Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Dishwasher blocks cabinet door from opening

My new dishwasher sticks out an inch further than my old one and now I can not open my corner cabinet door. Rehanging the door to open the opposite direction is not an option. I need to know if it is feasible to remove the plasterboard behind the dishwasher to allow the dishwasher to be set back. It is an exterior brick wall. The plasterboard is 3/4" thick and I still need another 1/4" to be able to open the cabinet door. Would cutting out this plasterboard, and whatever else that may be necessary, interfere with the integrity of the wall? Might this cause a cold air leak that not only would raise my heating bill but also potentially cause my water pipes to freeze? Please help - the dishwasher is sitting in the middle of my tiny kitchen now.

Return it for a model thats not as deep and will fit properly in the opening that you have.:)

Too late to return it - it was completely installed before I realized the problem and had already tested it for 5 minutes with a few dirty dishes.

Depending on how they installed drywall over the brick exterior wall, you may have more than enough room. For instance, if drywall was installed over furring strips, as is usually done, you can do the cut out that you suggested plus furring strips. Caulk and insulation can be used to seal any air gaps. If it is an exterior brick wall, which is not going anywhere, removal of drywall behind DW, will not affect integrity of the wall.

I wouldn' leave the wall open to the studs behind the DW. If your finished wall is 3/4" thick, remove it in the area behind the DW. Add some nailers and use 1/4" drywall to finish the wall.

For instance, if drywall was installed over furring strips, as is usually done,

SAY WHAT??? Where on earth does that scenario come from? Drywall isn't usually installed on firring strips!!! Drywall aslo isn't 3/4" thick either. It may be 1/2" and it may be 5/8" but I doubt it's going to be 3/4".

The guy that installed that dishwasher should have "pulled-up" immediately when he realized it was bigger than the previous unit. What's that? You say he didn't catch it! Too bad!!! He was paid to install a fully operational dishmachine, he didn't do it. If you can't open you cabinets you can't use the dish machine.

Chances are you won't be able to move the unit anyway if there is plumbing and drains and electrical in the path of the unit.

Are you sure the thing is absolutely back as far as it can go?:wall:

Hi,

I think Mr. Cline may have a point, there...most dishwashers are built to install in 24" cabinets. It seems unusual that your dishwasher doesn't fit.

Are your cabinets, in fact, 24" deep?

If you check DW specs, you will find that some are 26" deep! Base cabinets are 24", counter overhang is +1", and +1 for the DW door. You have 26".

I have been pondering the type of corner cabinet used. If a blind corner cabinet, then a 3" filler should have been installed to cover all clearances. What type of corner cabinet is here? A blind corner cabinet is the only corner cabinet that usually creates clearance problems. A diagonal or L-shaped corner cabinet creates no clearance problems.

If the poster could post a picture at www.photobucket.com (http://www.photobucket.com) or other and a link here, then we could clarify and comment.

Drywall on firring strips, Bud? Yes, I have been in garage and sunroom to kitchen conversions where firring strips were glued to block/brick and drywall added (w/o insulation). The poster stated that his plasterboard was 3/4".

Ditto to Bud's question: " Are you sure the thing is absolutely back as far as it can go?" But I research DW depth specs and found 26", which means that the DW would extend 1" beyond the counter. I assume that this is the horizontal door handle.

"The guy that installed that dishwasher should have "pulled-up" immediately when he realized it was bigger than the previous unit. What's that? You say he didn't catch it! Too bad!!! He was paid to install a fully operational dishmachine, he didn't do it. If you can't open you cabinets you can't use the dish machine."

The kitchen design process is complicated. The designer goes out and measures the house. The standard width in the cabinet run for the DW is 24". Corners are crucial, especially if there is a blind corner. A 3" filler has to be added to accommodate clearance in the turn. The designer fails to confirm the specs of appliances, or if he/she does, and homeowner signs off and goes off and buys something else, the designer always gets the blame.

Installers are middle men. They have nothing to do with the design. Good ones can read the computer print out. Others can not. I have had cabinets installed upside down and all around with the homeowner in my office screaming at me. They did not hire my professional installer because they did not want to pay his price, which was 1/3 of what Lowe's charged. It was their cousin or uncle or someone on their contractor's crew, or DIY. Although titled as 'installer,' many do not have a clue.

Without more info re: the corner cabinet and the wall construction, it is difficult to hazard a guess to a solution. A picture of the corner cabinet and DW may provide some insight but not necessarily a solution.

My new dishwasher sticks out an inch further than my old one

This is a "replacement dishwasher". A "filler" is typical when a DW is in close proximety to a corner. The filler should already be there.

Drywall on firring strips, Bud? Yes, I have been in garage and sunroom to kitchen conversions where firring strips were glued to block/brick

WHO said anything about blocks or bricks? Drywall IS NOT USUALLY INSTALLED ON FIRRING STRIPS!

There is no problem with this installation other than the installer. I'll bet the DW will fit, where is, as is. Someone just needs to pay attention to what's going on. :)

To clarify a few details... the cabinet is L-shaped (see photo)

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn218/themadcatter1/Dishwashercabinet002-1.jpg

The wall is not constructed of drywall but of some harder, thicker material from the 50's. It is very chalky.

The dishwasher fits in the hole just fine but the dishwasher's depth is over 25". Because of the clearance needed to open the corner cabinet door the dishwasher's depth must be under 24" - or set back.

When installed the dishwasher touches the back wall. There are no wiring or plumbing obsticles in setting the DW back further.

Good morning,

I looked at your picture...thanks for posting. Would it be terribly inconvenient for you to post another with the cabinet door open? Does the cabinet swivel out when you pull the handle?

Thanks so much.
Connie

Is that door hinged in the corner or one solid L shaped door? I would have expected it to be hinged, but I guess not. Just maybe the installer thought it was, but he should have checked that anyway. So take the door off and modify it so that it hinges in the corner. That should solve the problem.:)

Oh, good, HJ...you see that, too? I'm thinking the door rotates like a turntable...that's why I asked for a picture of the door open.:)

Or take the door off and make a nice built in wine rack there.:D

I have no picture to show of the door open at this time, but the two sides of the door are joined firmly at a 90 degree angle. When opened the L-shaped door should swing past the dishwasher door. The access is to plain shelves, not the kind that turn.

The cabinets on the other side of the kitchen mirror these and I do not want to break the symmetry by messing with the hinges. Plus the opening side of the door is tapered and would not lend itself to hinging easily. It's an option I have ruled out for several reasons.

It's too bad the picture doesn't show the right side of the door, but it looks to me as if it's hinged on the right and swings out on the left when opened. A simple solution would be to remove the door, cut it apart at the corner at a 45 degree angle, then use a brass color piano hinge with the barrel at the front so that the little door could be opened first, then the whole door swung to the left as it apparently does now. This would give more clearance to avoid striking the DW door. If you can't do it, take it to a cabinet shop. The other choice would be to reverse the swing of the door, but you would have holes to fill, or have a new door made from birch plywood, which is what you have now. A light stain will match the 50 years of varnish mellowing. I think your back wall is plaster, so use a masonry hammer & chisel to chip it away and let the DW back to the studs.

Why not get a little creative? How about if you make a nice straight cut at the corner of the door and put in a piano hinge to make it a bifold so you could pull the narrow part out before you swing out the larger section?

PS. Hey Bud, who put the prickers in your panties today?

Buds post was over 2 months ago parte.......