Wow. That is a wide fridge!!
I vote against a regular depth fridge. It can stick out even if you make the wall niche behind it to fit it in - because of the door design. Counter depth fridges have doors that can be open without a problem when the fridge is encased by cabinetry on both sides and above it. Regular fridges have to be positioned so there is clearance for the doors; basically, they have to stick out of the cabinetry. This is what the sales guy told us when we wanted to buy a regular fridge to save $$. Not sure if it is still the case, but our garage fridge has this issue, and the counter depth kitchen fridge does not.
We went from a “sticks out like a sore thumb” refrigerator to a counter depth, and we can not figure out where we lost storage space. In fact, we can get more into the freezer compartment, probably because of better design.
I am still sitting here watching the City Building Department website and the Zoning Guy has ‘started’ review of my plans last week. I am wondering if he is purposely just dragging his feet to punish me because he said the’ Designer didn’t know what they were doing’ on the first set of plans. He is now 4 days late against the City imposed deadline. First review he was 7 days late. This is causing big issues moving forward with out foundation. The foundation guys are adamant that they don’t want to dig the trenches for foundation until we know exactly when we are going to have an inspection. They are worried that the edges will cave after all the rebar gets in and then it is a bear to get down there and clean them out perfectly for inspection.
Either way, we started trenching yesterday with a small excavator that we rented from the local place. It looks like it will take about 2 days to trench and square out these footings perfectly. I am on the hunt for a mason to do the block retaining wall that has to be built onto the garage stem wall. That needs to be built and cured before we can start building walls 
Still a week or two away from building walls (assuming we will get permit sometime this week)
I found some really nice cooktops at Pacific Sales that are in my price range - high end brands. But, they don’t have the range top looks. They didn’t have any range tops except super expensive ones. I loaded pics of the cooktops
I’ll take the Thermador, thank you! How much were they asking for it?
Only $1,499 for Thermador. It might be one of their lower models, but it does the job with brand name
@VeryHappy … good point. The way the doors open is different and I don’t like to have to worry about not being able to recess the doors. Hate seeing 1-2" of black sides sticking out so that the doors don’t hit
I know someone with a regular depth fridge which they put into a deeper alcove so the front of the fridge would be flush with the cabinets. Actually, I know several someone’s who did that. They had NO issues with the opening of the doors.
^^ that totally depends on the design of the fridge.
Did Pacific sales have any counter depth fridges on sale?
You know, since you will have a dumbwaiter[ its still in the plans, yes?] and there will space down in the garage for an additional fridge, Id just get a counter depth fridge that works into your plans . I WOULD delineate a wall with a separate plug in the garage for an additional fridge.
there is no place for a second fridge on the landing, is there?
Clearly, we all have different opinions about the fridge. I would say…pick one that fits the design of your kitchen. If the future owners want an extra fridge or a free standing freezer someplace…that is up to them.
I can easily make sure there is a plug in garage in convenient location. There is also going to be a beverage frig in cabinetry in upstairs deck
The Thermador looks like it gives the most room to pots on the burners.I also like the cute star-shaped flame thingies. And you can’t go wrong with that brand name. The grid pattern accommodates a wok, as does the Viking, which also looks like it has more area per burner than the others. Probably that or the Viking, although Viking doesn’t have the greatest rep for reliability in some quarters.
The star shaped burners are not just cute - they are functional. Thermador says this design allows better temperature control.
I have a Thermador cooktop with the star-shaped burners. I’m very happy with it.
Some of the new counter depth refrigerators cannot be placed next to a wall because the doors swing out and needs 4" of clearance. We had to reconfigure our original cabinet layout because of the swing of the refrigerator doors.
BTW the family dog loves the low microwave. It’s like doggy TV with odorama.
What is the difference between a cooktop and a range top? Do you mean the fan/hood that goes over the cooktop?
No, a cooktop sits fully on top of the counter–drops in-- and is surrounded on all 4 sides by counter.
A range top comes down over the front , and the knobs are on that part, leaving the full flat surface for burners and pots. They usually are more powerful, also.
Here’s a Thermador rangetop, in contrast to the Thermador cooktop in the group photos:
Another vote for the Thermador cooktop. Its design looks very functional. I prefer the clean front and uninterrupted cabinetry of a cooktop as opposed to a range top.
One small step forward today with the permit situation
I decided to take the squeaky wheel approach. I went into the City and stood in line and asked to see the ‘Issuance’ group. When you submit a permit application you are given a ‘Project Manager’. I have found that they are clueless and are not doing anything to follow through on a submittal. I have no idea why they just don’t put 'Application Processed By… " Instead of putting ‘project manager’ all over the paperwork and telling you to contact your ‘project manager’. The Project Manager is going to pull up the exact same website that I can look at and give you ‘status’. I can already see that status !!!
So, I sit in the Issuance area and then someone comes out and announces that they are short staffed. She was kind enough to come over and ask me what I was waiting for. When I explained my situation she told me just to call the guy directly, that is all they were going to do anyway. So, I try to call the guy and he didn’t answer his phone. I go back to the front desk and get in line for Zoning. Luckily I was called pretty quickly. The nice guy at the desk pulled up the Comments and I had to explain to him that I have already seen the comments last week. I asked if there was any way I was allowed to talk to Charles who was late in reviewing the plans.
Charles comes out and lets me know it is on his desk. Then he wants to get into an argument about the ‘unpermitted’ basement bathroom and how he went down to Records and there aren’t any records available. Uhhhh… I tried to tell you that a million times. So we get into kind of a discussion on who has to prove one way or the other. He can’t ‘prove’ that it wasn’t in the original 1937 build, and I have pictures that show that the plumbing is embedded in the original foundation pour. Anyways, I really don’t care. Then they pull up the Municipal Code and it says clearly that a 1/2 bath is allowed in Non Habitable Space. I just do not understand what all the fuss is about. I don’t care if it is permitted or not permitted… it’s allowed by building code and I am submitting a permit for that bathroom.
Then he starts going off on how bad the designers were and he will not be able to sign off the plans. He kept vaguely pointing to a couple of the original corrections ‘that are not fixed properly’. I asked if he could elaborate so I can make sure and get them corrected. He would not elaborate "It’s not my job to teach your designer how to do the plans. He needs to know what is required’. I pretty much almost started crying… I could see a Mexican standoff coming and I was stuck between the shooters
But, miraculously… I can see that he is done with his review this afternoon. I have to wait for the ‘comments’ and marked plans to get routed to the desk where I can pick them up. I am going to be there again at 7am to pick up those comments and drive them straight to the engineer’s office.
When I left the City I called the designer/draftsman immediately. I relayed the concerns and issues that the Zoning guy had and I made it clear that I would have comments to him early tomorrow morning. His answer is “it’s the City’s job to review and make detailed comments where corrections are required… I can’t guess what is missing”. Then he proceeded to tell me that he couldn’t possibly fix my plans tomorrow because he is busy going out to measure someone’s house. How long can that take??? He can’t find 30 minutes to fix my plans???
This evening I went through every single comment and correction that was requested back in May. I traced the correction and I can find every correction he asked for. I don’t think there is anything more that the designer/draftsman could of done. I don’t see anything missing. I think I agree with the Designer on this one… what more does the guy want??? We will see what is on the comment sheet
So, I will be sitting at their office tomorrow as the squeaky wheel until someone fixes my plans so I can turn around and go right back to the City. Luckily the Zoning guy is going to let me come in for an Over the Counter Review. If everything falls into place I should have a permit by Thursday (which is what I thought last week!!!)