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New microwave
Hooray! This is the aforementioned microwave we ordered. I picked it up from Lowes yesterday evening - which was an experience in itself, and installed it last night. While waiting about 25 minutes for someone to bring the microwave to me, I noticed Lowes has a "customer service" sign in 5 languages: English, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Russian. I'm guessing on those last two, since I'm not a linguist. So finally, "John the loader" was able to wheel the microwave up to the front, and I sign my name and I'm off.
The old microwave was a pain in the butt to remove. It has an interesting/annoying design. There were no markings or manuals to help, but apparently I had to remove certain key screws from around and under the old microwave to let it slide forward and out of its mounting cage - which was also the outer shell of the unit. Once this was out, I was able to remove the screws from the inside of the cage and remove it from the cabniet. It was a mess. when it was finally out I saw some really old wallpaper.
Installing the new one was much easier. First you draw a vertical centerline on the wall in the opening, then attach the mounting plate to the back wall. Luckily the studs were easy to access. Next drill two holes in the upper cabinet and lift the new microwave into place. The mounting plate holds most of the weight of the microwave, and the top screws keep it in place.
I think it looks great.