What is the dumbest purchase that you have ever made?

[AppleCori]

I wonder if it depends on the type of stove. A couple of years after getting mine, a friend also bought one and used cast iron and the ceramic top cracked! The stove still worked but it had a big crack in it.
I'm just happy to have gas now, I mean a gas stove!

At least you got new pots and pans out of the deal. I consider that a win!

 

[Lil]

All this talk of new stoves made me sad, because at this point...I'm going to say I really regret my new cabinets and beautiful gas range...all of which are still in the basement after TWO YEARS.

I truly don't think I'm ever getting my kitchen remodeled. I'm going to have an ugly stove and old cabinets forever.

 

[AppleCori]

At this point...I'm going to say my new cabinets and beautiful gas range...all of which are still in the basement after TWO YEARS.

I truly don't think I'm ever getting my kitchen remodeled. I'm going to have an ugly stove and old cabinets forever.

Why are they sitting in the basement?

 

[Lil]

Why are they sitting in the basement?

Well...this is the story. Jabber and I TWO YEARS AGO, went to a big-box store to PRICE a new dishwasher because ours died. As we walk thru I see this lovely BIG gas range with 5 cast iron burners, a big oven and a broiler. I stop to give it a hug. (My stove which I'd used for nearly 15 years at that point, is a 27" drop in with a TINY oven. A half-sheet pan with handles on it, doesn't fit. It has only one large burner and three small ones. I HATE THIS STOVE.)

Anyway, the salesman sees me and says, "It's on sale!" We then explain to him how we can't fit a 30" range in our cabinets, because they're custom and we've had contractors tell us it would be at least $1500 to have them modified and even then the contractors wouldn't guarantee that they wouldn't have to just be pulled out altogether. So, to get a new stove, we need new cabinets.

The salesman says, "They're on sale too!"

Of course, we start looking and after a bit we determine that, for actually less money than the cheap, builder grade cabinets, we can buy lovely hickory cabinets with solid wood fronts and doors, unfinished. They just need varnished. I think, "I can do that!"

So...long story short, we went in to price a dishwasher and walked out with new cabinets, a new range, and a new dishwasher.

BUT - After they are delivered, it's really, really HOT and humid and I know that I'll sweat and drip on them and they'll just never get dry if I do them then...so I put it off. Then it's cold and the garage is unheated. Then the next spring finally comes and I get a case of nerves and become worried I'll ruin them. We priced having them done by a professional...the price was ridiculous. We can't afford it. Also, there's the fact the garage is too crowded and dirty and dusty. The basement - the cat pretty much lives in and we'll get hair all over them while they're wet not to mention the smell of varnish all over the house. All in all - they just don't EVER get done and are a constant reminder of our stupid, stupid purchase that we put on a credit card and so we're paying interest on AND I really, really want to sell this damn house and move!

Two years later, I'm still using the crap 27" stove (now for nearly 17 years) and washing dishes by hand...because I refuse to put the new dishwasher in the old cabinets.

Aren't you glad you asked?

 

[AppleCori]

Aren't you glad you asked?

Yes, I am, because I like to talk about anything ‘house’.

Buying, selling, flipping, remodeling, cleaning, organizing, decorating, budgeting, landscaping....anything house.

My, that guy was a good salesman!

I assume it’s too late to return the stuff?

Is there any alternative to varnishing?

Are you planning on selling any time soon? It would be worth the money to get the cabinets put in before you do.

How is the market where you are at?

 

[Lil]

I assume it’s too late to return the stuff?

LOL Yes. I know of no store that takes a return after two years.

Is there any alternative to varnishing?

Well, no. Not really. I mean, they could be polyurethaned, but it's harder to work with than varnish from everything I've read. I'd put them in and varnish in place, but then I'd have both cat and dog hair to deal with.

Are you planning on selling any time soon? It would be worth the money to get the cabinets put in before you do.

We kick it around from time to time, even finishing our cabin into a "tiny house" and living there, but we need to run power and drill a well there. The simple fact is, we have no money. We have to sell the house in order to move and we have to finish a number of projects - not just the kitchen - to get enough money out of the house to buy another or convert the cabin. We have no money to spend to have anyone else do the projects. so they have to be DIY. We also have to have the carpets replaced, which we can't DIY. Honest to God, if we suddenly came into $100,000 - we'd sell it "as-is" or else pay to have it all done.

 

[AppleCori]

That’s worse than my “air mattress” bed purchase, Lil.

Sounds like a catch 22....

 

[Lil]

Sounds like a catch 22

Really...there's only one thing to do and that's finish the damn cabinets and get it done. It seemed like a simple job when we bought them. Now it seems like a HUGE chore. But mostly, I'm just a really lazy person. I could spend 1 hour every evening and have them done eventually, but I usually sit on my butt.

Have you ever had to do a job so big you just didn't know where to start so you just don't do it? That's this.

 

[AppleCori]

Have you ever had to do a job so big you just didn't know where to start so you just don't do it? That's this.

Many.

I thought the basement sorting was such a large chore, that I didn’t want to tackle it.

Well, one day in December, hubby sad that we should just bite the bullet and do it. We worked for about three hours that Saturday, and maybe two the next Saturday, it it was close to finished. We did one more hour’s worth of work in February, and it’s almost done. I have five boxes of my daughter’s toys to go through—most of which I doubt she will want any more. There are about four boxes of books to sort, too.

We donated a bunch of stuff and got a nice tax write-off for our trouble.

 

[AppleCori]

You might be able to donate your old cabinets and appliances to the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store for a nice tax write-off.

 

[Lil]

You might be able to donate your old cabinets and appliances to the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store for a nice tax write-off.

Oh we'll definitely donate and plan on Habitat. Likely though, only the stove. You see, the cabinets were built in place and were NAILED to the walls, with LONG (like 4") nails. They really were very nice in their day. Solid oak, both boxes and fronts and shelves. I can literally HANG from the upper cabinets if I want. So...I expect they will have to be taken out in pieces.

We don't have enough taxes and interest and medicals and such to itemize anyway.

 

[Lil]

Apple and I will now return you all to your regularly scheduled topic. LOL!

 

[AnnieO]

It also depends on heat and how hard you bang the pan on the surface! LOL

 

[Jabberwockey]

Yup, in all my research on which one would be best for me I never read anything about not using cast iron or Vision Ware (glass ware) on a ceramic stove top. That's all I had was cast iron and Vision Ware.
The $200 I saved by buying a scratch and dent was used to buy a new set of Stainless pots and

Don't know about the vision ware but a friend of ours cooks on theirs all the time with cast iron and have had zero problems.

 

[pasajes4]

I use cast iron on my ceramic top stove. I love mine.

I bought solid cherry wood brand new cabinets from the habitat for humanity store. They were inexpensive and look custom with the hardware I chose.