Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Feb 21, 2014 7:24 am Hi all, We requested our builder to increase the height of our kitchen and laundry. Standard they use a 900mm height and to increase the height it would end up 940mm. The comment to our request was that it is very unusual to increase the height, if you are not extremely tall. We are both not extremely tall, but are used to having a higher bench, both from the Netherlands and kitchen height is there in general higher than in Australia. Increasing the height for kitchen and laundry will cost us not that much more but just realised that dishwasher needs to be taller and costs quite a bit extra. So what is your opinion on this is this worth the costs? Re: Kitchen height 2Feb 21, 2014 9:22 am Hi Double Dutch, I guess it depends on how long you plan to live in this house. If it is for the next 20 years say, then I would go for the higher kitchen benches as you will enjoy it for a long time. If this house is only going to be yours for a couple of years and then you intend to sell it then I would keep them as standard. It is unusual to have higher benches and it may put some potential buyers off. With regard to the dishwasher, I would think that the dishwasher itself would be as per usual and that there would just be an additional piece of cabinetry to make up the height. Possibly the opportunity for a drawer for baking trays for example. Just a thought. I wish you the best of luck and hope everything goes well. Cheers, Jenny. Need hints, tips and inspiration? Join me on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ournewhomecoach Who am I? See my LinkedIn page: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jennifer-crawford/1a/429/296 Re: Kitchen height 3Feb 21, 2014 11:20 am the response by your builder to your request it the typical crap answer you get here. I'm from Germany and it annoys me endlessly that many just can't be bothered to make a bit of an extra effort. People are nowadays taller but the kitchen height remains the same. It is a matter of comfort and less back pain. In Germany kitchen heights are taller too. In Germany we measure the most suitable height for a kitchen bench by adjusting an ironing board that the distance between an angled arm and the ironing board is 15cm. I guess the large kitchen companies in EU must have figured that out. Our new kitchen is higher than the standard. I wanted to have my carcasses to be 780mm, which is not standard. We have an XXL dishwasher that needs a bit more height too. Only through friends who have a higher benchtop we realised how much more comfortable it is. Yes, it is worth the cost because YOU are working in the kitchen and YOU want to have less pain. The real comfort in a kitchen in my view is to have the dishwasher installed higher and the bin drawer just under the benchtop. Re: Kitchen height 4Feb 21, 2014 1:07 pm Evelin People are nowadays taller but the kitchen height remains the same. It is a matter of comfort and less back pain. In Germany kitchen heights are taller too. In Germany we measure the most suitable height for a kitchen bench by adjusting an ironing board that the distance between an angled arm and the ironing board is 15cm. I guess the large kitchen companies in EU must have figured that out. Our new kitchen is higher than the standard. I wanted to have my carcasses to be 780mm, which is not standard. We have an XXL dishwasher that needs a bit more height too. Only through friends who have a higher benchtop we realised how much more comfortable it is. Yes the 15 cm rules is something we use as well, therefore the 940 mm would work for us. I am also looking at the XXL dishwasher since they can be raised to 910mm all the standard once will not go above 875. Since we are not in Europe anymore....... there is not much we can do than paying the extra money for the kitchen/laundry and the dishwasher. Thanks for the bin tip, had not thought about that! Re: Kitchen height 5Feb 21, 2014 1:12 pm with the bin under bench you just can push everything in. However out of own experience, the pulling out of the bin is a little bit to tight for me as the bin is lacking weight for a smoother motion. Plus pulling out the bin door with dirty fingers is sometimes not easy either. I plan to install a P2O for it (Blum) which should solve the problem. Re: Kitchen height 6Feb 21, 2014 1:18 pm We had our kitchen benches raised to 930mm and unbelievably at no extra cost. We both hate stooping to wash dishes etc. Good luck with your plans ... For info on our build: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=43093 Built the McLaren by Dechellis - slab down 22 Feb - handover 30 Aug 2011 - and gardens finished 9 Dec 2012!! Re: Kitchen height 7Feb 21, 2014 1:23 pm Will post the kitchen planns once we have those, but 940mm it is! Re: Kitchen height 8Feb 22, 2014 7:48 pm Evelin Our new kitchen is higher than the standard. I wanted to have my carcasses to be 780mm, which is not standard. ... Yes, it is worth the cost because YOU are working in the kitchen and YOU want to have less pain. The real comfort in a kitchen in my view is to have the dishwasher installed higher and the bin drawer just under the benchtop. Our planned kitchen is also 940 with island 960. By the way, I do like your bin solution! That Blum Tandembox... D I think size. Could you please tell us what bins are they, how wide is the cabinet and how much internal height do you have in the drawer? Cheers Built a 2 storey house... hebel, proctor, pvc windows, aiphone, deck roofs, louver covered patio Re: Kitchen height 9Feb 22, 2014 8:06 pm Hi doubledutch We have owner built 4 houses, all with kitchen benches higher than standard, no problems. First 2 had 950mm high and last 2 have 1000mm. Love the higher working height. No problems with the dishwasher either. The cabinet maker simply adds a small infill panel above the dishwasher, or makes a little platform for it to sit on. Settlement 1/2/12 New Shed 23/3/12 Slab poured 27/3/12 Frame complete 4/5/12 Roof complete 1/6/12 LOCKUP 29/6/12 Our new build blog http://kareenhillsownerbuild.blogspot.com/ Re: