osmononame Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Good evening all, My wife and I suffer from bad backs and currently find it difficult to stack the dishwasher which sits on the ground. We were thinking of trying to raise the dishwasher in our new kitchen. Has anyone done anything similar? We are struggling with the different suppliers out there being able to assist us. Has anyone here done anything similar? If there is not a tailored solution out there I was thinking of getting a reduced height base unit, screw some MDF on to the top and the plop the dishwasher on top and get some end panels to cover the sides? In my head this could work but in practice is always different! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 No idea what make it was but an advert on tv recently showed a dishwasher where the lower tray swung out and up to be loaded/unloaded! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 Why not use a tall cabinet ..? You could use an integrated unit but may need to look at how the bottom edge of the door would work with a fixed front panel. Alternative is Fisher Paykel do a drawer dishwasher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wozza Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 We wanted to do this but the design of our new kitchen will not allow for a taller cabinet where the dishwasher is going. I have seen a purpose made cabinet for a raised dishwasher in a showroom (a couple of years ago) - I think it was a German manufacture. I cannot believe that its not more popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozza Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 (edited) Are you talking about a freestanding, or an integrated dishwasher. If integrated a sliding hinged door will help eg AEG or Zanussi. this link may help https://www.instructables.com/Elevated-Dishwasher/ Edited November 16, 2020 by Bozza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell griffiths Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 If this is a must have part of your kitchen, then redesign around it. Make this the focus and change stuff to suit or it will be a compromise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Jimbo Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 Raised dishwashers are a great idea. A standard integrated dishwasher will not go in a standard off the shelf tower unit, because the internal width of the unit will be 564mm if the cabinet is made from 18mm material, and the integrated dishwasher will be about 590mm wide. You are right, what you need is a short unit for the bottom, (deep drawer, or cupboard, and some matching panels, that you can use either side of that unit. That will then give you the width you need for your dishwasher, and the integtrated door will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrerahill Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 10 hours ago, osmononame said: Good evening all, My wife and I suffer from bad backs and currently find it difficult to stack the dishwasher which sits on the ground. We were thinking of trying to raise the dishwasher in our new kitchen. Has anyone done anything similar? We are struggling with the different suppliers out there being able to assist us. Has anyone here done anything similar? If there is not a tailored solution out there I was thinking of getting a reduced height base unit, screw some MDF on to the top and the plop the dishwasher on top and get some end panels to cover the sides? In my head this could work but in practice is always different! An integrated dishwasher, as you may or may not already know, simply sits between two cabinets or a cabinet and a end decor panel etc. So, if I was going to do this, I would simply design a location where it could go, possibly between two full height cabinets, and then create a solid shelf say 300mm up to give it that lift into a more comfortable zone. I'd then use a piece of 600mm decor panel to fill the bottom and then integrate a 600mm cabinet in above the dishwasher (may need to use a wall cabinet etc.) to create a unit that looks like a normal cupboard unit, but actually has a D/W in the middle. Don't use MDF anywhere near it though, that stuff is just a dried out sponge, with steam and water drips you will soon have a mess. Use 18mm ply built up on a proper 2x4 etc. frame. Another thing you will need to work out is the door cover panel, you need to notch the plinth under an integrated D/W to get the door to swing in and over it, that means that the same sort of attention would need to be paid to create the recess for the door when you raised it, but I am certain that with some clever joiner it could be done and look spot on. You may believe the above sounds like a bodge, but anyone who has ever fitted a kitchen will tell you that fitted kitchens are not all they make out to be, unless you are installing really simple kitchens you almost never install a kitchen without having to actually do a bit of joinery work to make it all come together. Our designed kitchen required that 3 cabinets needed totally reworking, like seriously so, circular saw right down the back and the whole back off one cabinet type of thing, another needed a whole corner removing, then I spent ages rebuilding the customised cabinet so that inside them it looks factory finished by routing out panels and sliding in backing pieces and all sorts, net result is I am very pleased with it. The point I am making here, is this, decor panels and infill panels and all sorts need cut on site, so making what you describe above, I would not have an issue with that being customised. Also, anyone thinking of buying a kitchen, don't buy integrated oven carcasses, waste of money, we spent £120 on a carcass for the oven, it then needs the shelf building up to the height to suit your oven, that was total made in house, so I basically paid £120.00 for two sides, a base and 4 feet. Had I known what it was, I'd have just installed the oven into the gap left between the two adjacent cabinets and used 2 filler strips either side to create the same look and a piece of 18mm ply setback either side to create a lip that the oven screws to! The end result would have been identical! