Our story so far: As we installed cabinetry and appliances in the kitchen of the old Methodist church we were converting into our home, a bit of creativity and old-fashioned ingenuity were required.

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And then there was the refrigerator.

There had been no refrigerator in the display kitchen. I guess display people don’t need cold food. But we were real people, and ice cream was a requirement, not a negotiable.

When we designed our kitchen in the chome, there was a perfect 37-inch-wide nook on the left side of the back wall of the kitchen; the congregation had a custom cabinet in the space which we imagined might have stored bread and wine. This slot was maintained when Tyler installed the header to support the balcony. The drywallers drywalled the space, and we were set to shop. Only with five-eighths-inch drywall, our slot ended up 35-and-three-quarters-inch wide. A 36-inch refrigerator would not fit.

That’s OK, refrigerators come in a variety of widths. We knew we’d find one. And while we were shopping for the washer and dryer, we did find one. It was 35-and-five-eighths-inches wide. We liked it because it had more capacity than some 36-inch-wide ones (so much more than a skinny 32-inch-wide or 34-inch-wide refrigerator). It would be snug fit perhaps, but hey, we had an eighth inch to spare. We signed the dotted line and committed to a delivery date.

I suppose you know where this story is headed.

Back at the church we measured the twice we should have measured the first time.

We did indeed have 35-and-three-quarters inches at the top of the opening. But we had only 35-and-a-half inches at the bottom.

At one point, Tyler, who has used brute force in the past on obstinate inanimate objects, said he’d shove it in one way or another. I’m sure he could have.

But he reconsidered.

And he called the drywallers.

Who came by a few days later to replace the five-eighths-inch drywall with quarter-inch drywall, thereby buying us a whole inch of play, top and bottom.

Our painter Low Talker painted the slot just in time for delivery of our refrigerator.

No brute force required.

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Tomorrow: More appliances. More issues. Read about it here.