Vintage Kitchen Question...

[chachp]

I am looking for a new home. I would love a home with a vintage kitchen like this but I am wondering how difficult it would be to fit in a vintage dishwasher. I couldn't imagine a home without a dishwasher. In this example it looks like the space to the left of the kitchen sink could be removed but I am wondering how easy it would be. I realize it's difficult to comment from a picture but as I look for homes without a dishwasher I'd need to know I could add one.

This looks like a Youngstown kitchen and I know they are modular but I just wonder if any of you have attmepted something like this and how easy it might be. I haven't seen this kitchen in person but in the photo it looks to be original and my intention would be to keep it the way it is but add a dishwasher. I know the Youngstown Kitchen front loaders were 30" wide but I wouldn't want one of those. I would likely want to install one of my vintage 24" KA dishwashers.

 

[polkanut]

In a kitchen such as this I would have second thoughts about installing a built-in dw.  If at all feasible, I would consider a portable unit instead.

 

[danemodsandy]

Chach -

Just be ready for an adventure. If you end up with a steel kitchen, even its "modular" aspect will not cut out all challenges. If you find that you have a 24-inch cabinet just the right size to remove for a dishwasher, I guarantee you'll find things when you remove it that will take some work to resolve. It's just the way it is with existing kitchens.

There really is not a way to advise you on specifics until you have bought a house and can show us what you're dealing with.

 

[xraytech]

I personally wouldn't remove any of the cabinets to add a built in dishwasher.
I think the best choice is a nice vintage portable unit

 

[volvoguy87]

Steel Cabinets.

I'm putting in an American Kitchens set of steel cabinets right now. My sink base is a 36" front and nothing more. It relies on the cabinets on either side to form the sides and to support the counter top. Many such vintage cabinets utilize a sink base that is more than a sink's width wide and contain side cabinets as part of one unit. These sorts of sink base cabinets can be 60" wide or more.

In order to determine if your cabinets are one unit or are separate, take a hard look at the cabinet you wish to remove and determine if it is part of the sink base or separate. If the sink base is like mine and is only a front, you will need to reinforce the underpinnings of the counter so it is fully supported. You can always install a dishwasher elsewhere in the kitchen, but it would be a good idea to utilize a small water heater just for the dishwasher or a recirculating loop so the dishwasher would have sufficient hot water since you could not use the sink to purge the line.

Clear as mud?
Dave

 

[chachp]

Great comments. Thank you!

I had a feeling it wasn't a good idea to mess with a setup like this. It sure sounds like it could turn into a mess. I had no idea about the sink base requiring side cabinets. I always thought they were free standing.

Depending on where I go I would likely want a kitchen large enough where I could have a island built to complement the kitchen and put a dishwasher in the island. I'm not opposed to a portable if I had the room but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Although a GE Mobile Maid impeller top loader might be a fun machine in a kitchen like that.

 

[norgeway]

Kitchen in pictures..

Is a Geneva, these were great, St Charles was the "Cadillac" of steel kitchens, but to me Youngstown was the best looking.

 

[chachp]

The sink.

I especially like the sink with the drainboards on either side. This particular house is like a time capsule and according to the ad the contents are also available and some rooms look like it's stuck in time. It would be a fun house to have.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1321-W-Union-Blvd_Bethlehem_PA_18018_M40532-34010?row=1#

 

[circlew]

Our house was built in 1952, with Lyon steel kitchen cabinets. For Christmas 1958, my grandfather (who lived with us) bought my mom a GE 24" pullout dishwasher. As the floor and countertops were original, it was easy for them to install it in place of the 24" cabinet to the left of the sink. Like Dave (Volvoguy) mentions, ours was also just a sink front.

What would complicate installation is if another layer or more of floor covering has been installed. This would likely necessitate removing the countertop to allow the machine to be set in place, then re-installing the top.

 

[iheartmaytag]

What was done in my 80 year old house

With an 80 year old kitchen.  Though the cabinets are Pine and not metal.  The former owners extended the cabinet and put the dishwasher under the add on.  Not perfect, a little far from the sink and dining room, but a working dishwasher.  

 

Luckily they did do that add on, or I would have passed on the house all together.  DW was a must on the list.   Though I hated the one they had and replaced it within a month of moving in.  I didn't have to make modifications. 

 

[ovrphil]

Nice house!

Is this one of a few you're considering? My mother-in-law's house has the turquoise sink and pink tiles in the bathroom, and turquoise bathtub - probably the reverse of this bathroom. Looks like a well-cared for home.

[this post was last edited: 5/22/2014-22:51]

 

[ovrphil]

well-kept home - nice rooms..and the kitchen has a great stove.

 

[polkanut]

Can anyone make out what brand of stove it is?

[this post was last edited: 5/23/2014-07:12]

 

[danemodsandy]

Tim:

I think from the panel styling that that's a WCI-built Frigidaire. It's definitely WCI.

 

[polkanut]

Thanks Sandy.

 

 

[ovrphil]

WCI ? Oh well, my compliments still stand.