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Expanding Cutout for Wall Oven: Kitchenaid vs. Bosch/Electrolux

14 years ago

Hello All,

I am looking to replace a GE convection oven/microwave combination, since the oven underperforms and seems to trap moisture. My issue is that the cutout is only about 42" high, the exterior roughly 43", and I have cabinet doors above and below.

Though I am leaning towards Bosch or Electrolux, the only unit that would seem to easily fit in this space is the Kitchenaid KEMS308S. My question is, has anyone retrofitted cabinets like this to fit a large unit (combination)? If so, was it difficult and how much did it cost? (They are at least painted cabinets).

I have been reading up on Kitchenaid, and though I have loved their convection ovens in previous kitchens I have had, many posts have not made me feel very comfortable about current models. Does anyone have experience with the Convection Microwave/Oven combination?

My fear is that if I economize now and go with the single unit Kitchenaid, I may end up paying later if either the microwave or the oven fails.

Many thanks for any advice!

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Comments (4)

momothree
Original Author
14 years ago
Bumping up in hopes of some sage advice....
mcmann
14 years ago
You don't say what the new dimensions are that you need. If it's only an inch or so it might be easy. We had to enlarge the opening in our cabinets when the new double wall ovens we selected required an opening 1 1/2 inches taller than the ones they replaced. Our cabinet maker was easily able to enlarge the opening without encroaching on the doors above or the drawer below.

Sorry I can't give you a definitive answer.
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momothree
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks Mcmann. The opening is about 6+ inches different. We will have to go into the bottom cabinet (which is already short), and eliminate the doors, as the cavity will become quite short. My husband is thinking of doing this, which will require cutting way down into the bottom cabinet and building new braces.
mrtimewise
14 years ago
Earlier this year we changed from a Bosch to a Dacor double wall oven. This required enlarging the oven cabinet both in width and height. The new oven required that the cabinetry opening was 1/2" wider and 3" taller.

I spent considerable time trying to decide whether I would encroach downward into the drawer below the oven or modify the cabinet above. In the end, I decided to do the harder work and go upward. It took a few days to properly removing the upper doors, carefully extract the nails and supports holding the upper cabinet shelf in place, and relocating everything. It was a time consuming job.

The width was enlarged by routing the front vertical edges which had been made a little narrower than typical because the original Bosch oven was slightly narrower than most wall ovens.

I also had to relocate the electrical outlet behind the oven and upgrade the 240V wiring to a larger gauge in order to accommodate the higher current requirements of the Dacor.

We then bought new upper cabinet door fronts from the original cabinet maker (Coppes Napanee) which matched the 9 year old cabinets.

The end result was great.

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