Yours doesn't have to be that high and if you're shorter than my 5 foot, 5 inches height that might be a factor, too. To illustrate how important this is, the recommendation on the instructions is 30 inches from the top of the stove to the top of the microwave - that is considered "standard."Īfter measuring with our pots, I knew I needed the bottom of the microwave to be 22 inches from the stove top to easily remove jars from a canner, for a total of 38 inches from the top of the stove to the top of the microwave. You get to customize your microwave! I had seen many examples where the microwave was installed so low that the back range burners were almost useless and I didn't want that to happen in my kitchen. Really think about how you use your stove top and not just where others put theirs. Get out all your biggest pots (including a boiling water canner, if you use one) and have someone measure the space you need not only to have the pot sit there, but also as you lift the lid to look inside and take things out. The photo above is out of order (you'll notice the bottom of the installed microwave), but I'm using it here to illustrate a major point to decide before proceeding:ĭecide the height you want the microwave to hang above the stove. Determine How Far Above Your Stove to Hang The Microwave (Please ignore how awful the wall looks - it's never meant to be seen.)Ģ.
Using the correct blade, Brian had the bottom of the original cabinet cut out fairly cleanly in a short amount of time. Our goal was to be able to cut the bottom out cleanly and then be able to just move it higher and create a new cabinet shelf.
#Nimble base cabinets how to
How to use an oscillating tool to cut out the shelf: This is the one tool you really need for this project, though you can borrow one like we did at the time (though we bought one not long after because they are so handy for lots of other DIY projects like this). Our cabinet was not a separate box, but part of the whole wall cabinet, so after turning off the power to the range hood and removing it (which was not vented, as we have a Jenn-Air range which vents below, though the steps are the same whether vented or not) the next step was to use an oscillating tool to cut out the bottom shelf of the cabinet.īrian sometimes calls this tool a "plunge saw" because you can cut right into the wood cleanly in smaller places than a sawzall or jigsaw. Remove the Range Hood and Bottom Cabinet Shelf How to Retrofit a Cabinet for a Microwaveġ. Then read on for the steps we took to retrofit our too-low cabinet to hold a microwave that still allowed me to use a canner or lift pot lids without banging my knuckles.
So, if you, too, would you like to go from something like this typical range hood set up (we'd already removed the doors on the cabinet): DON'T just go by the general recommendations. We did learn a few things though, and thought we'd share a tutorial along with our tips - the biggest of which is to measure YOUR pots and think about how YOU will use your stove when you're deciding where to place your microwave. However, we had to reconfigure the cabinet above the stove to make this a reality, and while it may seem daunting at first, it's really just a few easy steps, especially if you have the right tools. It also just looks cleaner and less cluttered. Getting the microwave off the counter allowed us to have a coffee station in a more convenient area and gave me more room for bigger cooking projects like canning. Some links in this article are affiliate links and if you click on them I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.Īdding an over-the-range microwave was one of the first steps towards the remodel of our ranch-to-cottage kitchen, and it made a huge difference right away in how we were able to use our kitchen and counters.
Includes tips and lessons learned - and the one time we don't want you to follow the recommendations.
#Nimble base cabinets install
Need to add an over-the-stove microwave to already existing cabinets? Follow these steps to retrofit a cabinet for a microwave and then install it over your stove to gain counter space and usability in your kitchen.
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