One of the first things you must decide upon is the appliances that
you are going to put in your new kitchen. Cabinets are ordered to fit
these appliances as well as the sink. Please check with manufacturer
specifications or measure the appliances to assure no problems will
occur with installation.
The info below is meant to be basic information to give the customer a
direction on which to begin planning. You, the customer, can use any
machination of the below packages to design your kitchen.
Here are the basic appliances packages for most kitchens:
Package 1-most common
30" freestanding range
30" over the range microwave or hood
36" wide refrigerator
24" dishwasher
Package 2
30" cooktop
30" double oven or single oven/microwave combo
30" over the range microwave or hood
36" wide refrigerator
24" dishwasher
Package 3
36" cooktop
30" double oven or single oven/microwave combo
36" over the range hood
36" wide refrigerator
24" dishwasher
Those are the basic packages. The cabinets that you would order for
the appliances are as follows-heights of cabinets are going to depend on
the design of your kitchen:
30" cooktop= SB30 or B30
36" cooktop= SB36
30" double oven or 30" single oven/microwave combo = 30" or 33" wide oven cabinet
30" over the range microwave = W3012, W3015, W3018, W3024 (the height of
the upper cabinets will depend on the height of the upper cabinets -see CABINETS 101)
NOTES ON APPLIANCES
DISHWASHERS- 95% of dishwashers are 24" wide and your kitchen should
leave 24 1/4" for the appliance. Any flooring more than 7/16" thick
(such as some travertine) the base cabinets may need to be raised so
that the dishwasher height will still fit. Most wood, laminate and tile
flooring are 3/8" thick this flooring doesn't present any problems.
REFRIGERATORS-most refrigerators are 36" wide and no more than 72" on
the front edge where the hinge is located. The cabinet opening should
be 38"X72" to 39"X72" if the fridge is against the wall this is to allow
the fridge door to open properly. You can purchase two 24" deep panels to create a built in look. Some special built in
refrigerators have heights of 84" and widths of 36", 42" and 48". If
you are going to do a special built in fridge that won't fit in the the
standard 38"X72" opening then you decide that before ordering cabinets
and design kitchen around it.
RANGE HOODS- range hoods are either vented or not
vented/recirculating. If you want the hood to be vented, the vent needs
to line up with the center of the cooktop or the slide in range opening.
Over the range microwaves can be vented or not vented/recirculating
also. Microwaves normally have a fan that be flipped a quarter of a turn
to make the microwave vented or not vented.
OTHER APPLIANCES- Wine Chillers, under counter refrigerators, and
trash compactors are some of the other appliances that are commonly
found in kitchens. These vary in sizes so please see the specification
of the manufacturer to see the installation instructions.