Tile instead of cabinet above over the range microwave??

5 years ago

Hi all,

After deciding to start a family we sold our dream home ( https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2678629/reveal-coastal-modern-kitchen) and have new dreams of lots of bedrooms and good school districts.

Our new house has great potential but needs another complete overhaul which I am so not excited about. Just working on lots of ideas currently...

Anyone have thoughts(or seen it done) to do tile above an OTR microwave instead of a cabinet? I loved the look of my vent hood and full tile wall in my last house. I also am very interested in buying a GE Advantium speed cook OTR oven for our new house.

I was thinking maybe I could put some drywall up above the MW to make it flush and just tile it to the ceiling. The only issue I see is I would not have access to the vent pipe but when has anyone ever needed that? I think a cabinet above the MW just doesn’t look very nice and the storage provided is not that great given the big pipe in the cabinet.

Any thoughts? Photo of current “country kitchen” attached. Thx!

Featured Answer

mainenell

5 years ago

You have to have a cabinet above an over the range microwave to support the microwave.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

PRO
Barnes Custom Builders
5 years ago
You'll have to vent it somehow. If that's the look you love why not get a chimney hood and tuck the micro somewhere else?
Related Discussions
Is my microwave to high over the range?
Q
Comments (8)
My MW is 18.5" over the range, which I find quite comfortable. At 21.5", I think you're a bit high, but probably not so much that it will be an issue unless you're on the short side. My mom (about 5'2" at that time) had a MW that was in the neighborhood of 26" above the range. I was always afraid she was going to drop the oatmeal on her head! Fortunately, she fried it by putting in a foil tin, so we replaced it with an on-counter model. If I were you, I'd stand in front of that MW and place and remove the kinds of containers that you usually put in a MW. If it seems too high, now is the time to get them to lower it. You'll probably have to order a bit of filler and wait for it to come in, but that will be much better than always wishing you'd done it when you had the chance. Maybe you have a bit of filler left from somewhere else in the kitchen?
...See More
Changing out over range microwave for range hood
Q
Comments (5)
Nadine--I think those slide out hoods are going to require a lot of the space in the cabinet above so you're going to lose that space anyway. So you might want to consider a more conventional undercabinet hood, too. Depending on your situation, you may be able to vent directly out the back of hood into your existing vent and not lose any of the cabinet space. It won't be quite as accessible though as you realize. I'm assuming that your rectangular vent is 3.25 x 10" which is roughly equivalent to a six inch round duct. So you need to look at hoods with CFM's sized for that size of duct. Unless you know exactly how your vent is situated, you need to remove the microwave. A lot of hoods will be adaptable to horizontal rectangular, vertical rectangular vent and vertical round exhaust. I know that my Zephyr hood had all three options. Zephyr Typhoon I disagree that you will get 'tremendous' noise. Not going to be whisper quiet but will most likely be substantially less noisy than most micro hoods. Here is a link that might be useful: Slide out range hood
...See More
Gap between backsplash and over-the-range microwave?
Q
Comments (31)
I like your attitude and advice, Jancy. I do love my choice of countertop (Silestone Cemento Suede), which I paired with natural cherry shaker cabinets (3" wide rails and stiles) with orb hardware. I was going for a simple, warm modern farmhouse look. The kitchen is around 7' x 12." Three straight sides, no corner cabinets: a pantry wall with fridge (approximately 7'), an island with sink (approximately 7'), and a wall with range and otr microwave in the middle (approximately 7'). So my range wall is of similar length as yours, Jancy (90'). That wall is the only one with a backsplash and like you, I didn't want to deal with grout. I also liked the simplicity of the full-height backsplash... and, as a bonus, I had the extra material available from the countertop slabs, so I only needed to pay a bit extra for installation. Also, another consideration is that the kitchen is part of a great room and is visible as soon as you walk in the door, so it felt as if the stone backsplash would give the cabinet more of the look of furniture. I definitely don't want tile (even though I said earlier that might be an option). I would consider a stainless steel plate with brushed finish because it feels as if that would tie the range and microwave together... as if they were all one unit. However, the wall may be too short and the stainless too industrial for the look I'm going for. I do know however that I will not be happy if the stone gets chipped if I have to replace the microwave. In answer to your question, prosource, I believe the microwave will be fairly level with the bottom of the cabinets. The opening is 18" high and the microwave is 17 1/2" high. Also, I don't want to get off subject, but at some point, Jance, I would be very interested in knowing if you used plug mold and, if so, what kind. Or did you put outlets in backsplash? All thoughts welcome.
...See More
IKEA cabinets with over-the-range microwave
Q
Comments (1)
That is a fairly standard mounting height for an an OTR. Which is why they are considered unsafe by most designers and contractors. You're at the maximum acceptable mounting height for an OTR, but it is acceptable. You need a taller cabinet if you want to mount it lower. Not longer screws. Use a 30” H cabinet. It will still be above the lowest acceptable mounting height, which is 12”.
...See More
chrisinsd
Original Author
5 years ago
Thx. Why can’t I mount it to a piece of plywood I attach to the wall above instead of a cabinet? I am not talking about removing the vent. It’s a cost thing...the combo of the oven I want to be a built in plus a new hood is about $2-2.5k more.
Chessie
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
"when has anyone ever needed that? "

