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How far is your cooktop from front of countertop?

13 years ago

We are having our granite installed this week and we're having a problem lining up the vent with the cooktop. Both are 36" wide, but because of the support beam, the vent will have to be farther back than the stove. I'm installing the cooktop in a 3.5' x 5' island/counter bar. My question is how far back can I go with the cooktop without looking totally ridiculous? Instructions say 1 1/4" from front of countertop, but that would leave it too far off-centered from vent. Any suggestions? How far is your cooktop from the front edge of your countertop?

Thanks!

Sharon

Featured Answer

houseful

13 years ago

Wow, only 1+ inches? Mine is 4 inches from the edge. It is just fine for me, although I am not short.

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Comments (7)

tigergirl123
13 years ago
Our counter comes out farther where the cooktop is (so does the cabinet Underneath). It's a 36" cooktop and we have a 36" range hood above it. We have the cooktop about 2" from the front edge (I wouldn't want it back any farther!) and it gives us probably 4" of counter behind the cooktop. That part is REALLY nice for extra room for frypans, etc.

The range hood sticks out too so I don't see how venting would be a problem.

(I'm not at the house right now to measure exactly, those are guesses)
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When you say you have flexibility what exactly do you mean? Our induction cooktop came with specs that told us how far it had to be from combustibles on sides, back, and underneath. Since your cooktop will be on an island as ours is these will not be pertinent. However, we had to consider how much granite we needed at the front edge for the granite to have stability. I don't have the specs in front of me but the way I remember it is that we have 3.5" of granite in front of our cutout and the cooktop will overlap that by an inch so, like loves2cook, our cooktop will be 2.5" from the front of the counter. I think this places the burners slightly further back than they would be for a slide in or free standing range, probably about that 2.5" of countertop that we left at the front. I say probably because our appliances will not be installed for about a week and I can't measure the distance. Since I don't do active cooking on rear burners I don't know if this will be an issue but I'll post as soon as we have the cooktop is installed to let you know if I find it to be a problem. HTH.
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Buehl
13 years ago
Our cooktop is installed 1-1/4" from the front edge and 3-/4" from the wall...including a small gap b/w the counter and wall. I wouldn't want it much farther back...maybe another inch.

If you are putting a hood over a 36" cooktop in an island, your hood should have been at least 42" wide and at least 24" deep (preferably 27" deep).

If your hood is at least 24" deep, you will probably be OK if you don't put it any farther back than 2 or 3". Anymore and you will be compromising it's ability to adequately vent. Your problem is that you need to be sure you have enough coverage (width & depth) to capture the steam/smoke/odors/grease/etc. as they both rise and spread out. If the hood is not properly placed (and sized), you may not be getting adequate coverage and venting.

Island cooktops/ranges are always more difficult & more expensive to vent adequately. Air currents are stronger and more numerous over an island (or peninsula) than against a wall and, therefore, you really need a larger hood (6" wider than cooking surface & 24" or 27" deep) and stronger cfms (at least 900, especially if you mount the hood higher than what the hood's specification calls for).
boxerpups
13 years ago
I don't have an island cooktop but I have some images
that might help you figure out how to place yours.
A few inches either way won't be dramatic if you
can try to balance out the space. Like this....
~boxerpups
Buehl
13 years ago
Original thread (she started two on the exact same topic).

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Installing gas cooktop in granite island
boxerpups
13 years ago
I was really confused when I went back to see if the
pics were helpful and realized there were two.
Thanks.
nonniesharon
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for all the great advice and for the pics! I think we have figured out a way to make it work now. I can't do anything about the size. I didn't know and now it's too late to change. Hopefully, it will suffice.

buehl - I responded to you on the other post. Nice to know you're out there looking out for us! I can read/post in peace now.

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