I want to put a dishwasher in my home. How do I do this?

Question

I have never had a dishwasher here before. There are some water lines under the counter were one would go and the cabinet would need to b removed. How does this need to be done and about how much can I expect to pay to have one installed?

Answer 1

Both previous answers are good ones, and should be of serious help in making your decision. I would add that I have installed and repaired several hundred of these things, and I would suggest to you that whether you do it yourself or hire it done, put a recept at the rear of the opening for the electrical supply and put a power cord, (those used on power saws and drills work well and are about the right length, 10- 12 ft.), on the unit to plug into the recept. This makes it much easier to pull out and repair in the future, and believe me it will have to come out at some point in time. A good long flexible water line hookup is also very desirable.

Answer 2

If you are handy, you can do it yourself!

Measure the width and height of the dishwasher carefully. You will need an opening in your cabinets only slightly wider, and at least as high.

Take my advice, put it next to the sink. This minimizes the length of the pipes/hoses.

The dishwasher needs an electric connection, a hot water feed, and a drain line. Most garbage disposals have a fitting for a drain from the dishwasher, but if you don't have a disposal, you can run it to your kitchen sink drain. So there is some plumbing and electrical work.

The installation instructions that come with the dishwasher will be helpful.

Answer 3

You will need connections for water, drain, and power. If your proposed space is near the sink, the water and drain requirements can be met easily. (Codes generally require that a gadget called an air check be used between the dishwasher drain line and the sink or garbage disposal to which it is connected; this usually gets installed in one of the holes on top of the sink.) Electricity can be more of a problem; a dedicated circuit is used for dishwashers, and if such a circuit was not installed when the place was built (look for something under the sink), you will need to run one. The dishwasher itself will cost on the order of $400; depending on the complexity of the installation, it could run several hundred dollars more. Vendors will be able to give you a better idea when you tell them about what you now have.