Inside measurement of a 36" cabinet will typically be 34.5". Meaning you'd have to notch the sides of the cabinet for the cooktop to fit. Not really ideal, but can be done. It's easier to order a 39" base than to deal with the headache of trying to make it fit in a 36" base and make sure the cooktop manufacturers clearances are accounted for.

it was not a headache - I suppose if you were doing it yourself, if might be, but our contractor did it and also fit a 30" flush in the same cabinet.

By "cab maker" do you mean a custom shop? If it's custom, the cabinet should be exactly right without waste.

Yes, fori, we are going with a local, custom cab shop so the cabs can be made to fit our needs. I think we're all a bit confused about the spec requirements and trying to figure out why.

Thanks, sjhockeyfan, glad to hear you've dealt with this, too. Do you also have a Bosch induction? My only concern was that it was for safety reasons and not like Blanco spec'ing a 36" cab for their Silgranite sink that is 33 1/2, edge to edge. IOW, they spec an inch to spare.

captcave, I wish I had the luxury of more space but I don't. I need to make every inch - every fraction of an inch - count in this kitchen. I'll talk to my GC since he'll be the one installing the appliances and see what he recommends. If we can make it as tight a fit as possible, that's my preference.

I do have a Bosch 30" induction cooktop, in use for a year.

I have a 36" Bosch induction. I did end up buying it slightly in advance of the other appliances, and taking it to the shop (also used a custom cabinetmaker) so he could see the actual appliance as he did the shop drawings. I cant remember why now, it seems like there was something on the specs that wasn't quite specific enough. But I do think of that as a 36 inch cab with 36 inch drawers. I can measure when I get home, but if your cabinets are custom, I'd just let him make whatever size works.

Thanks, sjhockeyfan and lori_inthenw! Sorry for my late response. I had the notification feature turned out but it seems it failed to let me know you both responded.

lori_inthenw, if you don't mind measuring your cab for me, that would be helpful, thank you!

I'm going to talk with my GC, too, and see what he advises as well.

If your cabinets have standard ply walls, then the interior space of a 36" cabinet is reduced by 1 1/2 inches (2 x standard 3/4" ply), leaving 34 1/2 inches interior space. If you have standard cabinets on each side of your cooktop, then each side has 1 1/2" of supporting structure (2 x the 3/4 inches). So the cabinet wall needs to be routed out by 1/8 inch on each side to the horizontal depth required down the sides of the cooktop (which may be only the lip of the cooktop or could be the 4+ inches of the depth of the cooktop below the top). Hopefully the install specs show that. Seems to me that your custom cabinet maker should be able to do that precise routing more easily and better than an installer (if different from the cabinet maker) or the countertop installer. That leaves plenty of side support for your cooktop and countertop (1 1/2 inches minus 1/8 inch = 1 3/8 inches supporting structure on each side). So I don't see why you can't stay with a 36 inch cabinet. I suspect that sjhockeyfan had a skilled tradesperson who did it that way for her.

We have the same 36" Bosch induction. Also used a custom cabinet maker. My cab boxes are 3/4" plywood (I think?)...
My cabinet is 36".
Attached a pic, not the best but you can see edge of cabinet ends with edge of cooktop.
(BTW I love that cooktop! I think you will be very happy with it)
{{gwi:2139295}}

I just went down and looked.
The inside of the cooktop - underneath the counter is flush with the inside cabinet edge - there's a fingernail width of space between the two a nothing is notched....plenty of space between the back wall and cooktop.
My drawers below are 33 3/8 from outside edge to outside edge and inside - actual space is 33 1/2.
I'm not technically minded but if I'm understanding correctly - I can't see that bosch would manufacture a 36" cooktop that needed a larger cab or custom work to fit it...even though its a little higher end, most people are buying stock{{gwi:807}} or semi custom and they would make something that is going to easily fit? So I don't think that 1" is between the cab walls and cook top - at least I hope not, otherwise my builder messed up !
Plus, if you're adding 2 or 3 inches in your cooktop you're going to lose storage elsewhere...and it might not help you with added storage for pots and pans, if that makes sense.

This post was edited by avntgardnr on Mon, Feb 9, 15 at 8:26