This New Tanner Condo - Episode 9

[Tannerman]

Sometimes you happen upon an unplanned, but nice home improvement. That's what you'll find in this episode of This New Tanner Condo, the occasional Web series that keeps tabs on the improvements undertaken by Steve and Amy Tanner in their Chicago condominium. (Catch up with previous installments: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, and Episode 8).

Thanks in part to a project on our sister show, This Old Tanner House -- where Steve's parents are undertaking a huge kitchen remodeling project, Steve and Amy were able to improve their own kitchen.

Stove with Exhaust Hood

Of note was the stove area, which featured a hooded exhaust fan/light above. This installation came with the condo upon purchase and has performed satisfactory for the homeowners. While the condo infrastructure didn't contain external venting, the fan had a filter that at least pulled the air up and away from the stovetop internally.

Original microwave use at Steve's parents before renovation
(Summer 2005)

Back at Steve's parents, they had replaced their above-the-stove microwave oven 4 years ago when their previous unit died. The dead unit was replaced with a new one colored white. However, with the renovation taking place on This Old Tanner House, all new stainless-steel appliances were being installed in that kitchen, making the white microwave obsolete.

It did its job, but it was time to move on

Master Carpenter/Everything Fixer John Tanner offered to install his old microwave over at Steve and Amy's condo, upgrading their current sits-on-the-counter microwave oven.

Steve & Amy's old microwave on the counter

The existing Tanner microwave is rather small, but has performed gallantly throughout the ages. Amy used it at a few Chicago apartments prior to the couple getting married. Upon moving into the condo, the old microwave sat on the counter next to the refrigerator.

Old microwave in use at previous Tanner apartment
(Festive Film Fridays, December 2004)

It did a nice job heating things up, but did prove rather small. It had a bad reputation for burning bags of microwave popcorn due to the fact that the bag would often get stuck on the turntable, not rotating the kernels properly due to the small size. The couple welcomed an upgrade.

Exhaust hood removed, exposing hole in cabinet

Upon figuring out how to convert the previously externally-exhausted microwave unit to an internally-filtering unit, installation took place. Removal of the old exhaust hood was pretty simple, involving yanking out some screws here and there. This exposed the unpainted wall behind the unit, buffered by the aluminum splashguard that sits behind the stove. It was decided to leave the splashguard in place for the mounting. If removal in the future is warranted, this should not be an issue, as the Tanners did paint behind it when changing the hue of the room to red.

"New" microwave installed at the condo

Proving that he really wasn't truly incompetent during this job, Homeowner Steve Tanner suggested keeping the existing hole in the cabinetry to run the power cord through, even though it did not line up with the new microwave unit. Sure enough, there was enough clearance between the cabinets and the new microwave to allow for the power cord threading... while also masking the excess from view.

With a couple of adjustments, the "new" microwave unit installed without a hitch. It matches nicely with the white stove, as both are from the same manufacturer. And so far, nothing has blown up yet! Plus, no more burnt popcorn!

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