how to fit a 600mm dushwasher into a 580mm gap... HELP!!

[jaylord79]

Hi guys. It's my first time here and my very first post. I have used the forums in the last couple of days to do loads to my new house but I have come up against a tricky (for me) porblem that hopefully someone here can help me with.

Basically I have a baby on the way and so the missus wants a dishwasher put in for all the extra washing up. Now I have got a mate who is a plumber to come round and do all the plumbing in and such and I'm ok with the electrics part as I think it will just plug into a double socket the problem I have got is this. Ive seen most dishwahers are a standard 600mm in width and I already have a gap in the kitchen that it will almost go into. the problem is that the gap is only 580mm. Ive got the fridge on side and the cabinets the other. there is no room for the fridge to move so I need to cut the cupboards back.

I have been told a friend of a friend will come to do it but he cant seem to put a price on the work without looking at it but he doesnt want to come out just to look and says he will just turn up and do the work. Now we are on a tight budget what with the nipper on the way so cant just pay whatever the final cost is without having an idea of whether its within our budget. So can anyone advise me on 2 points. a. how much I could be looking at cost wise and or b. how i could go about doing it myself.

i would be looking at taking 20mm from the kickboard the side of cabinet door and shelving and also from the studwork frame that the cupboards are mounted to.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated as wordwwok type stuff is fairly new to me. tools required and the best way to go about it would be ideal.

Thanks very much in advance and I look forward to reading your responses.

Jay

 

[doitall]

Why not buy a slimline dishwasher, I know Argos do a 450 wide model for less that 200quid.

edit, didn't read 300mm.

get a work top model or one that fits in a cupboard

 

[jaylord79]

Cheers doitall

Didnt want to get a smaller one as the inlaws have a slimline and they end up doing half the washing up by hand. The actual size of the dishwasher is out of my hands as not arguing with a pregnant wife!!haha. dont think it will be too tricky to do the work just not sure how to go about it

 

[foxhole]

Confused, not seen a dishwasher narrower than 450mm?
and your comments to 'Doitall' therefore do not make sense?

 

[jaylord79]

Apologies, was given wrong width measurement as im not at home, should read 580mm not 280mm

 

[foxhole]

Best way is to replace adjacent cabinet with one 100mm narrower.While it's easy to cut down plinth and cup'd the door will not cut down without looking cr*p. So if you are looking to DIY then it's the cost of one base unit and door.

 

[Harbourwoodwork]

swap a floor unit for a smaller one

 

[Symptoms]

Jay - that gap you've got ... does the fridge on one side have a decor panel fitted to it and does the cupboard opposite also have one? If so maybe remove them to give extra width. Or, check-out built-in dishwashers as these are slightly narrower (they lack the white case) and might just fit, and all you need to get is a door to match those on your units (this door will be attached to the d/washer with the supplied clips).

 

[TheGayOwl]

What is on the other side of the fridge?? A wall?? Maybe remove some skirting board?? If so this would give you nigh on 20mm.. Fridge doors can usually be hinged from either side if that would be a problem. It's a 10 minute job.

What is on the otherside of the base cabinet you want to cut down. You may be able to unscrew it from the worktop and cheat it along a bit.. Trickier if it's a run of cabinets tho...

In terms of labour it is a bit tricky to get a nice cut and is not as simple as you may imagine. Without seeing it I reckon maybe 2hrs labour, 3hrs maximum... Plus cost of 100mm narrower door as foxhole says.

 

[jaylord79]

Thanks very very much for all your help and advice guys. A choppy mate of my sisters actually came round this morning whilst I was at work and did the whole cutting back everything by 20mm and it looks fine and more importantly it will now fit a 600mm dishwasher! Thanks loads guys had I had more time I think I would have gone with lots of this advice.

Cheers guys

 

[jaylord79]

Haha meant chippy but choppy might be a good term too!