We ended up cutting our toe kicks down by 3/4" to avoid the same problem. You literally have to get down on your hands and knees to see that the toe kicks are not as high as the ones for the rest of the cabinets because from eye level you can't see into the back of the toe kick area. Clear as mud?

Also our toekicks by the dishwashers are removable in case there's a leak or we need to pull the dishwasher out. They attach with velcro to the DW legs. In the picture you can see they are not exactly in place. I'm usually very anal about stuff like this but theis really doesn't bother me at all.

I don't think it will make much of a difference whatever the toekick height it.

My problem is different than yours. My door appears to be too long even though it currently lines up with the bottom of my cabinets. Even with the metal toe kick removed the bottom of the door still scrapes against the bottom inards of the d/w; therefore the door will not open and lay flat.

If we shorten the height of the door panel, there will be a noticeable difference between the bottom line of the cabinets vs the bottom line of the d/w panel.

I don't think cutting the panel at angle will help, as the front is currently getting damage because it scrapes the front screws on the metal toe kick when I try to force the door to lay flat.
I don't understand how in the heck my contractor, who builds many kitchens thinks 3.5" is standard toe kick height and has not run into this problem before.

I am wondering, how tall are the panels on other d/w? Mine is 30.5". I am having trouble interpreting the specifications from Bosch as they show a range of door panels heights.

Oh dear! This doesn't sound promising, does it. And now I'm scared b/c the same thing might happen to me!

My first thought was that this was a terrible instance of miscomunication where the standard American toe kick was incompatible with the European dishwasher (and it wasn't made clear to the cabinetmaker that you were using a Euro dishwasher).

However, I just did some googling, and I repeatedly found that the "standard" American toe kick is 4". I suggest you do a separate post (to catch more people's attention) specifically asking for advice when cabinetmaker does the wrong size toe kick.

So, this might happen to me too! My cabinets are probably being installled next week. They are custom to match my pre-existing 1929 cabs, which have a 3.5" toe kick. I specifically discussed this with the cabinetmaker: I told him the framing around the dishwasher would have to make it *appear* that the DW had a 3.5 kick, even though it actually has a 4" one. Now, my case is different from yours b/c I do not actually have a "toe kick." The cabinet frame will go all the way to the floor. (I'm probably not explaining this well). Anyway, he thought it would work b/c my Bosch panel does still funtion even if it is longer than specified. It doesn't scrape.

Which leads me to ask, which model Bosch do you have? I have an SHV model.

I hope this works out for you (and for me)!! This sounds like a potentially horrible situation. I can imagine how very upset you must be!! Please keep me posted!

Francy

I had the same problem with my door hitting the toekick on my built in GE Monogram DW. My panel fits perfectly and is exactly what the specs called for. But I couldn't open the door with the metal toekick in place. I ended up removing the toekick that came with the dishwasher and just putting regular 4 inch cabinet toekick there. It really teed me off because the toekick that came with the dw has foam backing and is supposed to absorb sound so I ended up paying a lot of money for a regular sounding dw.
I still haven't quite figured out any other way to do this. I think I have spent 3 hours staring into the bottom of the dw trying to figure this out. I thought this was just my own DIY lack of knowledge, but even your contractor can't figure it out, so maybe it is not just me.

Francy, I have an SHV model as well. The specs say the door height can be as high as 30 5/16. Mine is 30 1/2.

Why do you think your door can be any height?

Bosch c/s has been of no help. I originally was going to get a Miele so I called them. They said their d/w is set up for a 4" toe kick but the panel can be as long 31 7/8. I don't know if this means that the panel hangs higher to allow for higher counters than standard or if it would solve my problem.

Of course I am not about to throwaway a brand new 1K Bosch dishwasher.

I can't figure out why my carpenter thinks 3.5" toekick is standard either. I called him on the phone and asked him what standard height was before telling him of my dilema.

Cleo, even with the Bosch metal toekick removed the door can't open fully. Did you speak with GE? What was their advice?
I'm not following how the metal toekick was a problem but using a wooden one from your cabinet supplier worked?

I think mine will still work b/c it will be less than the max. My current (temporary) panel is quite a bit longer than the basic template, but it is still under 30 inches. It looks like your cabinetmaker also made your panel longer than the max (which he shouldn't have done).

