Securing Dishwashers to countertop

18 years ago

My 18" Kenmore dishwasher has brackets on top to attach to the underside of the counter top. I had a portable d/w before and had placed a sliding cutting board above it (after having removed the butcherblock top) I was also able to use it as a 'table' in my small kitchen-- I am wondering if it's possible to allow my new dw to sit on the floor..not attached to the counter and plan to put a sliding shelf above it.

One man said that it would vibrate too much if I did that and harm the inner workings. Since the portable did not have that problem, why should a built in?

I'd love to continue having the extra cutting board/dining shelf and plan to cut off the attachment fittings.

I would appreciate advise on this from those of you who have done installations and lived with the results.

zoomer

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Comments (6)

ci_lantro
18 years ago
Built-in dishwashers have to be attached to the cabinetry. Otherwise, the weight of the open door will cause the dishwasher to tip out.

Assuming that you have sufficient space, counter height-wise, (not likely if you have standards cabinetry) you can attach a DW to the sides of the cabinets and have a cutting board pull-out above. Some dishwashers are designed to be attached to the cabinetry...if your's is not, then you'll have to retro-engineer a method. Dishwashers designed to be attached to the countertop are going to fill the standard space & not allow room for a cutting board pullout between the top of the DW & the underside of the countertop. Now, if you're doing an assembly from scratch, you can engineer around this by adding height to the cabs...either in the toe-kick space or adding to the top of the adjacent cabs.

If you use an expensive cutting board, I'd monitor it for possible damage from steam from the DW. I'd probably just come up with an inexpensive, readily replaced board & not worry about it.
cpovey
18 years ago
Not only can DW's tip, they can vibrate. Just because your previous one didn't doesn't mean the new one will not. It does not have to be a real deep screw, several 1/2" screws are probably sufficient, meaning you may still have your cake and eat it too!

Of course, they can screw to the cabinet sides too. It should not be too hard to kludge something together. But it DOES need to be secured to something.
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pm203
18 years ago
I just replaced my counter tops with granite and my granite guy secured my dishwasher to the granite with silicone. Now the silicone has detached itself. Is there another adhesive I should be using that may be a little stronger??
weissman
18 years ago
Can you attach your DW to the side cabinets. Most current models have that option. If not, the recommended approach is to glue a strip of wood to the underside of your granite countertop and then attach the DW to that.
pm203
18 years ago
I don't think I can attach the sides. I will check when I go home. The strip of wood is an excellent idea.I will check and see if I have enough room to do that. Thanks.
weissman
18 years ago
Check the owner's manual for your DW. Most current models have the option to take off the tabs from the top and insert them on the sides - there are plugs on the inside sides of the DW that you remove. Then you screw them to the side cabinets.