Generally measurements like this are not necessarily dictated by the manufacturer as the are by UL and AGA.

As I see it, a standard lower cabinet is 25 inches deep and if you go + 2 inches to 27 inch deep that should mean that the range moves out 2 inches away from the wall. If the range is moved out the 2 inches that effectively still keeps your upper cabinets at what would be essentially 13 inches even though they are 15 inches deep.

Thanks Jakvis. That sounds hopeful so far! I want to make sure that the new range will not only be installed safely but will also pass inspection.

The inspection is what makes me nervous. I have no idea if my city's inspection department will require us to follow Bosch's installation guidelines or if the city will have its own set of guidelines. I scoured the city's website and couldn't find any information about this so I left a voicemail with one of the inspectors.

Generally, do inspectors follow the manufacturer’s guidelines or do they have their own separate set of guidelines?

I live in Canada if that makes any difference.

It is a huge mistake to allow only 16" between the bottom of an upper cabinet and the counter. The standard is 18" and even more than that is better.

The manufacturer's installation instructions has nothing to do with city/town codes. It might affect the warranty.

I don't think I completely understand the issue. Are you saying you want deeper than 13" upper cabinets? I also don't understand why the bottom cabinets cannot be slightly deeper than the standard 24" -- i.e. the 27" deep you want.

The issue is wood cabinets being too close to the range -- i.e. hugging the vent hood too closely. That's a real danger and even moreso if they are low.

Why many are getting rid of cabinets on each side of the range all together.

Fori: I was having a hard time reconciling Bosch's diagram with my setup and agree that it is inapplicable in many ways. I started to think of crazy workarounds like making 7" wide, 13" deep cabinets on either side of the hood (because I noticed the requirement to have 10" between the range and a combustible side wall) then getting 20" wide, 15" deep cabinets next to those silly skinny ones!

I totally forgot to factor in that I'll be pulling the range out to match the deeper counters so it makes sense that having 15" deep cabinets would still meet that max 13" deep requirement.

Thanks for giving me more hope that my deeper cabinets can be done!

rococogurl: My current cabinets are only 16" above the counters and they're builder-grade cabs so I assumed that was standard! Guess standards gave changed in the 20 years since they were installed.

Now that I know 18" is standard I don't feel as bad about losing those 2". But I'm only 5'1" so every inch higher means more of my wall cabs becomes inaccessible to me.

Yes, I do want deeper than 13" cabs (15" deep seems to be the ideal "sweet spot" for my reach and the size/scale of my kitchen). And the reason why I want to maintain that 12" depth difference between the wall and base cabs is my attempt to keep more lower shelf space accessible to me.

Sounds like I have to have a long chat with my GC about all this. I just wanted to have a better understanding before I called him up. Thanks so much for helping to make things a bit more clear!

See, you now have me thinking "why don't I have them only 16" above the counter?". Eighteen is standard but that might be because people put lights and things under them now. If you're used to 16", 18" might drive you batty. I'm used to it and it's fine for me at 5'1".

(By the way, I love my 18" deep upper cabinets! But 15 would have been pretty good too. Don't give them up!)

:) Yes, 16" has suited me just fine all these years. A few tall items haven't fit properly but they're not frequently used items. I think the 18" is growing on me. I'm looking forward to the more open feel it will give me as I work at my counters.

I'm glad I started this thread because before having this discussion, I felt quite certain that I would have to give up those deeper cabinets. It's looking more and more like I won't have to!

depends on what you have to go underneath. A tall KitchenAid mixer is 17 1/2" tall and the tallest Vitamix is 20 1/2". My original cabinets are 24" (!) above the counter so it's great for any appliances underneath but sucks to reach the dishes - like Fori I am 5'0". A stepladder is always at hand for me. I can reach the first shelf and just the front of the second. The reno will probably drop the cabinets to around 21". I suggest you measure your taller stuff that you might leave out on the counter.

Actually now the issue you need to consider is the range hood relative to the range below. It should be over the burners. If you move the range out 3" from the wall so that its flush with the 27" cabinets are you going to do the same for the hood? If you go with a 24" deep hood I think you might be good enough -- but most hoods are not that deep and are "high end" (e.g. more expensive). Should be OK with the Bosch -- if you were doing a Bluestar or similar very high heat range I'd be more concerned.