You mean the ventilation duct??? You always need access to that. How else would you vent??

FWIW, I would not put a MV in over the range; I dislike the look, it is inconvenient, and the ventilation is poor. And I also would never give up my cabinet over my hood - I keep a LOT in there. I personally don't care for the big chimney hood monstrosities - too dominating. But in your case, if you wanted to eliminate the cabinet, you should do a chimney hood and put your MW elsewhere.

Do it right, or don't do it.
Joe T.
5 years ago
You'd still need access to the space above the microwave for when the microwave dies and needs to be replaced.
smit2380
5 years ago
I have the OTR advantium. The speed cook features are so annoying that I only use it as a microwave. Have you used the Advantium before?
suedonim75
5 years ago
You have to mount the microwave to both the wall and to the bottom of the cabinet. You have a microwave in the wall now, why are you changing it?
User
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Multiple BAD ideas that are not even physically possible.
weedmeister
5 years ago
An OTR microwave mounts to both a wall bracket (which holds the back) and the cabinet above (which holds the front). Without the front, a 'sheet of plywood' would still need some sort of wall brace (large L brackets or 2x4s at a 45* angle from the front to the rear wall) capable of holding the weight of an Advantium (not light) and whatever you choose to put in it. Otherwise, it's going to twist off the rear bracket and go crashing to the floor.

You probably don't want the 120v Advantium. Doesn't work all that great. 240v is better. I know they used to make a 240v OTR version. I almost bought one open box.
chocolatebunny123
5 years ago
We had a bird build a nest in our OTR microwave vent one winter and the only way to remove it was to go through the vent hood in the cabinet. One of those things I never thought would happen, so you would be surprised at how you may need to access that vent.
fifamom
5 years ago
Why don’t you leave as is until you are ready to redo? Over the stove MW is the worst invention for short people like me. Plus they get dirtier than if in another spot. The grime from cooking even if you wipe it down often is a pain..
Russ Barnard
5 years ago
You need the structure to sustain the weight of the OTR microwave. It is not just about a vent, most homes do not "vent" outside, they vent to inside that cabinet or whatever... but the cabinet offers a lot of weight carrying ability.

So, the cabinet is needed.

The key will be to figure out how to get/make cabinets that you like.

GL!
chrisinsd
Original Author
4 years ago
Thanks all those who provided useful comments. After work with my architect this entire kitchen is moving back into the dining room you see through the doorway and I am going to put in a hood vent again. Re Advantium question, I am going for the Cadillac built-in model. I read everything I could find on it. I found exactly two comments from people who said they didn’t like it (one on this thread)—everyone else who has owned one seems to rave about the thing and many put one into any house they move into ASAP, after owning one in a previous home.

Tile instead of cabinet above over the range microwave??

mainenell

Comments (13)

Barnes Custom Builders

Related Discussions

chrisinsd
Original Author

Chessie

Joe T.

smit2380

suedonim75

User

weedmeister

chocolatebunny123

fifamom

Russ Barnard

chrisinsd
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Tile instead of cabinet above over the range microwave??

Comments (13)

Related Discussions

chrisinsdOriginal Author

chrisinsdOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

chrisinsd
Original Author

chrisinsd
Original Author