When planning a Home Renovation choosing the right Appliances can be a bigger deal than a lot of people realize. Sure, you want them to look good and have great features, but you also need them to last. Figuring out which brands and models will last can sometimes be a bit of a gamble. It’s a good idea to listen to the advice of your contractors when it comes to reliability and ease of repair.

John Webb of John Webb Construction & Design has been designing new homes as well as remodels in Oregon & Washington, for over 20 years. This full home remodel with Master Bedroom and Guest Wing Additions, is a great example of his knack for practical design and beautiful finishes. At this stage in the project he is going over the foundation of the redesign, taking stock of the existing appliances and determining whether or not to encourage the owner to keep them.

Quality Appliances – to Repair or Replace

You know this stove is 15 years old, but there’s nothing wrong with it. The stove, it’s a Wolf stove, it’s a high end product, and it’s timeless. This stove in 40 more years, as long as they still have parts for it, it’ll always be in style. Same thing with the refrigerator, it’s a SubZero. You know it kind of fades away when it’s all put in just like the cabinetry, and it’s the color of the cabinetry, so it’s nondescript.

But when you’re dealing with refrigerators and appliances like this, they’re timeless. And they’re just designed really nicely. I mean, everything moves. I mean this is 15 years old… look at the condition it’s in. I mean, it’s got really nice glide, it’s just really well thought out.

So, these are the kind of appliances that the come with a warranty in the beginning. And you might have to change a compressor in 20 years, but that’s a couple thousand bucks. And you can’t hardly buy a regular refrigerator that shoves in the wall for $2,000 these days. Or anything of this quality would be at least 5 to 6 times that. So you’d be in the $10,000 to $12,000 price range for a refrigerator like that.

So, over the years it comes back down to quality and having to replace things. It’s sad that everything is made so you have to spend more money. And you watch when things come out unless you buy a better quality. They only want them to last 10 years and you’re off to the store to buy another one. And they being the manufacturers. They have a plan. Not all of them, but quite a few of them.

John Webb Construction & Design EUG: https://johnwebbconstruction.com/

Posted January 4, 2023 by John Webb