flush mounting sinks, hobs - pros cons?

[puntloos]

Couldn't find this question asked yet, but:

 

Thinking of flush mounting my hob and sink. Are there any downsides I should think of? Of course (?) in particular I can imagine water getting into the small crack between hob and worktop, but if anything the 'top mounted' induction hob we have in this rental has a hard to clean rim that also feels like it's "attracting' water to sit right next to, or perhaps even under the bit of the hob that rests on the worktop.

 

Thoughts?

[PeterW]

15 minutes ago, puntloos said:

Thinking of flush mounting my hob 

… into what surface type ..? It would need to be accurately stencilled and possibly CNC cut, and would still leave a gap for expansion anyway. You would also have the issue that any replacement would need to be identical and you cannot guarantee this so tbh it’s impractical.

 

You can undermounted induction coils but they are an expensive gimmick   

[wozza]

We have a Bora hob that is flush mounted into the quartz worktop - the 2mm expansion gap is filled with black silicone - no issues.

[puntloos]

6 minutes ago, PeterW said:

… into what surface type ..? It would need to be accurately stencilled and possibly CNC cut, and would still leave a gap for expansion anyway. You would also have the issue that any replacement would need to be identical and you cannot guarantee this so tbh it’s impractical.

 

See, this is why I go to buildhub, didn't think of this stuff!

 

But, the crucial benefit is.. well.. FLUSH MOUNTED  -  it would be a very elegant solution, easy to clean (I always have crumbs, water aggregating right around the hob footprint) and one important point for me is that with the hob I have in mind, I could just use the "rightmost" burner while I have a bit of extended prep space of the still-not-in-use left side of the hob.

 

Still, your point of replacements is fair but eh

 

6 minutes ago, PeterW said:

You can undermounted induction coils but they are an expensive gimmick   

Yeah I believe sapienstone offered this but they were underpowered and controls were not really easy.

[PeterW]

2 minutes ago, puntloos said:

while I have a bit of extended prep space of the still-not-in-use left side of the hob.

I broke a glass hob doing this ….. plan for more work surface  - it’s cheaper in the long run !!

[puntloos]

46 minutes ago, PeterW said:

I broke a glass hob doing this ….. plan for more work surface  - it’s cheaper in the long run !!

 

Huh, what did you do? If anything a big pot of water put down somewhat roughly feels like it would do more damage than I ever could by just moving some vegetables around. Obviously no meat tenderizing on your hob

[PeterW]

Rolling pastry of all things !! 

[Gus Potter]

58 minutes ago, PeterW said:

Rolling pastry of all things !!

The things we know and the things we don't know we don't know.. or something like that.

 

We have an induction hob in a silstone type worktop, the ones you need to get made. Can't really do it DIY unless you have all the kit.

 

Anyway.. although the hole was cut right in the worktop the hob clips are really tight. I thought.. when the hob breaks down how am going to get it out?

 

With hind sight I would be minded to leave the clips off and just stick it down with a bead of silicon around the edge.. but it was too late by then as we had given it a shove!

 

I sealed it with just the tape that was provided and was thinking about running a bead of silicon round the edge..

 

Yes on a buy to let I can see how you would like to seal the rim.

 

Not much help but that is where we are at the moment and hoping the hob does not break down.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by Gus Potter

[Gow]

12 hours ago, Gus Potter said:

 

With hind sight I would be minded to leave the clips off and just stick it down with a bead of silicon around the edge..

 

Thanks for the info. Must try to explain that to the know-it-all builder!

 

 

 

 

12 hours ago, Gus Potter said:

The things we know and the things we don't know we don't know.. or something like that.

 

We have an induction hob in a silstone type worktop, the ones you need to get made. Can't really do it DIY unless you have all the kit.

 

Anyway.. although the hole was cut right in the worktop the hob clips are really tight. I thought.. when the hob breaks down how am going to get it out?

 

With hind sight I would be minded to leave the clips off and just stick it down with a bead of silicon around the edge.. but it was too late by then as we had given it a shove!

 

I sealed it with just the tape that was provided and was thinking about running a bead of silicon round the edge..

 

Yes on a buy to let I can see how you would like to seal the rim.

 

Not much help but that is where we are at the moment and hoping the hob does not break down.

 

 

 

[Russell griffiths]

 

this is what we had had in mind for ours. 

Hob was £600 dearer than a top mount alternative 

worktop choice was limited

worktop cost £400 for hole cutting. 

So will it look £1000 better than another type, we didn’t think so so have gone glass low level only an 8mm rise above the worktop. 

We just had to start drawing a line somewhere, cost are getting ridiculous. 

[puntloos]

8 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

 

this is what we had had in mind for ours. 

Hob was £600 dearer than a top mount alternative 

worktop choice was limited

worktop cost £400 for hole cutting. 

So will it look £1000 better than another type, we didn’t think so so have gone glass low level only an 8mm rise above the worktop. 

We just had to start drawing a line somewhere, cost are getting ridiculous. 

For a gas hob, this makes no sense to me. If anything cleaning will be harder.

For induction it's a different matter. Do wonder if the hole cutting is hard or not in dekton

[Gus Potter]

On 27/10/2022 at 12:52, puntloos said:

For a gas hob, this makes no sense to me.

Plus 1!

[markocosic]

I did this once with a vanilla induction hob. Router. Patience. Black silicone. Worked well.

 

I didn't do it the second time around because we jointed the [28 mm thick] worktop in the middle of the hob and there wasn't enough "meat" left in my eyes to rebate it.

 

I'll be doing it again with an eBay Bora hob (bought cheap because broken glass) in the cabin kitchen because I cook like a fiver year old and have no patience for cleaning corners. This kind of look:

 

 

Fresh glass ~€300 on those even if you do fudge it up. Otherwise black router black silicon and patience. Don't put silicone under the hob. use the foam strip for that. Else you won't be able to knife it out again. 

 

Get it DEAD flush or slightly below. If you smack an edge you'll break it. Don't use kitchen implements that are about as hard as the glass. (stone spice mushers; rolling pins etc) If you hit it with even the tiniest piece that's hard you'll bust it like a spark plug chipping through a car window.

 

 

 

[markharro]

We also have bought a reduced Bora hob from a show-room and were hoping to flush mount it. We collected it and watched as it was removed from its flush mount in the showroom and saw something like a metal perimeter ledge somehow bonded or fixed into the worktop a few mm below the surface that the hob sat into. What I haven't yet investigated is whether something like this could be sourced and fitted as a DIY project?

[markocosic]

Aluminium tape or metal metal?

[puntloos]

Spoke to my kitchen guy, and he had 2 important points that make me somewhat hesitate:

 

1/ Our chosen (but can change I suppose) countertop material is dekton, and it is so hard that it is really difficult to cut the right shape to fit the hob into it. Chipping might happen, no beautiful clean edge. 

-> Should they invest in something better than uncle Gaz with his circular saw?

 

2/ When you place hob into the recess you bed it down ont silicon around the frame. Silicone over time absorbs grease - like a bad bathroom, soaks up mould. Arguably a hygiene issue but also looks a bit 'eh'?

[Benpointer]

Neff induction hob in black granite island worktop.  installed 13 years ago.  Works for us.

 

The granite was CNC-cut based on a CAD provided by Neff.