Browse Forums Kitchen Corner Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 2Feb 03, 2015 12:24 pm I don't have one but considering our build. I think underbench is silly. I can see it is a space/cleanliness issue but I would only do it this way if I had no choice. And even then I would try and find another option. I see a lot of the project builders put them here and then charge a premium to have them elsewhere. Microwave items often very hot I can't imagine having to stoop down let alone my husband every time I wanted to get something out (like hot porridge every winter morning). Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 3Feb 03, 2015 12:35 pm Leksie5000 I think underbench is silly. Microwave items often very hot I can't imagine having to stoop down let alone my husband every time I wanted to get something out (like hot porridge every winter morning). I hear people say this all the time and for the life of me I cant understand the difference between a microwave under bench and an oven under bench! An oven gets far hotter and the bottom shelf is a lot lower below bench than a microwave does so why is it ok to have an oven below bench and not a microwave??? 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: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 4Feb 03, 2015 12:39 pm skyler Hi All, Just wondering how those with this sort of setup find it? Thanks in advance for your responses. I believe there is really only two places that really work in a kitchen for a microwave and when I say work I am considering both function and aesthetics! Built in(trim kit) above the oven in a tall wall oven cabinet. or Below bench built in(trim kit) Microwaves are too deep to go into overheads these days and they need to be lower than standard overhead height so they really compromise the look of a kitchen if put in there. 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: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 5Feb 03, 2015 1:15 pm CuttingEdgeKitchens Leksie5000 I think underbench is silly. Microwave items often very hot I can't imagine having to stoop down let alone my husband every time I wanted to get something out (like hot porridge every winter morning). I hear people say this all the time and for the life of me I cant understand the difference between a microwave under bench and an oven under bench! An oven gets far hotter and the bottom shelf is a lot lower below bench than a microwave does so why is it ok to have an oven below bench and not a microwave??? Most people use an oven a lot less these days. I cook a lot (every day, several times) and use my microwave daily to reheat/defrost/steam stuff. My oven gets used once a week for a roast. the microwave is underbench and it IS a pain. Lifting heavy items out, espcially liquids on an underplate is awkward and sometimes dangerous. When you use an underbench oven, youre already comitted to it well befor eyou need to use it. Its not as annoying. A microwave is usually more spontaneous. Microwaves tend to get dirtier quicker and require cleaning more often, which underbench locations make it a pain. Some people put ovens in walls or stack them in columns for the same reason. Underbench is sensible from a space sense but from a practicality perspective oven AND micro underbench is incovenient. I will be putting my microwave on the bench in the butlers panrty in the next house. If youre willing to spend the dosh, you can get an inwall one that is properly intergrated in your cabinetry without the kit from the builder. Creator of superduperonium, expert at expert things, nobel laureate, can hold my breath for 10 minutes. Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 6Feb 03, 2015 2:37 pm Our microwave is underbench and i find it much better than built into wall cab or oven stack unit. Best position would be on benchtop but to save room we opted to put it under. Ours is a convection microwave and we use it daily and its far easier to slightly lift heavy hot liquids up to the bench than to try to lower them down as you generally tilt the objects when lowering them. Also my wife is only short so its a better height for her and the kids to use. Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 7Feb 03, 2015 3:26 pm My microwave recess is going under the bench. I have been badly burnt (hot liquids) before from using a microwave above an oven. also helps kids learn to be involved with cooking too. Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 8Feb 04, 2015 5:35 am CuttingEdgeKitchens Leksie5000 I think underbench is silly. Microwave items often very hot I can't imagine having to stoop down let alone my husband every time I wanted to get something out (like hot porridge every winter morning). I hear people say this all the time and for the life of me I cant understand the difference between a microwave under bench and an oven under bench! An oven gets far hotter and the bottom shelf is a lot lower below bench than a microwave does so why is it ok to have an oven below bench and not a microwave??? Good point and one I have considered. Ultimately a personal choice. Husband is over 6fy and eats porridge every day, stopping down would drive him mad. The reason, as most women would tell you is because overall you (well I) use an oven less frequently than a microwave. An item going into the oven such as a dinner is likely to be there for some time, which reduces the amount of times you need to bend down to pick items up. In contrast a microwave is a workhorse, or it is in our house, used multiple times daily to heat milk, cereal and maybe leftovers. It's a shorter period of time too so a little more annoying to be bending down twice. Also The heat generally produced by the oven is dry and it is less likely to have the steam billowing into your face as you bend down. I also find it slightly easier with an oven to lift heavy trays of hot food slightly up than down. lastly an oven is larger so it may be harder to accommodate a different design, what if you sent a freestanding cooker? A microwave doesn't present such a large problem there. That said I still think a different plan for the oven is ideal if you have space. My build will have two 600mm Westinghouse ovens, one at ergonomic height which is pyrolitic for daily use. The other the lower part of the tower for extra capacity when needed. Westinghouse come very well reviewed and are also less expensive.off topic I have a 900mm Smeg where I rent now and hate it, doesn't cook evenly and that matches up with what reviews on the product day.m Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 9Feb 04, 2015 6:28 am Its funny that two of you say you use the microwave a lot more than the oven. I do a lot of cooking in our house and never use the microwave, we use it so little that I put it in the laundry rather than have it compromise my kitchen design and layout! You need to consider that the height most microwaves are put in (overhead or above the wall oven) are too high for average height people to be safe(If your tall its not an issue). Putting hot things in and out at or around shoulder level is a recipe for disaster. Hence why a lot of people put them below