Kitchen wall units + panels either side of hob.

[Joelaw07]

Hi - I'm planning a kitchen with DIY kitchens, which I'll install myself. Over my hob I have planned a 600mm wall unit to house a canopy extractor and this is 68cm above the hob. I have a 450mm wall unit either side, which have 530mm clearance from the countertop.

I want to add panels under the wall units either side of the hob and up the exposed side (see pic). The panels are 18mm think. DIY have flagged this up saying that the panels on the sides, facing the hob will be affected by the heat from the hob. It's an induction hob although of course there'll be pans steaming away on it. The hob is 590mm wide. Are DIY being over-cautious or will the fact that my panels encroach 13mm over the hob (and at their lowest point 512mm above the hob) be an issue? I've shown the position of the panels with diagonal lines in the pic. Thanks for any advice.

 

[foxhole]

Would look better to fully clad the sides adjacent the hood and remove the overhang.

 

[Joelaw07]

Sure - I could put smaller units either side but I'd prefer not to - there's not a lot of storage space in this kitchen. In the diagram the panel on each side overhangs the side of the hob by 13mm (18mm thick panel minus 5mm either side of the 590mm hob). The kitchen we're replacing has the same configuration except there's no panel facing the hob. The wall unit is only 500mm above the countertop ((so a little less than the new kitchen) and there's no damage to the side of the wall unit after 20 years. Is my idea a problem - ie would the panels be affected by heat from the hob?

 

[robinbanks]

I think no, unless the paint gets damaged

 

[Joelaw07]

I think no, unless the paint gets damaged

Precisely what I'm trying to avoid. I suppose I need to know from someone who's done this.
I've just checked the AEG manual and it says that there should be a minimum of 500mm from the hob to the unit above. I've got 512mm. So technically it looks ok....like I say ...anyone out there done this?

 

[Joelaw07]

Is this or similar an option - to be on the safe side?

 

[robinbanks]

I think you're worrying about it too much. Install the units and run with them, if someone does bash a hole in an end getting a pancake flip wrong or whatever, attend to it promptly with the touch up paint they send out/a matching colour

MDF is great..
..at absorbing moisture

Had I foreseen this issue I probably would have put some silicone bump strip on the underside of my pan drawer fronts, to ward off careless pan withdrawals..

As is, this is just one of those jobs that will have to sit on the todo list a while, as it's small fry. Been like this about 4 years now

 

[Joelaw07]

Hilarious.