Kitchen units with a big Access Cavity

Rexxar · 8 Sep 2016 at 18:41

Does anyone know of a kitchen supplier that leaves a decent access cavity behind the units? I am doing up an ex-council flat and the gas, heating, and 40mm waste run along the back kitchen wall.

Currently the units are notched for the pipes to run inside them. But obviously want to hide this away if i can.

Chasing them into the walls is not an option as council still hold the leasehold and won't grant permission. Likewise they won't let me drill a hole in the outside wall for an extractor fan but that's a separate issue.

Any suggestions?

Amp34 · 8 Sep 2016 at 18:56

Just build a false wall in the back of the cabinet, just in front of the pipes.

NotAGolf · 8 Sep 2016 at 19:30

Don't go with DIY kitchens. Nothing wrong with them, but you wont get a 40mm pipe (plus bracket) into the void at the back. The old Howdens units that I took out would house the same pipe fine, but they must be at last 7 years old so no idea whether their current stuff is the same size.

jellybeard999 · 8 Sep 2016 at 23:24

Could you just bring the units forward, fasten them to battens on the wall and fit a deeper worktop?

Russinating · 8 Sep 2016 at 23:38

The voids behind our Benchmarx carcasses were about that, worth asking them.

Simon · 8 Sep 2016 at 23:39

Wickes are 70mm plus a 15mm thick backboard.

covenantuk · 9 Sep 2016 at 08:42

jellybeard999 said:
Could you just bring the units forward, fasten them to battens on the wall and fit a deeper worktop?

I'd just buy the units I wanted and do the above if needed - as long as space isn't at a premium such as in a galley-style kitchen.

Advantage of a deeper worktop apart from space is that you can get one of the premium freestanding washing machines under it also

Pug · 9 Sep 2016 at 11:30

Don't Ikea have voids behind theirs?

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 9 Sep 2016 at 12:22

Pug said:
Don't Ikea have voids behind theirs?

Pretty small, I would say no more than 1cm
At least thats the gap in the ones I bought recently to use in my office and I think they all use the same carcass

Rexxar · 12 Sep 2016 at 12:52

Thanks, I've contacted a few suppliers to see who has the deepest, not sure how i'd go about building a cavity though.

Amp34 · 13 Sep 2016 at 02:43

covenantuk said:
I'd just buy the units I wanted and do the above if needed - as long as space isn't at a premium such as in a galley-style kitchen.

Advantage of a deeper worktop apart from space is that you can get one of the premium freestanding washing machines under it also

I presume you'd be looking at getting breakfast bar counters and cutting them down? Sounds very expensive!

Easiest and simplest option is just create a false back, then you can use whatever units you want, and have more options for worktops.

covenantuk · 13 Sep 2016 at 08:31

Amp34 said:
I presume you'd be looking at getting breakfast bar counters and cutting them down? Sounds very expensive!

Easiest and simplest option is just create a false back, then you can use whatever units you want, and have more options for worktops.

Eh? You can get most counter tops in sizes from 600mm to ~970mm depending on make. Just go out to whatever size is availabe in your counter top. If you're having custom stone worktops you can have any size you like.

Amp34 · 13 Sep 2016 at 19:32

Well yeah. The point I was making is if you go for non standard depth worktops you have less choice (most choice will be in the 600mm or 900mm (ish - breakfast bar)) and the cost for the worktop is likely to be a fair chunk more.

IMO it's fairly foolhardy to end up spending quite possibly several hundred more, from a smaller choice of worktops, for some pipework in a single cupboard. In the same way I don't think choosing cupboards based on cavity depth is a great idea either. Choose the one you like the best, for the "best" price - then modify the one cupboard that needs modifying.

Obviously if you're going custom then it's not really an issue as the incremental materials cost is usually fairly minimal in overall cost.

ashrobbo · 14 Sep 2016 at 05:20

Wren is 58mm service void in all units, we have water pipes and all sorts running behind and below ours.

thezappa · 15 Sep 2016 at 21:02

I was in a house the other day and the chippy was installing a kitchen and had screwed/bolted small battens to the back of the carcass to increase the depth of the cavity. The batts were only about 3 inches long but gave a lot more clearance at the back. if you did the same you would only need slightly deeper worktop which would be easy to find.

kinobestew123 · 20 Sep 2016 at 14:21

Howdens is a 72mm service void which we've found to be excellent for getting around our pipes.

Rexxar · 29 Mar 2017 at 16:55

kinobestew123 said:
Howdens is a 72mm service void which we've found to be excellent for getting around our pipes.

Never got around to replying at the time but Howdens won with the deepest across all suppliers. Thanks for your input!

wallofsound · 29 Mar 2017 at 17:49

Can you just not use wall cabinets that are half depth and baton the tops?

paintguy · 30 Mar 2017 at 08:38

With most cabinets the back just slots into a routered out groove. If you have the tools you could simply cut your own groove further forwards.

Or, screw small battens to the inner sides of the cabinet, forward enough to give you the service void you need, then trim the edges of the back panels down slightly and fit them in from the front.

I've modified a few kitchen cabinets by those methods to work around really deep obstructions like internal soil pipes or brick pillars.