Ikea kitchens - tall housing units/sockets where?

zebidee1

I've read that the Ikea kitchen units have a flat back so there is no space for pipework/cables etc. What about the tall housing units?

I'm considering an Ikea kitchen and as my kitchen is getting a refurb, now is the time to move sockets etc. If I get a tall oven housing unit and a tall larder fridge unit for example, can the appliances be plugged into a socket directly behind the unit, or do the sockets have to be at the side so the unit sits flat on the wall?

TIA

real1314

All ikea units fit flat to the wall, so the solution is to cut out a hole for sockets, however with a tall appliance like a fridge freezer, you're better to have the socket in an adjacent unti, otherwise if the fuse blows, you have to pull the fridge freezer out to sort it out (same is true of any appliance really).

All pipework has to be run below plinth level, or cut routes through the units.

dreaddan

I think they can be behind the cupboard but must be accessible.

zebidee1

Thanks to you both. I didn't think about having a socket in an adjacent unit tbh. I was only thinking that it would look horrible if the plug had to go sideways throught the unit to plug in iyswim. If the socket was in a unit then it would look better.

As for pipework, all my plumbing runs are under the floor and come up directly behind the sink unit at present. I take it since there is no back space in a sink unit, the pipes just come up through the floor of the unit?

Be_Happy

We have IKEA kitchen with tall unit housing oven and microwave above. I've just been through to check where sockets are and they are on wall behind the drawer under the oven (there are two lower drawers) seems to be plenty of room and sockets are accessible when drawer is fully open.

zebidee1

Thanks Be Happy. I think we would do the same and site the socket lower down behind the unit.

real1314

For your sink cupboard, you may find it easier to fix the back panel to the wall, behind the pipes, and then cut out for the pipes on the unit itself. It's the way I did it, and I think it looks better than having loads of cut outs in the back panel.
I plugged my fridge freezer into a plug behind it and the fuse blew! Luckily I'd done it via an extension lead, and was able to re-route it to another socket without too much hassle!

jennifernil

On the Ikea housing units for ovens there is no back behind the oven, so any socket there will be accessible, I would expect a fridge housing to be the same. You should have on/off switches for all appliances, to over-ride the sockets, on the wall above the worktop or somewhere nearby.

With the oven, we found that it needed a very slim 13 amp plug to allow the oven to be pushed properly back into place as the electrician happened to fit the socket behind the deepest part of the oven casing.

For the sink, we drilled correct size holes for the water and waste, and had the pipes left long enough to come well above the bottom of the unit. We then dropped the unit straight down over the pipes. Flexible connectors with shut off valves are good to use for connecting to the tap tails.