It's fine for a rangetop to be a little higher than the counters next to it - same as with a range - I wouldn't mess with your cabinets.

I actually lowered the counters on the run with my rangetop to about 34 or 34 1/2", and the rangetop is only 1/4" higher than the counters on each side. 38" would definitely be too high for me. I'm just under 5'4" and want to be able to see into and stir bigger pots on the back burners. Like any work surface, you want it a comfortable working height or you may end up with back, neck, and/or shoulder discomfort. I would think the 2" ht difference between it and the counter would be odd, too.

I don't know the answers to your questions about the cabinets. Since it sounds like you have a GC, I'd ask him.

I am getting a Wolf 36-inch rangetop, too. I was told that the stainless steel trim around the cooking surface would be flush with the top of my 36-inch high counters and that only the burners would stick up above that. Check to see if this will be the same for your installation.

A cabinet with pullouts will most likely be a rebuild. Not something that can readily be 'cut'. Can you post a photo of the cabinet?

It looks like you don't have your countertops installed yet - that will add about 1 1/4" to the the tops of the cabinets - I think it will look a lot better to you then. I agree with the other posters that you probably can't cut down the drawers.

We also have the 36" Wolf rangetop. When you get your base cabinet built, you should give the Wolf specs (available online or in the installation booklet that comes with the unit) to your cabinet manufacturer. If it's a custom or semi-custom cabinet, you can easily have them modify the dimensions to take up the difference in height. They will need to allow the Wolf to sit lower in the base cabinet so that the SS rim on top lines up with your countertop.

You need to give them the countertop thickness also.

Or you can cut down the inside support rails on the base cabinet to accomodate the Wolf.

We had semi-custom cab's, with 2 deep drawers underneath. We found out that either we or the cab company made the same mistake in measuring, so my carpenter was able to recut the inside of the cabinet to place the Wolf lower. I then took the drawers back to the cab company, and they resized the drawers and drawer fronts. I ended up with an upper drawer that was about 2 inches shallower, than the lower drawer. That way the line of lower drawers was the same with the base cab to the right (we have all drawers in the lower cabs, no doors).

It was an easy and quick fix, and the cab company did the change for no extra charge. That way I could also keep the Blum drawer rails at the same installed place, which was easier for my carpenter. And the different sized drawers are perfect for pots and pans...I put the sautee pans in the shallower upper drawer, and sauce pans in the deeper lower drawer.

Thanks brunosonio -- that's just the answer I wanted to hear! Will talk with my GC on Monday!

Kitdreamr...found a pic of our Wolf. You can see if the top drawer in the base unit was not adjusted, it would ride high just like yours. Ask your cabinet company to redo the top drawer so you can lower the Wolf to the correct height.

That Wolf rangetop looks ridiculously high. I would definitely get the cabinet remade or adjusted... at their expense. Sounds like the GC or cabinet company screwed up.

We're actually going to drop our Wolf rangetop down about 1-2 inches because my wife is about 5'2". She would like the top of the grates no higher than the top of the countertop, and maybe an inch or so lower than that.

Thanks for the picture, brunosonio -- your kitchen is beautiful! I am going to see if our gc can recut the inside of the cabinet to make the Wolf sit lower. I am worried that the line of the drawers will no longer be straight, but it's better than having the "ridiculously high" rangetop. Btw, I think they used the measures for the Wolf sealed burner rangetop, which is 3 inches "shorter" than the "unsealed" one that I have.

Don't worry about the line of the drawers....we had the same problem. You can't see it, but there are 2 lower cabs to the right with all drawers. What we did was to line up the bottom drawers so the eye is drawn across evenly. Then the top drawer below the rangetop is slightly shallower. It doesn't look funny, because the line created by the top of the bottom drawer and the bottom of the middle drawer continues across to the other cabinets. Sorry, sounds confusing, but it works.

You can cut out pieces of paper or cardboard to represent the skinner drawer under the rangetop to give you an idea of what it will look like in your kitchen. I'm on a long business trip away from home right now, or I'd try to take another picture for you to see it all.

We also have the open burners (far superior in cleaning to the closed burners!). You'll love them...the whole top comes off for easy soaking and cleaning. We have the huge Franke pro sink so they easily fit for soaking. I take them off, spray them with Windex to loosen the grease, then use Dawn and a non-scratching blue sponge/pad to scrub. For tougher baked on and burnt on stains I use Barkeeper's Friend. It won't scratch the enamel.

One thing though...with the high heat, you'll get baked on spots of grease that just won't come off after time. With the black enamel they are hard to see, and I just got used to it as part of the stove. The big grates cover a lot of them. The nice thing about the open burners is that you can order new pans from Wolf if you sell your house and need a really clean looking stove.