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryder72 Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 There is a solution available for this from most German suppliers. Its well thought through and takes into account the underswing of the dishwasher door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joth Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 (edited) Another option is to use a half-height "drawer" style of dishwasher. You can even put a pair side by side, and stack one while the other is running. Fisher Paykel are most known for this, but looks like there's some other no-name versions available too https://www.fisherpaykel.com/uk/dishwashing/all-dishwashers/?prefn1=configuration&prefv1=Single Drawer https://www.wayfair.co.uk/Klarstein--Amazonia-55cm-EEK-A-Dishdrawer-10028325-10028326-L1053-K~U001182444.html Edited November 17, 2020 by joth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJNewton Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 2 hours ago, Carrerahill said: Also, anyone thinking of buying a kitchen, don't buy integrated oven carcasses, waste of money, we spent £120 on a carcass for the oven, it then needs the shelf building up to the height to suit your oven, that was total made in house, so I basically paid £120.00 for two sides, a base and 4 feet. Had I known what it was, I'd have just installed the oven into the gap left between the two adjacent cabinets and used 2 filler strips either side to create the same look and a piece of 18mm ply setback either side to create a lip that the oven screws to! The end result would have been identical! You could probably argue the same about most kitchen cabinets really - they're just different permutations of the same components and I would expect the price to correlate with the number of parts. £120 sounds a lot though; I'd expect it to be half that tops (eg the ones from DIY Kitchens are £60). More to the point however, I thought most (all?) single integrated ovens are of the same dimensions and so the shelf could've been provided ready-fitted thus making it plug-and-play like the others. It certainly was from our one from DIY Kitchens and suited the randomly-bought oven perfectly. It had an integrated drawer under the shelf and so would've been limited in ability to adjust if the oven above wasn't a standard size. Even without the drawer you'd need a filler panel for the gap underneath and ideally should be supplied cut and finished rather than you having to make your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJNewton Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, ryder72 said: There is a solution available for this from most German suppliers. Its well thought through and takes into account the underswing of the dishwasher door. There's a retrofit option available for other dishwashers - http://adapt-r.co.uk/ (surprisingly pricey but could be worthwhile (neceessary) for some). Edited November 17, 2020 by MJNewton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJNewton Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 12 hours ago, joe90 said: No idea what make it was but an advert on tv recently showed a dishwasher where the lower tray swung out and up to be loaded/unloaded! Probably the AEG ComfortLift? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wozza Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, Carrerahill said: Another thing you will need to work out is the door cover panel, you need to notch the plinth under an integrated D/W to get the door to swing in and over it, that means that the same sort of attention would need to be paid to create the recess for the door when you raised it, but I am certain that with some clever joiner it could be done and look spot on. Dishwashers are now available with Vario Hinge doors, Bosch, Siemens Neff - other brands may have different solutions or terminology that removes the need for a recess. The door lifts as it opens. See here: Edited November 17, 2020 by wozza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osmononame Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 Thanks for all the suggestions. I certainly have a better understanding now of whats needed. I will report back when I have a bash at it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJNewton Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 In case you might not have clicked the Adapt-r link I see they've actually got a photo on their front page which may be food for thought: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrerahill Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 22 hours ago, MJNewton said: I thought most (all?) single integrated ovens are of the same dimensions and so the shelf could've been provided ready-fitted thus making it plug-and-play like the others. It certainly was from our one from DIY Kitchens and suited the randomly-bought oven perfectly. It had an integrated drawer under the shelf and so would've been limited in ability to adjust if the oven above wasn't a standard size. Even without the drawer you'd need a filler panel for the gap underneath and ideally should be supplied cut and finished rather than you having to make your own. So did I and as far as I can tell our Bosch oven is just a standard sized oven. But this cabinet was basically a base with legs, 2 sides and some cross rails at the top, initially I slid the oven onto this shelf and the thing would have been down at my ankles with a huge gap at the top between the underside of the counter and the top of the oven - so it was a bit of joinery for me. Perfectly good solution, I will argue better because I incorporated some air vents into the "shelf" so that the oven is less enclosed. I used a piece of the many many extra decor panels and filler panels, the one I used was finished on the top and sides and I sealed the bottom so I am happy with it , I suppose no different to the decor panels and various other things that you need to cut to size on site. I just know the next time I buy a new kitchen I will be making some significant changes to what I order. A friend of mine bought all his carcasses from one manufacturer without doors, then he had a furniture maker make him all his doors to his spec (solid walnut) he gave the furniture maker the hinge positions and they drilled all the hinge holes, went together perfectly and looks brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSniff Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Our AEG dishwasher has a lower rack which lifts to just less that hip height when pulled out. The cynic in me thought just one more thing to break, but we're now happy we got it. Some of the German kitchen manufacturers do semi-high cabinets for appliances including dishwashers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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