Kitchen height 10Feb 23, 2014 8:10 am delatite13 No problems with the dishwasher either. The cabinet maker simply adds a small infill panel above the dishwasher, or makes a little platform for it to sit on. Thanks for the info, that would be a solution that would be fine as well. We have decided to simply pick another dishwasher (Miele G 5715 SCU XXL CS) which can be adjusted in height to meet our requirements. Thanks again! DD Re: Kitchen height 11Feb 23, 2014 3:27 pm Apart from the volume builders where everything is an extra I think you'll find a lot of kitchen manufacturers have been giving clients higher benchtops a lot more often than is commonly thought and at very little extra cost if any. Stewie Re: Kitchen height 12Feb 23, 2014 10:09 pm Our new house kitchen bench height is 940mm - standard, no variation requested! (Where we are currently renting I have one kitchen bench height at 940mm, which I use the most, one at 850mm -great for helpful little kids making their own breakfast/sandwich, and one at 1200mm - nice for delicate decorating, and putting plates that are ready serving out of the way.) That's all a bit unnecessary though. Other back-saving considerations are dishwashers - the dish drawers are really great, especially if you mainly use the top drawer. Secondly, depth of sink. Some of those trendy trough-like sinks are too deep for backs. (I love the ironing board testing tip. Might have to add that one to my physiotherapy repertoire!) http://www.housebythewater.wordpress.com From blank block to new home in Mandurah, Western Australia. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=65564 Re: Kitchen height 13Feb 23, 2014 11:06 pm the dishwasher drawers are surely practical. Alternatively as I said before is a raised dishwasher with a drawer underneath. I have one of these 'modern' undermount sinks, BlancoClaron 500. I love it, not too deep for me but the size is perfect. An oven tray fits in flat. I gues it depends how high your benchtop is. Re: Kitchen height 14Feb 24, 2014 11:21 am DoubleDutch The comment to our request was that it is very unusual to increase the height, if you are not extremely tall. Increasing the height for kitchen and laundry will cost us not that much more but just realised that dishwasher needs to be taller and costs quite a bit extra. So what is your opinion on this is this worth the costs? It cost very little to add 40mm in height to a kitchen. Probable around $50 - $100 Standard kitchen height these days is 910 - 920. There are a lot of companys stuck in the past building kitchens at 900mm. 940mm is not that unusual. I have done quite a few at that height or higher! Why do you need a higher dishwasher? If you buy an integrated model then you just adjust the height of the front accordingly. Its actually very easy to do! Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: Kitchen height 15Feb 28, 2014 1:52 pm My new kitchen will be 1000 mm as I am pretty tall Russian My builder quoted me just $300 extra do do that. My dishwasher is the standard height so I will be adding a platform under it to get to the correct height. First house - Statesman Greenock (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66876 Second house - Fairmont Grand Design (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=100789 Re: Kitchen height 16Feb 28, 2014 3:25 pm vladmari My new kitchen will be 1000 mm as I am pretty tall Russian My builder quoted me just $300 extra do do that. My dishwasher is the standard height so I will be adding a platform under it to get to the correct height. Is it an intergrated dishwasher or a free standing one? If its integrated you wont be able to have a full length panel on it. Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: Kitchen height 17Feb 28, 2014 3:59 pm it is integrated, it has a panel to which a kick board can be attached and that's what I will do so the whole kitchen will look neat First house - Statesman Greenock (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66876 Second house - Fairmont Grand Design (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=100789 Re: Kitchen height 18Feb 28, 2014 7:24 pm That's what we did with the last house and it looked quite good. Settlement 1/2/12 New Shed 23/3/12 Slab poured 27/3/12 Frame complete 4/5/12 Roof complete 1/6/12 LOCKUP 29/6/12 Our new build blog http://kareenhillsownerbuild.blogspot.com/ Re: Kitchen height 19Mar 02, 2014 12:31 pm vladmari it is integrated, it has a panel to which a kick board can be attached and that's what I will do so the whole kitchen will look neat If its a standard integrated dishwasher (pull down door) then you want be able to have the dishwasher at full height under the 1000mm high bench top and put a full size door panel on it. You will have to put a 730mm panel on the dishwasher with a filler below it and then the kickboard below that. Trust me I install them all the time! Integrated dishwashers are made for a maximum height of around 900mm to the top of them. Above that height when you put a full door panel on the front it binds on the dishwasher kick area and doesn't allow you to open the dishwasher fully! If you have a dish drawer then its a different story. Cutting Edge Kitchens and Cabinet Making http://cuttingedgekitchens.net.au http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cutting-Edge-Kitchens/290484196676 Mobile : 0419 430 575 PH: 9452 4772 Fax :9452 4772 cuttingedgekitchens@outlook.com Re: Kitchen height 20Mar 03, 2014 10:22 am I don't need to put full door panel in, just a kick board First house - Statesman Greenock (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=66876 Second house - Fairmont Grand Design (modified) https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=100789 Unless the room is for storage then it's non compliant BCA V2 2019 S3 P3.8 You have 2 options 1. The builder deconstructs the section and rebuilds as per plan /… 7 10684 ok thanks - yes was wondering if that should have been listed as Option Three! 2 7742 I'll look into different shower heads and ask the plumber about some engineering and see what he says. Thanks 2 9563 |