A lot of handyman work is trying to figure out what was that other contractor thinking?? Sometimes there’s a good explanation and sometimes…you have to trust they were just doing their best. I ran into that with this job installing an over-the-range microwave.
When we looked at options for where to install the microwave, we saw that there was an outlet smack in the middle of the area I needed to use. And, the outlet was almost 1/2″ proud of the wall. That made installing a microwave “flush” was not going to happen….
I needed to close that outlet, move it up into the cabinet above, and figure out a way to get the microwave flat against the wall. I solved this problem by adding 3/4″ thick boards that created a flush surface for the microwave mount. This was the same thickness as the window trim, so it was invisible!
Once I got the mount installed, I needed to add the new outlet. I would feed new wiring into the cabinet above since I knew that these were on a designated circuit (crucial for a power-hungry appliance like a microwave).
When I got to the place to add the new outlet, I realized…that’s what they were thinking…
Exactly where I wanted to place my outlet box was a big metal pipe. The previous contractors had also run into this. But instead of just moving the box over a couple inches, they just let the outlets stick out. Not the most professional…
Luckily, I had a junction box that was slim enough to avoid this problem. My outlet was smooth!
And the microwave looked great! Even if the person before did sloppy work, a good handyman should be able to tidy it up 🙂
Handy Manage 