I read an Anti-Microwave thread and got rid of my own!

paperpudding wrote: »

lemurcat2 wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

. .........usually are built in above the stove in most houses and apts now and the smaller ones not take up much more space than a large toaster oven.

This must be a location thing.

I'm not sure what you mean by built in - like an oven or hot plate that you can't move??? I haven't seen any microwaves like that, they are all free standing here in Australia. All I have ever seen anyway.
So, if you move house you take the microwave with you, it isn't built in or attached or part of the house like a stove or built in wardrobe.
And where it goes is very variable - some kitchens have designated space, either over the oven or under the bench.

I prefer it at bench height myself so mine is on the bench - but that is just personal preference, there is no 'usually'

Bench=counter?

Here (where I live, not talking for the US as a whole), they aren't on the counter. Sometimes they are over the oven with some kind of fan thing in place of the vent hood. In many houses or condos where the stove has a hood (like my current), they are in a build-in shelf, more commonly above the counter (to preserve counter space) but sometimes below. Removable, but they will be there with the appliances when you buy. It would be unusual for someone to take one with them when moving. (I think some places houses don't come with the other appliances either -- seen that on House Hunters International -- but here they do.)

Yes, kitchen bench = kitchen counter in other lingo, same thing.

I have never seen one of those over the stovetop models

Some people here have them on shelf above oven ( not cook top) or under bench shelf.

Or commonly on the bench itself.

is not something you would expect to be included if you buy a house - unlike the oven and cooktop which would be because they are attached.
Houses here do not come with any appliances - except oven/cooktop.

lemurcat2 wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

Houses generally include a dishwasher (because it is built in) and may or may not include other appliances like a stove and refrigerator. Occasionally they include a washer and dryer. Basically, if it is built in or the space was designed around the appliance, it stays.

IME, here (Chicago), unless you are buying a place that needs serious remodeling, you can usually assume a house (or condo) will come with a refrigerator, oven/stove, dishwasher, microwave, and washer and dryer. In a condo the washer and dryer are more likely to be a stacked model. I think in some parts of the US it's not uncommon to take some of the appliances when you leave -- in fact I think my parents did that when we moved around 1980 -- but I can't imagine someone doing that here (this is the city, I know nothing about what happens in the 'burbs).

I haven't rented for over 20 years, and the last place I rented (lived there for a few years) was old and had no dishwasher (although it did have a counter microwave), no drain disposal (whatever that thing is called), and no air conditioning (and of course no in-unit washer or dryer).

On random weird kitchen things most people seem to have but I don't -- I only have a manual can opener, not one of the electric ones, and no toaster (and also no toaster oven).

Safari_Gal_ wrote: »

Interesting! So I grew up in a 100 yr old brownstone....our microwave was also on a counter. Fast forward 20 years and yep/ my newer place also has a built in... though it’s a convection/microwave. We spend part of the year in Europe and we don’t even own a microwave overseas... In the US - I mostly use the micro function for reheating. Disregard the dirty oven photo 😉

Carlos_421 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Safari_Gal_ wrote: »

Interesting! So I grew up in a 100 yr old brownstone....our microwave was also on a counter. Fast forward 20 years and yep/ my newer place also has a built in... though it’s a convection/microwave. We spend part of the year in Europe and we don’t even own a microwave overseas... In the US - I mostly use the micro function for reheating. Disregard the dirty oven photo 😉

Yeah, I was curious about when built in microwaves started to become more the norm and did a google and posted up thread. It appears that sales of counter top microwaves peaked in 2001 and have declined significantly and steadily since and the sales of built in microwaves have increased 100% since 2000. So that tells me they started to become a thing in the early 2000's. Every new build I've seen since, I'd say, about 2005 has them built in.

I was reading through and thinking to myself that they became popular in the early to mid 2000's when I got to your post which confirmed as much.

wwwtheselion11 wrote: »

I want a in wall microwave. I can feel the radiation coming of my microwave. I hate microwaves. Would not mind a dry fryer

earlnabby wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

is not something you would expect to be included if you buy a house - unlike the oven and cooktop which would be because they are attached.
Houses here do not come with any appliances - except oven/cooktop.

It is not something expected when you buy a house here either but is often included if it is a built-in model. Apartments almost always include a dishwasher,stove, and refrigerator but no other appliances. Houses generally include a dishwasher (because it is built in) and may or may not include other appliances like a stove and refrigerator. Occasionally they include a washer and dryer. Basically, if it is built in or the space was designed around the appliance, it stays.

The main reason why appliances are included or not is the new home for the sellers. Will their appliances fit and look good in the new place? Do they even want to bother moving them (especially if the new home already has them)? I know many who switched and took their appliances with them but brought the ones from the new home to the old.

When I bought my condo, the dishwasher and stove were included but I had to buy a refrigerator.

earlnabby wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

basements are very uncommon in Australian houses (something to do with the water table, I beleive)

Whether or not a basement is common in the US depends on the water table and also the makeup of the soil. Many parts of the Great Plains cannot have basements even though the water table is low because the soil is very sandy and shifts enough that walls will crack within a couple of years. This is the same type of soil that blew all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in the 1930's creating the Dustbowl. Without the deep rooted grasses that kept the soil in place it was open for the winds to just take it.

