12's on top of 39's or 45's

12 years ago

My kitchen is a disaster. First they measure the soffits wrong. Since they were 27 deep and my cabinet plan called for 24 we ripped them out. Then we decided to go with a 2 different heights 3.5 inches apart with the heighest cabinet being 3.5 in from the ceiling. (the new plan calls for 27 inch angled corners flanked by 9's..learning that's not a good idea... Now I just realized the duct for the hood goes to the ceiling so if we raised just the hood we'd have 3 different heights and that wall is only 10 feet. Problem is cabinets are made. I loved the old plan(didn't want to do 12's do to cost and wish I had) and am thinking about going back to it and putting 12's on top of 39's or I can change current cabinets to 45's . It would cost less for the 45's. Either way I have to pay more because the current plan is made. I'm sure the cabinet guy will split the cost but not all of it. What to do???? Isn't a 45 a really tall cabinet? Please help.

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Comments (4)

User
12 years ago
45" cabinets will have a tendency to warp. When you are stacking cabinets, the ideal proportions are more like 2/3 to 1/3 and unless the ceiling height is 96", 12" cabinets are too short proportionally for the top stacked cabinets for most kitchens. It's unclear as to what your ceiling height is, but if you have 39" cabinets, the ideal height for the stacked ones would be 18", not 12".
donnakksm
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for responding my ceiling is 9 ft so what's ideal?
User
12 years ago
I'm assuming you are using stock sizes rather than custom, which makes getting the ideal proportions a bit more difficult, but cheaper. It will also depend on how much molding you want to have.

You could do 36" with 18" on top and no molding. This a more modern look rather than traditional. Or, you could do 3" of molding (which would be a little short proportionately, but fine for many homes) and then do 36" with 15" on top. Or you could do 6" of molding (more proportionate) and then 30" with 18" on top, which would be a little top heavy, or 36" with 12" on top, which would be a little bottom heavy. Or, you could do an even a taller molding of 9" and do 30" with 15" on top and then that 9" of molding. This would suit a more formal type home.

If you had a good quality production cabinet line like Kraftmade that offered 48" tall ones, you could do that with 6" of molding. Cabinets taller than 42" are risky for warping though, and most cabinet makers will make you sign a waiver acknowledging that fact. This is why you most often see stacked cabinets rather than super tall ones.
donnakksm
Original Author
12 years ago
They are custom and the 39s are already made along with some 45s but the design doesn't work one due to the varying sizes didn't account for the duct in the ceiling for the hood. This throws everty thing out of whack so I can rebuild all to 45s with 7 in of crown. Or cut the 45s down to meet those 39s and put some arrangement on top. Plse let me know your thoughts. I am more formal but transitional too. Actually more transitional. Thanks much.