Cutting top of appliance case

[Michael Rotchford]

I will have a 36” induction cooktop that requires a 36” cabinet. It also requires a minimum of 5” in height so after countertop 3.5”. I wanted to insert a 30” microwave drawer in an 36” appliance cabinet just below the countertop. The bottom will be a separate 36” short base drawer with toe kick. Will the appliance cabinet that allows a custom top rail size and custom stile size work assuming I create the cooktop opening in the top of the appliance cabinet? I want to make sure the cutout will not cause the appliance cabinet to fail.

[Michael Rotchford]

Sharp SMD3070ASY

[ChadBarker]

Sure. With an induction cooktop, these units typically sit on top of the countertop and extend down into the cabinet below. In some cases, that drop down can interfere with drawers, but most induction cooktops are fairly low profile and can be installed over a drawer base cabinet, as long as the electrical wire drop is not positioned directly above a drawer box in one of those cabinets.

That said, if your cooktop is hanging down as much as 3.5 inches into the top of the cabinet case, then from a pure space saving and efficiency standpoint, I would personally recommend building a dedicated appliance case base cabinet specifically for the Sharp drawer microwave, rather than using a wide stile cabinet. Wide stile cabinets are primarily intended for structural support, and the seams are not meant to be exposed in large, visible areas.

Using a 30 inch wide appliance case cabinet built specifically for that Sharp microwave would allow the induction cooktop to span across the microwave cabinet as well as the adjacent left and right cabinets. Essentially, you build the cabinet around the microwave drawer first, then install the induction cooktop above it. In most cases, you can get creative with routing the electrical wiring through adjacent cabinets. This approach saves the most space, looks the cleanest, and is the most professional way to execute a high end cabinet installation.

Below, I have attached the older specifications for building a cabinet around that microwave. If your induction cooktop truly drops into the cabinet case by 3.5 inches, that could present an issue. If so, I recommend switching to the wider top rail version of this appliance cabinet while keeping the opening height the same.

There are three versions of this cabinet that will work. You may want to choose the version with the widest top rail to be safe. Be sure to review your induction cooktop specifications carefully before ordering.

https://www.barkercabinets.com/product-p/b1drappliancecase.htm
https://www.barkercabinets.com/product-p/b1drappliancecasedualtop.htm
https://www.barkercabinets.com/product-p/b1drmidappliancecasetoprail.htm

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[Michael Rotchford]

Thank you. I don’t understand. How do I accommodate by 36” cooktop if the cabinet baseboard is only 30”?

[ChadBarker]

Sure, see the attached image. Note how the cooktop can straddle adjacent base cabinets in this example. You may need to notch the vertical cabinet sides slightly, but this is common and is a great way to maximize storage space, since the cooktop sits on top of the countertop and only extends minimally into the base cabinet area.

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