Do Handle-less Drawers Sit Flush as Standard?

Here are a couple of photos of the job that might make it easier to understand

Yep agreed, we have a 20mm bench top overhang as standard. That is 20mm from the face of the drawers/doors to the edge of the bench top.

Did you in laws give the cabinet maker the appliance specs before starting??? If they did then he should have built the kitchen to fit them. There are some cooktops around that need a slightly deeper bench top (620-650 instead of 600) If they gave him the specs and they don't fit then its his responsibility to make them fit properly!!

Sorry but I totally disagree.

When liquids are spilt on a bench top they run down the edge, slightly back under and then drop off from the underside (try it) I am not saying all the water does this. It happens towards the end once the main bulk of water has run off. Its for this reason metal roofs have a 30-40mm turn down to stop this happening!

This means that if the fronts are flush with bench top that water will fall off onto the top edge and if you have sharknose then run into the drawers!

I have actually seen a few kitchens built with flush fronts and they have shown signs of water damage on the top edge!

Sure if you are a very neat clean person that never spills anything it this isn't an issue. But if you are like almost everyone else then a kitchen should always have a 20mm overhang so the water falls harmlessly onto the floor!!

On second view it maybe the vinyl fronts with the plastic still on. Otherwise Im not sure what sort of drawer boxes are being used, cant see draw box ends exposed.

On the your opinion of benchtop overhang. Your right about the water running. But the latest kitchens getting sold with either sharks fin or j pull are being made with zero overhang. Most architects are asking for flush these days.

Also i prefer the look of flush. Its such a 2014 look. 20mm overhang is now so old school. Think ilea bunnings & co.

I agree that handle less looks better with a flush face.
In my own kitchen I have the continuous aluminium J handles and have built it flush. It's definitely a more modern look. Having said that most kitchens I build that have handles have a 20mm overhang to prevent the water issues that CEK mentioned.

I was a bit confused by the pictures but I'm pretty sure it's a gloss melamine (silk or the like) with the plastic wrap on the face. The black lines drawn on the face are to indicate sides to edge.

It's hard to make it out but I'd say the cabinets have the aluminium finger recess or a recessed rail to give finger grip. Both of those methods will eat up even more space into the carcass. It's not surprising that they are struggling to install the hot plate and sink.

I'd always check to see what fittings my clients are using and make sure the cut outs fit the bench and carcass. Not an easy fix for the op I'd say.

I don't get how the cabinet maker even constructed the Kitchen, without first knowing the appliance details.

Yes, buying appliances to suit the constructed kitchen..........
Something seems back to front.
Tell the cabinet maker to find and purchase appliances that will fit at his cost seeing he can't fit the ones supplied.
It looks like a stone bench. You would think they would have picked up the problem at templating before the benches were installed.

Hi all

Thanks so much for the information, it has all been very useful.

To answer some of the questions, the photos show the drawers with the plastic wrap still on them. I'm pretty sure its gloss malamite finish.

With regards to the appliances, yes the kitchen maker was given the details (ie. make and model) of the stove in the very early stages of the kitchen production. Their argument is that they drew the kitchen to the size of the kitchen capentry and its our fault for chosing appliances that are too "large". However given they knew the size of the stove in the early days, our argument is that they (being the experts in making kitchens) should have consulted with my in-laws to advise that there wouldn't be enough room on that size benchtop for that size stove. As it is now, the distance between the element and the wall is 70mm. Once the splashback is installed, it will reduce to about 50-60mm, far less than the 200mm regulations (which we are a bit confused on as we're not sure how enforceable they are). Had they done that, my inlaws could have easily amended the capentry to extend the wall to have a large size benchtop. At that stage the plaster hadn't been installed. To clarify, the stove isn't unusually large, in fact it is a standard size.

The same issue has occured with the two sinks, whereby because of the way they have designed the kitchen and size of the benchtops, there is no room for the taps (they are designed to sit on the benchtop, in between the sink and splashback). The greater disappointment here is that on the one hand they are arguing that the sinks are too large, but on the other hand admit that the sinks were delivered on the day they cut the caesarstone. Our argument - why on earth cut the caesarstone when you can clearly see its not going to work? Again at that point they could have picked up the phone to discuss the issue and potential ways to resolve it, rather than proceeding with cutting the caesarstone.

All of these issues have been raised with the kitchen guys directly but they refuse to take any responsibility and are demanding more payments before finishing the job (there are other outstanding things they need to deliver and install).

It is worth mentioning that my parents ordered and paid for caesarstone, and on the day the benchtops were delivered, they noticed the colour was wrong. when they investigated further, they realised it was not caesarstone at all, rather quartz. The third party who delivered teh benchtops said the kicthen guys initially sought a quote for caesarstone, then quartz and said to proceed with quartz. When my in-laws raised it with the kitchen guys, they admitted they had to "cut costs".

Needless to say, my in-laws have lost faith that are going to have this resolved any time soon.
One option is to go through consumer affairs. Has anyone got any other suggestions?

Is this job through a builder or have you bought the kitchen directly off the cabinetmaker?
If you bought via a builder he should have warranty insurance.

If you have bought it directly off a cabinetmaker they should by law (in victora, could vary state to state) be a restricted builder. Meaning they can't officially do work over $5000 without a contract and offer warranty insurance. Contact the kitchen association in your state to get a better advice.

If the cabinetmaker is not registered he wont want to risk being taken to VCAT (or your states equivilant) without a proper contract in place which serves to also protect you. If he is not a registered builder he cant offer the required contract.

In Victoria it costs$30-$40 to take somone to VCAT. So its worth the excercise in your position.

We are not talking about a couple hundred dollar issue here, this is a huge issue you should no turn a blind eye to. Infact i cant think of a solution other than new benchtops as the minimum, thats with you compromising. The cabinets should really be deep enough.

Others may have better news but i feel sorry for you, unless you bought from a back yarder, in which case, sorry.