Replacing a Range

April 2, 2022 4:29 PM

Please help us figure out how to replace a range - without having to remodel or tear up the cabinetry around it?

[Note: this is for appliance shopping in the USA]

Our kitchen range is a Kenmore 911-455881C from 1992. It is, to look at it anyway, a 'slide-in' type, since it appears to sit on a platform and not directly on the floor. It's a quite typical 30" width, and I can find lots of ranges that would seemingly fit on that basis.

I am finding that the height is an issue. If I measure the actual front of the range, it is only about 30" high, maybe a fraction of an inch more. There's 6" from the floor to the bottom of the range.

Yet every single slide-in range I can find is 36" tall!?!

I am wondering if I am missing something about the actual height of the range, like maybe it's on feet, on the floor behind the cabinetry or something? I don't want to disassemble and remove the range since we're still using the cooktop.

Depth is a whole OTHER issue but I think we can live with it protruding. I can't live with the cooking surface a good 5-6" above the surrounding countertop. Anyone with appliance know-how that can help?

posted by dragstroke to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

How high are your kitchen counters from the floor?
posted by amanda at 4:46 PM on April 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: 36”
posted by dragstroke at 5:21 PM on April 2, 2022

Is that platform easy to remove or is it integral to the cabinets?I would guess that it is removable without impacting the cabinets, and was put in to support a shorter-than-cabinet-height range. If so, removing it will allow you to use a normal height range.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:46 PM on April 2, 2022 [2 favorites]

No matter what is going on with your cabinets, it should be a very easy job to remove any kind of shelf or stand (if there is anything) underneath the range, once the range has been removed. This shouldn't be a matter of remodelling or tearing up cabinetry, just removing a piece.

Could you add a photo of the situation underneath the range and the surrounding cabinets?
posted by ssg at 6:03 PM on April 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

AJ madison has a huge range of ranges and doesn't give a height option.

HOWEVER
Goedekers does allow you to search by height. Here are 3 crazy expensive 30" ranges.

posted by lalochezia at 6:47 PM on April 2, 2022

Best answer: Have you tried pulling the unit away from the wall to see what it's sitting on? A slide-in range should be able to slide out fairly easily - the cord should be long enough to pull the unit several feet from the wall. If you can't slide it out, then what you have is a 'drop-in' range, not a 'slide-out'. If you don't have a bottom drawer / broiler on the bottom, this is probably the case

Drop-in ranges are not much used anymore, because they require custom cabinetry to fit within. The advantage it that the range will blend in more with the cabinets and look more streamlined.

However, as ssg says, removing the footer board is not complicated and will not damage the surrounding cabinetry. You may need to add finishing trim to the cut edges after you remove the footer board.
posted by ananci at 7:31 PM on April 2, 2022

Is it definitely a platform? Could it just be a strip of trim across the front of the range?
posted by saladin at 5:04 AM on April 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I think the solution in this case is to pull out the original (which may indeed be sitting on a platform) and alter the toekick (very simple, handyperson type stuff) and then install a standard slide-in range which has its own integrated toekick. If you bring a photo of your existing situation with you to an appliance showroom, I bet they can talk you through what is going on, whether a stove made to sit on a platform is a thing that is easily gotten now or whether you need to look at the other type of slide-in range. Those types will all be listed at the standard counter height of 36" and are not meant to be installed on a platform.

ETA: this has a nice image of a drop-in range. A freestanding or slide-in range will also have a bottom drawer along with a toe-kick.
posted by amanda at 12:26 PM on April 3, 2022

Response by poster: I took the advice to just go ahead and slide it out and look (which in retrospect, duh, I guess). It is in fact a 30" tall slide-in range sitting on an MDF/particle board platform. That will obviously have to go - I can't even use the $6K ovens linked above if I wanted to (but thanks for that site!) because they are all gas/duel-fuel and I can only do electric. Clearly nothing like this beast is made any longer.

Thanks for the answers, all!
posted by dragstroke at 1:38 PM on April 3, 2022 [1 favorite]