I'm so sorry! Sounds like your cabinetmaker goofed in more than one way (make toe kick too low, and made panel too long).

But what to do now???

You need some professional advice from the other cabinet pros here!! (Which is why I think you might want to do a new post in the next day or so under a new heading, if you don't get enough help in this thread. A general plea for a cabinetry mess up might get more attention from the builder-types than a post regarding a dishwasher problem.)

Francy

Ok, here's an idea for you:

Depending on how much shorter the panel needs to be made...

Below is a link to jagarner's kitchen album. She has a lovely vintage style kitchen. Her dishwasher panel looks like an inset cabinet door, but it doesn't have the framing under the door. So, when viewed next to the adjoining cabinets, the panel appears to be around an inch shorter than its next door neighbors. But it is all white, and most folks probably wouldn't notice it without careful looking. *sigh* It is such a beautiful kitchen. If my link doesn't pull up the photo directly, it is the second one in her album.

Francy

Here is a link that might be useful: dishwasher panel

sjay: The metal toekick that came with the dw has a thick layer of foam on it that makes it stick out further than a normal toekick. Without the thick toekick, it works fine. I don't know if my problem is the same but I know the frustration you are dealing with.

Mine probably looks better with the wood kick anyway since all the toekicks are now the same depth-it is just a little louder than it should be. Either way-it is quieter than the 10+ year old dw I had before.

If you don't come up with another solution, can you:

-push the dishwasher further back into the space
-install some sort of spacer under your front panel to push it out to re-line-up-with the front of the adjacent cabinets.
-ignore the fact that your toekick is a little bit farther back than the other toekicks?

I'm not sure if that extra space you'll get from the spacers will help your problem or not.

Or, maybe I have my geometry wrong, and you somehow need a THINNER front panel for your dishwasher?

How about beveling the back bottom of the door?

Thanks Francy, I think that is exactly what they will have to do with mine, although I don't have a toe kick that runs continuously under the dishwasher so mine will look more obvious. Hers toekick looks like one continuous piece. I don't get how she can get her d/w out for servicing or replacing.

Had the same issue while installI got a Bosch Dishwasher today. I ended up dropping the dishwasher down 2” lower than the top of the base cabinets. I used a filler where the dishwasher controls are and just installed the cabinet door panel 2” higher than the controls so it is flush with all the other doors. That solved the lower section of the panel hitting the toe kick. Baseboard also sits nice and flush and covers the Bosch black toe kick. Looks like a normal cabinet now.

I have the exact same problem with my 300 series dishwasher. There is no kickboard or panel installed at this point. Model SHVM63W53N. Here is the problem I am sharing for others down the road who are searching for answers. Your Panel is too long. The supplied template has the max panel length in the bottom corner. It is not mentioned anywhere else. The only solution is to lower the dishwasher. In my case, it was 5/8th of an inch. I put a filler underneath the countertop to fill the gap which you will not see. The amount you lower the dishwasher will be the difference between the max panel length and the measured panel length.

@jborge we are having the exact same problem with our bosch dishwasher (SHV863WD3N). What do you mean when you say that you lowered the dishwasher? Do you mean you lowered the feet or is there some other way to lower it? In our case the feet are all of the way down but the panel is still about a 1/2" too long to fully open.

1. Remove the panel.

2. Lower the dishwasher by 5/8th using the feet

3. re-measure and attached the panel door again. (screw holes many have to be filled on inside top edge of panel. To be clear, you are redrilling the holes for the panel because you lowered the dishwasher.

4. add a 5/8th filler wood piece under the counter top to fill the gap left from lowering the dishwasher. This will also improve the sound proofing. The filler piece will not be that visible at all.

I actually pulled the dishwasher out again to add the filler piece. This is optional, but I think you would want to do it.

This is why kitchen installers do not do panel mount installs on fridges and dishwashers. They leave it to the appliance people. Bosch should fix this problem.

Thanks for the reply @jborge! Our feet are all of the way down already so I guess this won't work for our case. Guess I'll be returning the Bosch and getting a Miele

What is the counter height from the floor to the bottom edge of the counter?

What is the height of the door panel that you have?

Does the flooring continue under the dishwasher? Or is there a different floor height under the dishwasher?