I’m doing a custom kitchen that calls for a dishwasher with a custom trim panel.
The cabinets are faceframe w/ inset doors and drawers so the dishwasher trim panel needs to set flush with the faceframes of the adjacent cabinets.
I’ve done trim panels for DW before, but they were for overlay applications, and if i remember right the DW was sized so that the front of the door/back of the panel was at 24″ with the DW pushed all the way against the wall. which would not leave enough room to get the trim panel to set flush with the face frames.
I’ve looked on line and pulled the install guide from the manufacturer of the dishwasher, but it is still unclear if the 24″ depth dimension in to the face of trhe untrimmed DW door or to the face of the recomended 3/4″ trim panel.
I think I need to just plan on holding those cabinets out 1″ from the wall to allow for the depth of the trim panel, which means i need to make the bank of cabinets on the adjacent wall 1″ shorter to accomodate the difference, and i will need the counter top to be 1″ deeper over the dishwasher.
It will be 3 weeks before the appliances are deliverd so it is not possible to take actual measurements until that time. Which is also when this order should be delivered so it will be too late to change the design at that point.
Has anyone had any experience with a similar situation??? am i correct in my thoghts about the depth of the DW and the procedure for making the trim panel appear to be part of an inset application???
Replies
I am in the planning stages of a kitchen remodel myself and don't have much experience here but am brave enough to offer 2 cents worth. Are you doing the entire job including cabinets, counter tops and trim? If another sub is doing the tops they will definately need to know about the plans to increase the counter depth by an inch and depending on the wall the cabinets set on you might cause issues with the trim guy. Is this DW designed specifically for an install with custom facing, if so it should come even with the backs of your face frames when installed. You might try to talk to the distribution center to see if anyone else in area has installed the same type DW and how they approached the problem er opprotunity.
Chris
Badger the retailer or the manufacturer to get a clear definition of what their measurements actually are. You may have to spend an irritating hour on the phone wading through folks who should know but don't, but that's way better than having to rebuild the cabinets.
Any number of DW makers have specs that you can find online if you know the model numbers. Barring that, why not play it safe and plan to set all your cabinets at 25" from the back wall? I've never seen any model that will not fit in that, and in most situations the extra 1" doesn't matter to anything. You can make 24" cabinets and prepare a mounting strip to go on the wall first. Either use the strip, plane it down, or discard it as needed at installation time.
DR
I'm doing a custom kitchen that calls for a dishwasher with a custom trim panel.
As a former major appliance salesman I have to ask you this first. Just how thick is the panel you are putting on the d/w?
If the panel thickness gets over 3/8" thick the customer has to contact the manufacter for a heavy duty spring kit. Why? When the customer opens the door the weight of the panel and door doesn't come crashing down.
Second, Just how are going to attach the panels?
Most of the panels have a magnetic strips on the back of them so they stay attached to the d/w. But you can see a gap between the d/w and the panel so a trim kit is also needed. There are alot of plaves that sell them but the one I used is www. frigo.com. Also, if the customer has chosen a d/w witha stainless steel front your screwed. lot of the s/s fronts are non magnetic. Lots of luck
Dave in Pa.
the dishwasher is a kitchenaid that is designed for a custom wood panel, there is no finished face on it when you receive it, there are clips that the wood panel is attached to. the diswasher is engineered to support a 3/4 thick wood trim panel.
Yes, I know there would be some variation in weight between a 3/4 poplar panel and a 3/4 jatoba panel, but this job calls for mahogany which is in the mid to lower end of the density spectrum so i should be OK...
i'm really more concerned about where the panel sits in relation to the face frame of the adjacent cabinets...i spent 2 hours on the phone trying to get information from the manufacturer, but the best they could do was e-mail me the installation guide, which i had already downloaded from their website....
I'm about ready to say screw it and just modify the design to allow for 25" from the wall to the faceframe, if i need the space it's there, if not it doesn't really hurt anything other than the extra 1" on the countertop...
appliance manufacturers should take into consideration that not every cabinet has overlay doors and drawers...and write their install instructions with enough information to figure out exactly what the dimensions of their product really are...
I have the Kitchen Aid with a cherry front panel in my kitchen. The cabnets are all frameless. The panel is flush with the drawers & doors. I think (98% sure) the cabnets are all 24" deep but would have to measure to be absolutly sure. The only hastle I had was shimming & trimming down the kickplate to match the cabnets.
The diswasher has 3-4 holes to reposition a pully system for various door weights, so I don't think you will have a problem there.
Les
I got lucky and the dishwasher showed up early....good thing because it was actually a GE monogram and not a Kitchenaid, evidently they hed looked at both and forgot which one they had actually ordered...
although the install instructions for the GE were not much clearer. but i uncrated it and took some physical measurements...
the stupid thing is actually 24-1/4" deep from the back to the front of the factory door panel... and your custom panel goes on top of that, so say it's a 3/4" panel you are 25" to the face of the dishwasher from the wall...
since i am doing inset doors i need to be 25" to my faceframe instead of the typical 24"
hopefully this will save someone else some frustration if they have a similar situation...
Hate to say it, but I told you so...
DR
Now that we know it's a GE you had better get the better spring kit I mentioned to you earlier just to avoid any problems in the future. 3/4" panel is awfully thick and heavy for that light door.
Dave in Pa.
the springs that are on it are heavy enough that the door, without a panel, will not stay down...and it's on the lightest of 3 settings that are adjustable by moving the spring.... i think it will be OK as is...
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