OTR microwave - higher, lower, or in line with cabinets?

16 years ago

For space reasons we will be having an OTR microwave in our new kitchen. I have read about the minimum height required between the range and the microwave - 30'' from range top to top of microwave, which for a 16-17'' microwave would equate to about 13-14'' btw range and bottom of OTR. I'm wondering what would be the IDEAL distance btw micro and range, both in terms of looks and functionality.

1. Would it LOOK better to have bottom of OTR slightly higher than the adjacent cabinets, slightly lower than adjacent cabinets or lined up with adjacent cabinets? (adjacent cabinets would be 18'' from countertop to light rail)

2. Placement of OTR will affect whether cabinet above is 18'' or 21'' high (30'' wide). Is gaining/losing 3'' cab space more important?

2. Would the vent (to outside) work better at a closer distance?

3. What height is best for safely getting food out of microwave?

TIA!

Featured Answer

User

16 years ago

For 30" high cabinets a 12" cabinet is what I use when designing for an OTR. For 36", an 18" cab is the choice. That leaves the MW bottom slightly above the adjacent cabinets and at least lets you stir something on the stove. Most OTR MWs are at least 16" tall, and many are 17" or more. The trend is towards taller and taller ones, and if you don't use a shorter cabinet, then future accessability and usability when replacing comes into question.

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Comments (9)

kkupstate
16 years ago
We currently have an OTR microwave - and will with the new kitchen as well. Right now, the micro is lower than the cabinets, only because when our microwave died 2 years ago, we bought a SS one to replace it knowing *someday* we would redo the kitchen and get all SS appliances. Then, the micro arrived and it was bigger than the one it replaced...

Anyhoo, I am planning that the new micro will be in line with the bottom of the cabinets, and since I am doing 36" uppers, I am most likely getting an 18" cabinet above it. Since the microwave is also 15" deep, I am also going to get increased depth cabinets for that wall so it is flush. We also want to vent to outside, but don't have that yet so I don't know how that works...

Since my husband is pretty tall, I think we will end up having about 21" from top of cooktop to bottom of microwave. I am 5'7" and too much higher than that would be a stretch for me, I think.

HTH
athomewith3
16 years ago
Our OTR microwave is only 18 inches from the counter and is flush with the bottom of the cabinet. My brother has his about 20 from the counter and is not flush. I can't see into their microwave since i am only 5 foot 3 so for me my microwave works well with being flush. Good luck!!
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If the microwave is vented up through the cabinet, you could probably bump out the cabinet. Some of them have vents on the top (but toward the front) and so if its vented out into the room you cannot cover up those vents. As far as the height of the microwave, I've seen them even with the cabinets, and sometimes a few inches higher than the bottom of the surrounding cabinets. Since the vent isn't that effective, you wouldn't want it too high, plus that would make it even more difficult to use (if you're short) and you're absolutely correct to think it won't last very long. My first 2 lasted 4 years each, and the one I have now is going on 5 years so I expect (and I'm hoping :)) that it will die soon.
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There's usually a discrepency between the height of the OTR MW and the standard cabinet heights. The MW is typically 16", whereas standard cabinet heights are in increments of 3". So when you're designing the cabinets around the cooktop, you have to decide what space you want to leave above the cooktop for the hood/MW, 15" or 18" (that's the difference in heights between the cabinet above the cooktop & the ones to each side). The usual cleance between the countertop and the wall cabinets is around 17", so the total clearance from the cooktop to the cabinet above is either 32" or 35". (There's also consideration of how much room you need within the cabinet for ducting connections, depending on finished ceiling/soffit height.) I usually make the difference 18". That also gives you a few more inches clearance above the burners. But it also puts the MW door a few inches higher. You and/or your designer apparently chose 15", which brings the MW a little lower. If the cook is a shorter person, then the lower positon may be the right height. If you use large pots and need more cleance for the cooktop, then the higher MW position could be better.
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If you want to create a better look there, pick a flat panel door with touch openings and stainless clad for your cabinet over the hood. It will look almost like a stainless hood, just with a MW in the lower part. Or, you could just not do a MW hood if you really are concerned about looks and function both
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donnar57
16 years ago
Ours is NOT flush - it's about 2" higher than the bottom of the cabinets. As far as looks are concerned, we like the break there. But we didn't design it purposely that way - it just happened. It's 18" from range top to OTR.

We had a double oven (bottom/top) in the last kitchen. The top oven only had about a 14" clearance from range top to bottom of the oven - NOT ENOUGH. It drove me insane, especially when trying to use a 6-quart pressure cooker!

DonnaR/CA
bob_cville
16 years ago
Our old OTR microwave was lower than the adjacent cabinets. I hated it. It was low enough that accessing tall pans on the back burners was problematic, and it blocked my view of the controls on the back of the stove so that I frequently would turn on the wrong burner, and not realize it until the wrong coil turned red or the empty pot on that wrong burner started smoking.

In terms of looks I think that even with the adjacent cabinets looks best. I dont think the space difference between an 18" or a 21" tall upper cabinet above it will matter, even for a very small kitchen. The length difference of the vent pipe pretty much won't matter at all.

Here's a picture of our old kitchen that ought to be enough to convince you that lower than the adjacent cabinets is not pretty. Of course the incremental increase in ugliness due solely to the low OTR microwave is hard to gauge :-)

{{!gwi}}
User
16 years ago
What do the installation instructions say. My OTR MW had very specific instructions - the top of the MW had to be no closer than 34" from the top of the cooktop grates - my MW is 36" above the cooktop.

Initially, it was
. The cabinet above it had to be cut down by 6" to meet the specs. My canning/lobster pot did not even fit under the MW at that height.

If it's too close, the heat from the cooking surface can damage the bottom of the MW.

Good luck.
tkbalt
16 years ago
Our upper cabinets are 18 inches above the counter. We moved the OTR MW up 1 1/2 inches (bottom is 19 1/2 inches from range). Ours looks more like the 1st pic in the post above by momj47. We did custom cabinets, so making the change was easy. I am not sure what the issues might be with stock cabinet sizing.

You will see many configurations - from lower than upper cabinets, to level, to 2 or 3 inches higher.
bbtondo
16 years ago
My current OTR MW is 20" above my range top with a 12" cabinet above it. It sits 2" higher than the bottom of my upper cabinets. I have 30" upper cabinets now, but will have 36" uppers in the new kitchen, with a 18" cabinet above the MW. I like the look of the OTR MW a little higher than the bottom of the upper cabinets. It works well for me. Yesterday my GC and KD were over for one last measure before I order my cabinets and they both said they prefer to have the OTR MW exactly where I have it. They mentioned needing the space for any large pots. Hope this helps!

Barb
aussies
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you all for your advice and pictures! The photos and comments were all very helpful. Live_wire_oak, thanks for also pointing out that replacement microwaves in the future may be taller. I think that's an important consideration.

It seems like ordering an 18'' cabinet for above the OTR is definitely the way to go. Then I will have the option of going in line or slightly higher.

Thanks again for making at least one of these decisions easy! :o)

OTR microwave - higher, lower, or in line with cabinets?

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OTR microwave - higher, lower, or in line with cabinets?

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