Bread and Plumbing: Part Three

 

Steamed

Even in a big town, there are only a handful of well-known appliance dealers. The one we just crossed off our list was one of the biggest and most respected, which made the sting of warranty rejection all the worse. What do you do when you have no recourse? No remedy?

You turn around, shove your hands in your pockets, hunch your shoulders and shuffle off, enrobed in bitterness, kicking rocks as you mutter sour grapes.

There was absolutely no way we were buying at the big box place, nor at Sears (which even ten years ago was only a shell of its former self).

Luckily we were able to find a local mom and pop appliance showroom in a neighboring town, so one Saturday morning my wife and I took an excursion to go check it out. The store was neither huge nor glamorous in any way, but it was friendly and boasted rave reviews.

We were greeted by the owner, a seasoned-looking but genial guy who could be your uncle Dave. He asked what brought us in, and I said we were looking for a new range (though I fought off the urge to say “our minivan out there”).

The manager brightened and began gesturing toward various models with a sweep of his hand, and we began to walk through the rows of appliances. He touted the pluses and minuses of the typical offerings from Samsung, LG and Fridgidaire; nothing we hadn’t seen before. Then he happened to call attention to another brand we were familiar with for their superior vacuum cleaners: Miele. And as he gave us its story, we began to realize that it seemed to be a complete stand-out, boasting a ton of very smart features: front-side controls, high thermal output burners, a convection oven and a wifi connection.

Then he said the words “Baguette Mode”.

Say what now?

Yes, its true. This Miele range had a mode that was specifically for creating baguettes.

This is where I wanted to stop him and say “Shut up and take my money.”

That’s all I needed to see. No price was too high! Baguettes! No doubt it would do a perfect job making them, because how else could you tout a mode just for this type of bread?

I tuned back into his spiel as he mentioned where the water line attaches.

The what?

Yes, a water line. Into the range. It uses water. To make steam. Because baguettes need steam, as I mentioned earlier.

I pursed my lips thoughtfully, stroking my chin as I squinted at the ceiling, thinking hard about how it could be accomplished, given our fairly recent kitchen remodel. The range would have to drop into the custom range slot we had already created very specifically for the dud currently occupying that position, but fortunately the width of the new range was exactly right. And then it would need a water supply line and valve in the wall behind it. I recalled that before the remodel we had kept the refrigerator in the place where the range sits now, and there was a water line in the wall at that time. I figured it couldn’t be too hard to get that all hooked back up. After all, the pipes should be there already.

We said we were sold on it, plunked down the cash up front and purchased it right then. Delivery schedule depended upon manufacturing and shipping times, which put us out about two months in the future. That should give me plenty of time to work out how to get the water service re-established in that wall.

Later that weekend I sat down and scanned through some old videos I had taken during the remodel process, paying particular attention to the scene in which I scanned the walls where the refrigerator and cabinets had been. In the bare studs it was easy to see the electrical service that was roughed in, the gas line and the conduit for the range hood. But the one thing that was missing made my heart sink: they completely removed the old refrigerator water line. I had video evidence that showed conclusively that any plumbing that had existed for the refrigerator had been completely and aggressively removed, with prejudice. Like razing the village and salting the ground. No more refrigerators here, by jiminy!

So that complicates things a bit but doesn’t ruin it completely. Any plumber worth his coveralls can install a water line. And the job should be simplified by the fact that we can exactly point out where the previous pass-throughs and hangers for the old pipes are.

All I needed to do was find a plumber worth his coveralls. How hard could that be?