Introduction
It’s no easy feat to find the perfect stove for your kitchen, either in style or size. And if you’re lucky enough to find one that both fits your needs and complements the look of your room, it can be a real pain to get it into place.
Many people have found their way around this problem by opting for an electric stove rather than gas or propane models, but others are still looking for ways to make their new appliances fit with their old cabinets. One solution is cutting out sections of cabinets, so they don’t cover up any part of the stovetop surface. This article will tell you how to cut cabinets to fit stove. So let us get to the core.
A Detailed Stepwise Guide on How to Cut Cabinets to Fit Stove
You may have experienced situations when the cabinets you bought do not fit where your requirement is. So it becomes necessary to find an alternative solution by which you can adjust or adapt them in the position of your choice. The following steps will be helpful for you to cut cabinets for the stove.
1) Measure the Dimensions of the Stove and Rails:
First, measure the length and breadth of the outer part of the oven while it is standing on some surface. You will need these dimensions later on. Also, measure the height of the cabinet above floor level to determine how much space is available between the upper edge of the kitchen countertop and the bottom surface of the cabinet.
2) Measure Available Space for Cutout:
Next, measure the distance between the lower edge of the cabinet and the upper surface of the kitchen countertop. If this dimension is not sufficient to accommodate the oven, you need to ask someone to remove that part of the kitchen countertop just above the stove. After that, mark that area with pencil on the wall or cabinet door to make it easy for cutting out later on.
Before removing, make sure how much material needs to be cut away from the lengthwise side. Also, measure what amount has to be removed from the height-wise direction. Finally, ensure that all necessary materials are present in the right places for cutting before starting the actual task. Once you start, it becomes difficult to adjust things after cutting.
3) Mark Outline of the Stove on Cabinet Door:
Fix the oven on some tape or adhesive, so it is centered at both sides with the right amount of space left in between it and the wall. Now you need to mark the outline of the oven on the cabinet door with a pencil around it.
4) Drill a Pilot Hole at Each Corner of the Stove Outline:
After marking, prepare a pilot hole for each corner before making an actual cut. Use a drill machine, if necessary. Do not go very deep into the wood during drilling pilot holes because if you do, then after cutting, you will be short of the required length in your cutout area.
5) Cut Out Upper Section With Saw:
Sawing can be done by hand, or you can use a circular saw machine. Firstly, cut out the upper section of the cabinet door and then continue cutting to remove the required space from height-wise direction.
6) Measure the New Size:
Now measure the new size of length and breadth for your stove and if it is not matching with previously measured dimensions, adjust accordingly. If there is any gap between the stove outline and the wall or oven stand, fill that gap appropriately before finishing it with paint.
7) Paint Cabinet Surface With White Oil Paint:
After cutting out holes, apply some white oil paint to make the cutout area visible for you to use easily. If it is not done correctly, after fitting the oven inside, you may have to take it back again for this purpose, creating unnecessary trouble. So try to do it properly.
Precautions While Performing How to Cut Cabinets to Fit Stove
- Be extremely careful while following this step. One wrong move can end in an accident.
- Before cutting the cabinets, turn off the electricity supply to the entire house.
- Keep a fire extinguisher close by, just in case it is needed to extinguish any flame or spark produced during sawing of the cabinets, which might lead to a fire.
- Make sure there are no kids around when young home cabinets because accidents can happen anytime and anywhere, even if they are just near you, so keep them away from all activities involving inflammable materials or tools that can harm them or anyone else.
- You need to check for gas pipelines running under your kitchen floor before cutting anything to prevent future accidents.
- Always wear safety gloves. After all, you are playing with your life, and if something does not go on the right way, it can lead to an accident which might even turn out to be a significant tragedy for anyone involved in it.
- Remove nails from wood cabinets before cutting them using pincers or pliers because the knives of the saw machine may get jammed while doing their job if any pin is left inside the cabinet door or its frame.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Wood Is Best For Making Kitchen Cabinets?
Kitchen cabinets are made from durable wood, such as plywood or hardwood. Cabinets can also be made of recycled materials, such as countertops and recycled wood cabinets. Construction-grade plywood is the best choice for making cabinetry in a kitchen. Plywood is inexpensive and easy to work with because it’s lightweight and relatively soft. The thin layers of veneer that make plywood also mean that its paintable surface is smooth, making touching up nicks and scratches a cinch. Standard countertop laminates aren’t the most attractive options when considering new kitchen cabinets, but they have many positive features: laminate surfaces are resistant to stains and scratches, don’t need much maintenance after installation, and can be used to create a wide variety of looks.
Which Woods Are Easy To Cut For Setting Up Stoves?
The answer to this question is not as easy as it seems. It depends upon the stove you have got and the artistry of the carpenter who will set up your stove for you. We will assume that you want our advice on what woods to use, even though we cannot tell just which kind of wood may be suitable in any particular case without knowing more about your stove and about the builder than we can learn by correspondence. There are but few hardwood trees that can be cut into pieces so large that they cannot be used for stoves — very few indeed — and among these, we need only mention oak, ash, hickory, locust (black locust), catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), pecan, butternut (white walnut), and persimmon.
Stove woods are of three classes:—
They may be either hard or soft. Among the hardwoods, our choice lies between oak, ash, hickory, white elm, red elm, sweetgum (Liquidambar stryaciflua), black gum, or tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), maple of various kinds, sassafras (Sassafras Officinalis).
Among the softwoods are hemlock spruce, tamarack pine. Among the coniferous trees, only cedar will burn readily on a stove. Entirely seasoned wood is best for stoves, so plan to do your cutting, seasoning, and stacking.
How Much Will Be Required?
A common mistake among those who have not had experience in the wood-buying business is to overestimate the amount of fuel required for a heating season. If you are building yourself, figure on making some mistakes; don’t be afraid to cut up firewood more than once. Always buy more than the estimated quantity needed for one year’s burning. Then, if you can’t store it correctly or if your stove cannot consume all of it before next winter (the latter case is rare), sell what is left over at a nominal price to anyone having a use for it as slow-burning firewood, thus obtaining some return on your investment.
How Much Space Should Be Between Stove and Cabinets?
Once you’ve measured your stove and figured out where to place it, the next consideration is how much space to leave between the stove and cabinets. Overhung ranges (ones with their top surface extending past the countertop) should go between 10 and 18 inches of clearance above the range for headroom—the same amount as for microwaves, or less if you prefer a lower installation. Freestanding ranges require about 1-1/2 inches of clearance on each side to allow room for maneuvering, but no specific upper permissions are required because these can be placed directly over counters. Between 8 and 12 inches should do it…and far enough below so that when using multiple burners simultaneously, there’s still 2-1/2 inches between the bottom of the pan and the top of the stove.
How Important is It To Maintain Stove Temperature?
It’s not just a matter of convenience – it’s a matter of safety. Whether you’re just starting as a homeowner, or you’ve been at it for years, and your home is already filled with all sorts of appliances and gadgets, sooner or later, those things start to wear down. And when they do, many homeowners make the mistake of replacing them only to find themselves in the same boat a few years down the road as these new appliances inevitably begin to break as well. All this could have been avoided if only proper maintenance had been undertaken from the beginning.
You Can Check It Out To Fill Gap Between Fridge and Cabinet
Conclusion
I hope this article has offered all the relevant information on how to cut cabinets to fit stove. Ensure all the necessary precautions during the process. Thank you and have a nice day!
Related Article – How to build a drop in stove cabinet.
