Before and after: five of our most memorable repairs this year

Some repairs stay with you long after the work is done. Here are five Viking appliance repairs from this past year that our team remembers with particular pride.

The first was a 2008 Viking Professional 48-inch range in a Lincoln Park brownstone. The owner had been told by two other services that the dual-fuel model needed a complete control board replacement at over $2,000. Marcus diagnosed it as a corroded ribbon cable connector -- a $15 part and 30 minutes of careful work. The range is still running perfectly.

The second was a Viking built-in refrigerator in a Lakeview high-rise that was making an alarming grinding noise. The building management had suggested replacing it. James traced the noise to a worn condenser fan motor bearing, replaced the motor, and the refrigerator has been whisper-quiet since. Total cost was about a tenth of what replacement would have been.

Third was a Viking gas cooktop in Old Town where two burners were producing orange, sooty flames. The homeowner was concerned about carbon monoxide. Roberto found that a previous kitchen renovation had partially blocked the cooktop's ventilation clearance. He corrected the installation gap and readjusted the air shutters. Clean blue flames returned immediately.

The fourth was an emergency call for a Viking dishwasher that flooded a Bucktown kitchen. The water was still coming when we arrived. James quickly identified a cracked spray arm that was directing water against the door seal, bypassing it. A new spray arm and seal, and the kitchen was back to normal the same day.

The fifth was a Viking outdoor grill that had not been used in three years. The owner in Wicker Park wanted to restore it for summer. Roberto disassembled the entire grill, replaced corroded burners, rebuilt the ignition system, deep-cleaned every component, and reassembled it. It looked and worked like new. The owner sent us photos from their first cookout.