retaining screws through the brackets into the underlayment.
So the thing was just sitting in there loose.

That used to be pretty common in motorhomes and travel trailers.

Basically, they'd install a plywood or OSB sub-floor on the trailer frame or MH chassis, put padding and carpet over it, and then attach the side walls and roof.

Sounds like the house that I rented in Clarksville. One of the previous tenants was a friend of the homeowner, and offered to "improve" the house while he lived there. He layed tile in the kitchen, but it was all lopsided and not cut square, so the property manager told him to re-do it. I found out about this when I swept chunks of time out from under the front of the dishwasher. He also layed laminate wood flooring...but it was so badly done that the wood pieces would slide up to 5 inches apart over the course of a week when you walked down the hall. One day, I got tired to kick-sliding the floor back into place, so the next time it separated, I put a couple drops of Gorilla Glue where the two pieces went together and kicked it back into place. Problem solved, problem staying solved!

Except I don't live in a mobile home.

I'm actually the third owner of the house and it (the original part) was built in 1959 and finished up in the early 70's with all the additions. The second owner had the home foreclosed and he had a VA loan. The house should have never passed the VA home inspection! The only reason it did was because the VA was tired of sitting on it for over a year after it was foreclosed.

I totally would if this was a long-term house. I bought it 5 years ago as my first house and have already done a ton of work. I’m looking to sell within a year and upgrade to our long-term house.


See above. I don’t intend to be here more than a year to 18 months. A new counter isn’t worth it to me.

Neat.  My grandparents had a table like that,and also a nice wood one for Sunday dinners.   And a great uncle had one that same color of green, and same/very similar trim and legs..
Those tables probably command a premium now from hipsters and boomers looking for that retro look

Old school table.



Earthquake and atomic bomb proof, so I was told as a child.

Concrete counters ftw.  Sure it's a bit of work but you can probably make something decent for about $200

I Despise Incompetent "Professionals".

Replaced windows and siding on an enclosed 4 season porch turned living space and found the corner post supporting the roof was a metal electrical junction box used as post base to keep the wood from contacting the masonry.

I thought I was the only one! Saw the same thing the previous owner did at my mother's house.

I bought my firs house at age 24 and lived there for 13 years.  My Dad wasn't handy so I learned on that house.  I almost feel bad for the new owners but when I drive by and see how fucked up the landscaping is now, I don't care.  
They may be regretting the little maple tree my son planted between the houses.  It was 2 foot tall when planted.  That was 15 years ago and it now towers over the houses.  The roots are going to fuck up the foundations.

Can you pull the drawers and find the screws from the bottom?  If so, get one of those saws that vibrate and cut the screws.  Reattach with a little bit of Liquid Nails or some L brackets.

I moved into my home 24 years ago this past June.  There was a small maple by the back corner of my house that we thought was cute because it was just big enough for the kids to climb in.

This past May I had it cut down to the tune of $900 to include stump grinding.  Then I had to work my ass off to get all the wood chips up and level the ground and then bring in sod and fill dirt. Another $500.
Constantly cursing myself for not putting the chainsaw on it's ass 25 years back.  And yes, huge roots heading towards the poured concrete basement walls and draped over the chimney causing drafting issues along with potential fire and roof damage on my new roof I paid $10K for.

It sounds like PO attached the counter material and then covered over the screw heads with another layer of laminate.

Just rip it out and install it correctly.

Not worth messing around with.

Using a router on the overhang was my first thought as well.