I have a Maytag double oven smooth top range, and a Maytag OTR MW. I just measured, and the bottom of the micro is 55" from the floor. The door is a traditional one, though - hinged on the left. As a 5'4" (64") female, this is about as high as I'd want to go. For me, a door hinged on the bottom would NOT be a good thing on the MW.

I used to have a double oven O'Keefe and Merritt - large oven on the bottom, smaller oven on the top with the range between. That upper oven door was also hinged on the left, not on the bottom. It hung over the range too low, though - I didn't feel comfortable with the amount of space I had on the range - a large canner would have been impossible to use!

Hope this helps -

DonnaR/CA

Thank you! I'm 5'5" so I think the door hinged on the bottom may not be a good idea. Hopefully the countertop model w/trim will work.

I am taller than either of you and considered that sort of arrangement (with a side opening micro though) but DH and I both nixed it when we saw it in a display. We both thought it was too high, and it would have made the lower oven lower -- partially negating the advantage of having DOs in the first place. I'd vote micro somewhere else with DOs -- stack only with a single.

I agree with Lascatx. I don't like the idea of pulling hot, maybe sloshing, contents, from any kind of height. And I echo also Lascatx's idea that the great thing about wall ovens is the ergonomic height, which you are then kinda diminishing by adding that 3rd appliance above them.

Other alternatives would be a countertop MW, or countertop MW behind an appliance garage or cabinet doors, or countertop MW on a shelf in cabinetry, or countertop MW on shelf in pantry if you have one (that's what I did), or a GE Spacemaker MW hung from your upper cabinetry, or the MW drawer (do a search for "microwave drawer" on Kitchens and Appliances Forums and you'll get lots of threads). All of these alternatives have their pros and cons of course....don't they always?

Thanks for the suggestions. Due to the size of my kitchen & limited counter & cabinet space I really have no other place to put it. My cabinet guy actually suggested it saying many of the homes he's done lately had it that way. (And in the pantry isn't an option for me b/c I use my micro way too often). I can take a look later this evening once the cabs are installed to make sure I'll be ok w/it.

Post your layout. Someone here might come up with a good location for a MW.

I was having a very hard time finding a place for the micro also. It ws the one thing we knew we wanted to move, and we joke that we gutted the kitchen to do it. LOL Anyway, we did fid a 24" drawer space. If you do put a micro over DOs, you are not only risking burns or breakages, you give up handy storage for bakeware, trays and cutting boards. Those things fit so well above DOs, but they won't fit into a 24" deep drawer.

I guess another way of saying what I'm trying to point out is that you aren't having to give up space so much as find a way to use it different;y. I second the invitation to post a drawing of your floorplan/layout and let us see if we can help you find a alternative.

I posted my orig. layout a while back & received this revised one. I pretty much went with it, but the only thing is it left the micro OTR, but I really didn't want to give up my chimney style vent. As you can see, I don't have much counter or cabinet space. My cabinets were just installed today, too late??

What kind of door will your pantry have? I wouldn't eliminate the pantry idea just yet. If you have bi-fold doors, you could easily leave the door open on the side w/the MW when using it and leave it open for a few minutes after to let the heat disperse. And, it's right next to the refrigerator (for cooking frozen veggies, thawing meat, etc.) plus the popcorn is right there!

If you decide to go the pantry route and your cabs w/MW hole are already installed, consider having a shelf built into the bottom of the hole and you can still use it for tray storage (if you can also get doors for it) or even cookbook storage....that's the one thing I'm looking for space for in my new kitchen (they were supposed to be in the "Message Center", but that got nixed.)

Are eitehr your 24" base on the left corner or the 30" to the right of the cooktop drawers? If so, you could probably modify to do a drawer micro there. Ir would take a little more to modify a door front base, but possible.

I think the GE Spacemaker requires 27", so it could go into the 30 upper to the right of the cooktop with trim.

Maybe a countertop model in the corner to the left of the sink or on that short wall on that side.

OK...I just saw your cabinets installed...

I'm going to ask you a question but please don't be offended...but did you try using an oven installed so low? It's several inches lower than the oven would be in a range. When we thought we wanted an undercounter oven, our KD showed us one installed in their showroom...and the handle practically hit the floor. Yes, you can use the upper oven instead of the lower, but...I assume you got 2 ovens for a reason.

My other concern is the cutout itself. The installation specs for my double ovens recommended 12" off the floor for the bottom of the cutout. No, it wasn't "required", but there's usually a reason for the recommendations.

If you already know and have no problems with the above...then OK...it is your kitchen, after all!

Again....I don't mean to offend but I wanted to be sure you're comfortable with your new kitchen!

I would not like my MW that high....just too dangerous with things being hot. Is there any way you can put your oven unit lower?...then you might be able to put it on top...but otherwise, I sure would not have it that high.

Not offended at all buehl :) No, I haven't tried using the oven installed low. My previous kitchen had the double oven w/a small drawer underneath & the micro was OTR. When I met w/the cabinet guy we were going over my options w/limited space & he suggested all on one wall & I figured he wouldn't steer me wrong. I honestly didn't think about the handle being low. I was just happy I could still have double ovens! I think it may be too late for me to change it since I already bought the ovens (& my husband will totally flip out about any changes at this point :) Now that you mention it, I am concerned about the space required at the bottom for installation. I just looked at the manual & it says there should be 14 3/4 in. from bottom of cut out to the floor!!! That's alot of space, could that be right??? I'll have to call my contractor 1st thing tomorrow morning. Ugh!

What "brand" & model is it? It might be only a "recommendation" rather than a requirement. My GE Profile DOs just say they "recommend" the 12".

(Shhh....but, you know...this just might be the excuse you need for making a change...if you really want to)

It's the kitchenaid double oven KEBC277KSS. I actually called kitchenaid & they said it should be fine. But they didn't sound really professional. He just put me on hold, looked at the manual then came back & said he didn't see anything about a recommended clearance so it should be ok??

Just came across this thread and am wondering what you ended up with - double oven with MW on top? We are also thinking about KitchenAid appliances, 3 in one cabinet. Did you have a chance to try out the self cleaning feature that is written up here? Would like to learn from your experiences. Hope everything turned out for the best for you!

I would also like to know the outcome.

Am thinking of putting two 24 inch Miele (the 5000 series, available "soon" has a compact oven the same size as the current speed cook MW combo) side by side in the island. Would raise the island 4 inches to 40. Since the ovens are "only" 18 inches deep the hinge would still be up from the floor about 18-20 inches. Would love to hear feedback on this idea.

Kitchenaid makes a microwave that has a side hinge opening but that comes with a trimkit to install it in a wall. Either the KCMS2055SSS which will fit in a 27 or 30 inch cabinet, or the KCMS1555SSS which also needs a trimkit & can fir into a 24, 27 or 30 inch cabinet.

The side hinge would make a big difference if you're at 5 inches high.

Did anyone actually do this? Anyone have pictures? I'm not worried about the second lower oven being that low, I rarely use it, the top, frequently used, oven would actually be a nice height. But will the micro be too high? I'm thinking it might be doable, but I'd love to see pictures or hear from someone who has this set up.