Any problems doing 26' deep counters?

15 years ago

I am going to be doing a tile counter in our upcoming kitchen reno. We purchased some 13"x13" tiles at a liquidation auction and I want to use them.

For obvious reasons it would be easier to to a 26" countertop instead of 25". I plan on using wood trim on the edge. Have not decided exactly yet, but it will be a low profile molding.

Any idea if this might cause problems if the counter extends and additional inch? I think I will have to be careful purchasing the dishwasher to make sure the controls are on the front?

Is there something else I am missing?

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Comments (7)

marcolo
15 years ago
Many folks here strongly urge deeper countertops--even deeper than 26". 30" counters aren't that uncommon among GWers. An extra inch is not a big deal--many standard counters have a 1.5" overhang. If your cabs are custom, you can just make them a little bit deeper. Or you can simply follow the typical solution of having your cabs pulled out from the wall an inch, with empty space behind.

One other point, though: A wood edge on a tile counter can be tricky. Check over on the John Bridge tile forum. Some pros there have found it important to use a line of caulk between wood and tile, to prevent grout cracking as wood expands and contracts.
houseful
15 years ago
Just make sure you can reach you uppers. With 26", it shouldn't be a problem unless you are short.
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jakabedy
15 years ago
As the others have said, you can either have your cabinets made one inch deeper if custom, or just pull them forward an inch. A 2" x 4" on its side will give you 1.5", and that would leave you with a 1/2" overhang on the tile, plus whatever the depth of the wood edge.
ironcook
15 years ago
probably a dumb question, but why do you have to make sure the dishwasher controls are on the front? would the top controls bump the counter?
dianalo
15 years ago
Our only issue when doing that was our sink. Ours has an integrated bs and holes for a wall mount faucet. We are going to put a shelf behind the sink to hid the gap from the bs part.
As for the dw, you just have it brought forward and installed to line up with the front of your cabs.
User
15 years ago
The only problem I had with counters 26 1/2" deep is that my range turned out to be 25 1/2" deep across the top. We lined up the front top corners with the front of the countertop, but there's a gap of about 1" between the range's backsplash and the wall. My hood is shallow-ish, at 21" deep, so the coverage of the front burners is even slightly worse than I was expecting.

Most ranges are probably deep enough for 26" counters, but it's something to check.

Our counter overhang is 1 1/2" from the face frame of the cabinets (inset). It's generous, but there are no problems because of it.
macybaby
15 years ago
I wouldn't like that - I went with a very small overhang specifically so I could have my cooktop as far forward as possible.

I have an apron front sink so that is not an issue, but I also hated having a big overhang in front of a regular style sink.

My cabinets are built 25" wide, and are inset so the there is only 3/4" of cabinet that I had to deal with. I think my leading edge of the cooktop is 1" from the edge of the countertop - and it's as far forward as I could get it.

I've always had ranges with the controls in the back, so the burners were right front and center - with the cooktop, the controls are in the front and the back burners are way back.