Non standard kitchen cupboard doors

maryhillgirl

I'm really interested in this thread as son has just bought a house with a galley kitchen with a door at each end, leaving only 50cm of space on either side to fit new units. If 60cm deep units can be reduced in depth by cutting 4 inches off the backs, can integrated appliances still be fitted?
Hope this makes sense!

majjie

Doozergirl wrote: »

It doesn't matter if they're non-standard size doors if you're buying new.

I thought the whole point was to change the doors! If the kitchen is "in desperate need of a makeover" then I suspect keeping the non-standard doors won't help. As everyone has said - if you're buying new, then there's no problem in reducing the depth of the carcasses - and you'll get standard size doors anyway.

Unfortunately, maryhillgirl, there aren't any reduced depth integrated appliances to fit your cut down units, if you do reduce the depth. In those circumstances, it can be possible to use standard depth units along one wall - and very reduced ones on the other - and not extend the standard depth ones right to the ends of the room.

You might find a few free standing appliances that aren't a full 600mm deep - but i haven't looked recently.

maryhillgirl

Yes, I've seen a couple of full size washing machines that are just 50cm deep which would fit neatly into a gap, but I suspected integrated appliances would need the full 60cm depth. One solution might be to curve the worktop slightly in at each end to fit into the doorframe, and use narrower units down the opposite side to retain a decent walkway width.
I know that Howdens now do a small range of 50cm wide units, which might help Snazzy in her kitchen design. They are ready built, not flat pack, and very reasonably priced.

majjie

maryhillgirl wrote: »

One solution might be to curve the worktop slightly in at each end to fit into the doorframe, and use narrower units down the opposite side to retain a decent walkway width.
I know that Howdens now do a small range of 50cm wide units, which might help Snazzy in her kitchen design. They are ready built, not flat pack, and very reasonably priced.

Exactly right, except you'll find it easier to angle the worktop than curve it.

Howdens do indeed do a 500mm deep range - it has very limited units available - but they are drawer-line - so you get reduced depth drawers.

If you want full height units on the shallow side of the kitchen - consider using wall units as base units. You could even consider the extra high wall units, which will raise the worktop by about 7 inches - but will give you more storage space - and a higher worktop is still fine for keeping the kettle, toaster and stuff on.

andrewmoorcroft

How deep are your units?
As already mentioned you can buy 500mm units, cut the back off 575mm units, and if thats not good enough you could buy 300 mm wall units which are the same height as base units (720mm). These are usually 'full height' wall units and are the SAME door as a hi-line base unit. You could pull the 300mm ones out from the wall to leave a gap for pipes etc. You would need to buy leg / plinth packs. The awkward bit is the draw packs. Many are metal these days and difficult to adjust. You need to buy wooden ones where you can cut them to reduce the depth. Look for a base draw pack and draw fronts (usually) 500/600mm and them to a 500/600mm wall unit.
Cant remember if the 500mm Howdens ones have a service gap where you could cut it off to make them only 425 deep. Lots of options!

maryhillgirl

I've been told a good fitter could use wall units at floor level, but bring them out a bit to, say, 40ish cm, then if you put the same units actually on the wall above them, you'd get a better finished look to the kitchen, and loads of storage as well as leaving the crucial walkway space. I don't know how narrow Snazzy's kitchen is, but the one my son's tackling is only 182cms wide, a real challenge, and any more advice would be gratefully received

eileenfromplaistow

Just had an Ikea kitchen fitted - impressed with the carcases and drawers. My island unit was made up of 37cm deep wall units, but also including some drawer units. These could well be useful in a narrow galley kitchen, if somewhat limited in range of units.

Snazzy

Thanks for the tip about the Howdens units. They sound very promising. My kitchen is 2m wide with 560mm gap between the wall and door frame on one side and 630mm gap on the other side. The current units are about 500mm deep. I don't need any room for pipework. There are no pipes behind the run of units on one wall. The sink is on the other wall and there's no back on the cupboard.

27col

I used modified wall units as base units in my utility room, which is quite narrow. The doors are the same width as the floor standing base units, so no problem there. However, you will need to provide a plinth of some sort, as the wall units obviously do not have anything, being intended for wall fixing.
I used blocks of wood cut from 6"x2" joist timber. I think that nowadays you should be able to source the big black adjustable feet that are supplied with most kitchen base units. You would be able to use standard plinth boards, using this arrangement. Obviously the work top would need cutting down as well.

angelavdavis

maryhillgirl wrote: »

I'm really interested in this thread as son has just bought a house with a galley kitchen with a door at each end, leaving only 50cm of space on either side to fit new units. If 60cm deep units can be reduced in depth by cutting 4 inches off the backs, can integrated appliances still be fitted?
Hope this makes sense!

In my situation I found that the connectors, etc for dishwashers and washing machines will usually need you to make the allowance at the back. I actually sited my appliances in the middle of the run, then narrowing the worktop either end for the door to get around the restriction.