Whirlpool. Replaced our thirteen year old Whirlpool refrigerator last year when the icemaker went out. Refrigerator worked fine though. Now have a side by side. One plus, it has a lock provision that shuts off the water and ice, very helpful as we watch both very young grandsons during the day.

Now on to GE. Their customer service at least in my view is top tier. We have had two GE microwaves. The first one quit at about three years old. Replaced it with an identical model, it lasted thirteen and a half months. I called GE expecting nothing. They offered me a refund of the purchase price of the one that went bad if I purchased another GE to replace it. Without going through all the process I send in the proof of purchase for the new one and in four to eight weeks they send me a check for the bad one.

I'd steer clear of GE these days, they sold out to a Chinese company - Haier.

Dual fuel for a range/oven is the thing these days. Electric oven with gas cooktop.

Wall ovens are hard to get serviced, cost more for service.

Stay away from box stores, they sell price point appliances.

Frayed I'm a little confused. Do you have your cabinets yet? You'll want to make sure that what ever appliances you're getting will fit if that's the case. Also you'll need to make sure that the appropriate utilities are run to the right spot.

Most of our houses have a larger appliance budget so I'm not very familiar with ones that may work for you except to say that Lowes (and maybe HD) are always running sales. If you tell them that you are looking for the whole house package you should be able to get signinficant discounts.
I had a client a few years ago that was able to get 40% off the floor price on his package.

Good Luck!

Okay, maybe a few details. We know we will go over budget. Looking for suggestions on brands that are good quality but reasonable price.

I think we will have to stay to one brand to ensure the look is the same. The wall oven/microwave combo is a must. We (my girlfriend, Sherri) do not want a microwave on a shelf. The wall oven is just a backup. It will be for holidays and gatherings but that's about it.

We are in the design phase of the kitchen with the builder. He already has drawings for the appliances we want. So no concerns on that end. It's a huge kitchen, 18 X 16 feet, open concept to eating area and living room.

quote:

Originally posted by Graniteguy:
Most of the components are built in the same place. Ownership of various brands changes hands every 3-4 years.

You essentially roll the dice anytime you buy a stove or refrigerator.

This is not true. Whirlpool aquired Maytag back in 2006 (which included Amana and Jenn-Air). Other than that, Whirlpool, KitchenAid, and some other smaller brands have all been under the same company for quite some time. I personally like Kitchen-Aid appliances, but Maytag and Whirlpool are great as well. It really comes down to looks, and price among them. I actually prefer black to SS if you have kids (shows less dirt).


Regardless, I sent something to your personal email. If the timing doesn’t work, email me again when you’re ready if you find it useful.

quote:

Okay my friends. I am building a house with my girlfriend.

Holy cow, frayedends, this has gotten serious!

In our kitchen remodel we got a Whirlpool Gold wall oven which has been perfect, and a Bosch dishwasher which is less than perfect only because of non-phosphate detergent.

Agree with avoiding GE--the name was sold.

Partial to LG refrigerators.

All this based on Consumer Reports reviews which for these purposes have been helpful.

Been there done that..... So here goes... No GE anything. Wirlpool Gold have been ok. Maytag has been good. Bosch dishwasher has been great. Maybe you do a common color and pick the best from each. I have Maytag washer and dryer. Wirlpool Gold frig, oven and Microwave/Vent Hood. Let me say an outside vented range hood with a good strong fan is wonderful. I am changing to Bosch dishwasher soon.

I've had horrible service from GE anything in past 10 years.

YMMV.....

No GE ever again for us. Period. +1 to above regarding Bosch. Our Bosch dish washer is the only appliance that has been trouble free. All the others required service or parts and are all GE. My house is not even 4 years old yet and therefore neither are my appliances.

Avoid twist tray ice makers if you want ice. Frigidaire in particular.

Compliments to Hurricane Harvey, we replaced all of our kitchen appliances a number of months ago.

This something to be aware of...
Looking over a number of reviews, we decided on a Whirlpool microwave and a Frigidaire stove. Well...the microwave has blue LEDs, the stove has green!

CW

We are about to start building our house, too, so I'm in a similar boat. I already know most of the appliances that I want.

I would go for the same finish, but not the same brand. Mine will be all stainless. The good ones of each type generally won't fall under one brand. I'd get a Bosch dishwasher, definitely. For a fridge, I've had great luck with Whirlpool's higher end units. I've never been a fan of built-in microwaves- much harder to replace, if needed.

What kind of range? Electric, gas, induction? There are several good brands of range/oven.

Another important question is: how much do you guys cook? If you are serious about it, that budget may be a bit on the low side. My Wolf cooktop will be about 5k by itself, but I'm serious about cooking.

Range will be propane. Could have an electric oven as long as the burners are propane.

One of you guys sent me a very helpful email. Not sure who it was but thank you! I tried to reply to the email address in the message but got it returned. Shoot me an email at jrogers4649 AT GMAIL if you have a chance. Thanks!

Its the luck of the draw. Can get good and bad with either brand. If it were me I would maybe go to Home Depot and select matching units. Have nice sales sometime. Maybe even Sears.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
a Bosch dishwasher which is less than perfect

A service tech told me there are two ways to fix this. The simplest is to use Cascade Platinum pods, if you are not doing this already. The platinum tabs clean everything better. They make stainless and copper bottom pans shine. I buy the Platinum tabs on sale at Costco or Target.

Same brand is great for looks, but bad for reliability.

For example KitchenAid might make a very good dishwasher, but their stove sucks.

Last couple times I checked, there was no one brand that made above average quality in all the various appliances.

The dishwasher you are looking for is Miele.

Re icemakers: Is there such a thing as an icemaker that won’t fail after a year? We’re on our third refridge in 20 years with ice maker. All of the icemakers failed just after a year. Current one is Whirlpool Gold. Learned to get extended warrenty. Icemaker breaks down once a year. All repair guys say same thing: Icemakers are pos.Appliance companies expect that people to buy ext warrenty. Don’t make them to last.

So does anybody make an icemaker that lasts?

To echo what a lot of folks have said GE (esp dishwashers) sucks. About 3 years ago I put in a GE dishwasher that I hated almost from day 1. I had to use the pots and pans cycle to get anything clean. I used a drying agent and the heated drying setting and still had wet dishes. It did not get used hard, 2-3 times a week, and still quit after 2.5 years. I replaced it with a Bosch and could not be happier.

One thing I would recommend in a dishwasher is get one with the 3rd (silverware) rack. Much more efficient use of space and can be removed if needed to fit tall items.