bench. When done correctly below bench can look smart. Purchase a matching trim kit for your microwave and have it built in properly rather than sitting loose in a box with large gaps around 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: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 10Feb 04, 2015 10:10 am If we are worried about bending down 2 or 3 times a day to use an under bench microwave, what do you think of under bench cabinets and draws surely same principle applies. I think people tend to over think some issues sometimes Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 11Feb 04, 2015 10:24 am Splashers If we are worried about bending down 2 or 3 times a day to use an under bench microwave, what do you think of under bench cabinets and draws surely same principle applies. I think people tend to over think some issues sometimes you know that there are many parallel principles that can be either, pleasurable, annoying or neutral depending on circumstances? I personally think people underthink. hence why they end up with microwaves in places that are annoying to their circumstances. They never considered it until it was in a place that annoyed them. Creator of superduperonium, expert at expert things, nobel laureate, can hold my breath for 10 minutes. Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 12Feb 04, 2015 1:01 pm Ponzu [you know that there are many parallel principles that can be either, pleasurable, annoying or neutral depending on circumstances? I personally think people underthink. hence why they end up with microwaves in places that are annoying to their circumstances. They never considered it until it was in a place that annoyed them. What annoys you may not annoy me or someone else. 50% of kitchens I do these days have built in under bench microwaves 30% wall oven with microwave 10% Microwave in the panty 10% no microwave at all I cant remember the last kitchen I did with a microwave in the overheads its been that long!!! It really depends on you kitchen layout/design and your personal preference. There is no one right way. But there are some ways that are defiantly better than others. Some people get caught up thinking that everyone uses the microwave the same way as they do. I personally never use a microwave where some people on here said they use it many times a day. This is what I advise my customers when they want a microwave, If you have a wall oven then put it above the oven as this is the best spot. Some kitchens don't lend themselves well to wall ovens or the customers want the oven below the cooktop so then in this case the microwave goes below bench. 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: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 13Feb 04, 2015 2:29 pm CuttingEdgeKitchens Its funny that two of you say you use the microwave a lot more than the oven. I do a lot of cooking in our house and never use the microwave, we use it so little that I put it in the laundry rather than have it compromise my kitchen design and layout! You need to consider that the height most microwaves are put in (overhead or above the wall oven) are too high for average height people to be safe(If your tall its not an issue). Putting hot things in and out at or around shoulder level is a recipe for disaster. Hence why a lot of people put them below bench. When done correctly below bench can look smart. Purchase a matching trim kit for your microwave and have it built in properly rather than sitting loose in a box with large gaps around it! All valid points, I guess it just makes sense to me to have them at as ergonomic height as possible for the most common chef in the house.. Moi Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 14Feb 04, 2015 3:32 pm Leksie5000 [ All valid points, I guess it just makes sense to me to have them at as ergonomic height as possible for the most common chef in the house.. Moi Agreed, it also depends on how much the appliance is used. If used rarely then aesthetics wins out on function and the opposite is true if used all the time. Each kitchen/owner is different. 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: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 15Feb 04, 2015 7:48 pm Thanks everyone for your insights and the points you've raised. We're going to have 900 mm benchtop space to the right of the freestanding cooker. I will have to use some of that space for the microwave. I think microwave on benchtop will be the best setup for our household. So will just put drawers in the supposedly microwave recess, a better use of the space. skyler *o* Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 16Feb 05, 2015 7:01 am skyler . So will just put drawers in the supposedly microwave recess, a better use of the space. Yep putting a 600mm microwave in a 900mm space is terriable. Much better suited to a wide set of drawers! Do you have a large pantry? Could the micro go in there? 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: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 17Feb 05, 2015 2:17 pm That's another option I'm considering. WIP will have 4 level shelves (1600mm x 1000mm). I'm thinking of converting 2nd shelf to a benchtop so I could put on small appliances. skyler *o* Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 18Feb 05, 2015 2:47 pm I love my microwave under the bench - mine is away in a cupboard completely hidden under the bench. Full disclosure i don't use it much at all, but I would have it here or in a pantry always. I'm not a fan of them up high for safety reasons and I want to maximize bench space so out on a bench is not for me. Personally. Rebecca Jarrett-Dalton Property crazy expert mortgage broker, love building new homes! Two Red Shoes mortgage broker http://www.tworedshoes.com.au/building Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 19Feb 06, 2015 1:24 pm Mine is going underbench. I don't have a WIP or butler's pantry to put it in and I want as much bench space as possible (Small kitchen). I also don't have the wall tower, so can't do that. I'm having the 900mm upright cooker, though sometimes I think I might be better off with a 600mm.. I know the 900mm is considered an upgrade, but I'm a single person, I've never used one that big before and I'm not sure I would need it! I wouldn't want the microwave up high, I can just imagine spilling hot drinks on myself. I don't use it too much, I use the oven about 6 out of 7 nights. Re: Microwave Under Bench - Pros and Cons 20Feb 20, 2015 3:34 pm Mine is going in my scullery Our build thread: https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=70984 Standard uninsulated double brick has an R value of around 0.7. An insulated standard 90mm stud timber frame can have an R value of around 2.7. Even if you insulate a… 17 12003 Hi - thanks for your reply. Yes I think 'Ill go for whitish with very speckly bits rather than pure white something like this. PS was actually 2008 I built the… 2 11675 Building Standards; Getting It Right! These can be easily filled and repaired and it doesn't cost them much to do. Id get the builder to do this first and if the repair is not suitable then a replacement is… 12 31248 |