My friend moved to Oklahoma and was able to get a tornado shelter which was a pre-built steel container set underground so it would withstand the shifting ground.

lemurcat2 wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

paperpudding wrote: »

basements are very uncommon in Australian houses (something to do with the water table, I beleive)

Whether or not a basement is common in the US depends on the water table and also the makeup of the soil. Many parts of the Great Plains cannot have basements even though the water table is low because the soil is very sandy and shifts enough that walls will crack within a couple of years. This is the same type of soil that blew all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in the 1930's creating the Dustbowl. Without the deep rooted grasses that kept the soil in place it was open for the winds to just take it.

My friend moved to Oklahoma and was able to get a tornado shelter which was a pre-built steel container set underground so it would withstand the shifting ground.

I lived in Oklahoma for a few years when growing up, and we didn't have a basement (always thought that was really bizarre given how common tornados were). We'd go over to my neighbors who had kids my age and a basement when there were tornado warnings, which was fun (maybe it was also some kind of steel container, this was when I was like 5-7 so I don't know).

We then lived in Alaska for a while and when we first got there and felt our first earthquake my mom had no clue what to do and took us down to the basement (which we then had, but that's not what you do).

Basements are really common where I am now (Chicago), although originally most would have been unfinished (and some have ceilings too low to finish although some of those can be dug out apparently). This piece says basements being common has something to do with the depth of the frost line: http://moss-design.com/basement/

kshama2001 wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

acpgee wrote: »

We are in the UK where it is norm to have the clothes washer and dryer in the kitchen. When we lived in the Netherlands these appliances would typically be located in the largest bathroom. That made more sense to me as it was closer to both the laundry hamper and the closets. Curious where these appliances are typically located in the US?

It depends on what kind of building your home is and where you live. Here in the Great Lakes region, almost every single family home has a basement and the laundry is commonly placed there along with something like a utility sink. Other parts of the country don't have the kind of land where basements are possible so the laundry might be in a mud room or utility room on the main floor. Condos and some apartments will have the laundry in something like a utility room that also holds the water heater and furnace. A few will have it in a closet in a place like the powder room. Many apartments will have community laundry facilities used by the whole building.

I have a townhouse condo (commonly called a terraced house in the UK) with 2 stories plus a basement. My laundry is in a utility closet in the main floor powder room but the furnace and water heater are in the basement.

Yes, I would say the most common place for a washer and dryer in a house with a basement is in the basement.

In a nicer house I saw a stackable unit upstairs where it was convenient and a full size washer and dryer downstairs.

For most of my life, my mother has not had a dryer. She has clothes lines outside and in an attic-type room above the kitchen, and racks that can be put near the wood stove. She was considering stackable units at one point, but at that time they were expensive and not big enough to handle quilts unless they were super expensive, so she stuck with her current system.

She's in a wicked old house which does not have a basement, so part of the issue is that there is no obvious location for a dryer.

corinasue1143 wrote: »

My house is a big ranch. To do laundry, I go to the east end of the house to my bedroom, hamper in closet in northeast corner of bedroom, walk down the hall to the west end of the house, north through a door to the living room, back east through a door to a 256 square foot room dedicated to the washer and dryer.

Who the heck designed that?

Why?

Who ever designed my sister's house was smart - they put the washer and dryer in a laundry closet in between the bedrooms. There's not a place to fold, but it's a heck of a lot more convenient.

On the plus side for your situation, more steps

nicsflyingcircus wrote: »

kshama2001 wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

acpgee wrote: »

We are in the UK where it is norm to have the clothes washer and dryer in the kitchen. When we lived in the Netherlands these appliances would typically be located in the largest bathroom. That made more sense to me as it was closer to both the laundry hamper and the closets. Curious where these appliances are typically located in the US?

It depends on what kind of building your home is and where you live. Here in the Great Lakes region, almost every single family home has a basement and the laundry is commonly placed there along with something like a utility sink. Other parts of the country don't have the kind of land where basements are possible so the laundry might be in a mud room or utility room on the main floor. Condos and some apartments will have the laundry in something like a utility room that also holds the water heater and furnace. A few will have it in a closet in a place like the powder room. Many apartments will have community laundry facilities used by the whole building.

I have a townhouse condo (commonly called a terraced house in the UK) with 2 stories plus a basement. My laundry is in a utility closet in the main floor powder room but the furnace and water heater are in the basement.

Yes, I would say the most common place for a washer and dryer in a house with a basement is in the basement.

In a nicer house I saw a stackable unit upstairs where it was convenient and a full size washer and dryer downstairs.

For most of my life, my mother has not had a dryer. She has clothes lines outside and in an attic-type room above the kitchen, and racks that can be put near the wood stove. She was considering stackable units at one point, but at that time they were expensive and not big enough to handle quilts unless they were super expensive, so she stuck with her current system.

She's in a wicked old house which does not have a basement, so part of the issue is that there is no obvious location for a dryer.

corinasue1143 wrote: »

My house is a big ranch. To do laundry, I go to the east end of the house to my bedroom, hamper in closet in northeast corner of bedroom, walk down the hall to the west end of the house, north through a door to the living room, back east through a door to a 256 square foot room dedicated to the washer and dryer.

Who the heck designed that?

Why?

Who ever designed my sister's house was smart - they put the washer and dryer in a laundry closet in between the bedrooms. There's not a place to fold, but it's a heck of a lot more convenient.

On the plus side for your situation, more steps

In our house in Virginia (DC area, new build 2000), we had a laundry closet upstairs where all bedrooms were. Honestly, I disliked it and it just felt super cramped and tight, though it was supposed to be super convenient. I grew up with laundry in the basement and was used to having lots of space around the washer and dryer, even if you had to tote baskets around. Our house now (new build in 2004, lived in since) has no basement, but a mudroom/laundry room where you enter the house from the garage.