Sorry to hear that....

However if you are talking 12" wall cabinets ... it is not all that uncommon for them to be 11 1/4".

I'm confused. Who planned and designed the kitchen? Did you not see any plans for the kitchen space until now?

Yes I have the plans for the whole house. I just didn't realize the depth of the cabinets. I have been rather overwhelmed by the whole process and there have been things that I have just missed.

Probably not what you want to hear but I think you'll be fine with standard depth. You can fit a lot more than you think in a whole wall of cabinets and I don't think it's a bad thing to turn the mixer sideways unless you just have that many smll applyances that there won't be enough room in the appliance garage. I think it would cost much more than it would be worth to add depth to those cabinets. Just my two cents. Oh, and I know how you feel. Nobody told me that grabage disposells weren't a standard item in every home and now I'm having to live without one. Bummed but adjusting.

Edited to try get rid of stupid pop up no luck

This post was edited by JDez on Mon, Jan 12, 15 at 20:54

I just measured mine, 11 1/4 on the inside and measure 12 on the outside, just the box doesn't include the door. So, they are standard depth, maybe they could just do something with the appliance garage. Maybe just replace that one cabinet with a 15 inch. The width wouldn't change so it should be double without throwing the cabinets out of whack.

This post was edited by zorroslw on Mon, Jan 12, 15 at 20:56

So if you castle the cabinet over the appliance garage you can add the depth to the garage with minimum cost. Usually these cabinets are taller and protrude a couple of inches past the other cabinets. However, you can make it work without taller cabinets.

If the cabinet garage is under a normal wall cabinet, you just pull it off the wall and put a couple of 2xs behind it. Then have them remake the sides of the garage and you can add a couple inches to the garage without any significant cost. If the garage is under a corner cabinet (which I assume it is not) you can do the same thing but your cabinets are going to be a couple of inches longer, or, you can have the cabinet maker modify a cabinet or two and get the larger garage for a reasonable amount.

When we inquired about building, I talked to a person who used the builder we ended up going with and tried to get as much info up front. I think the most profound think he told me was "you won't know all the questions to ask, it's just too overwhelming". Even when we thought we were ready and had as many questions answered as we could come up with, every build is unique and has it's own 'unknowns'. Unless your in the building business or have friends/family who are there's really know way to educate yourself to the point you'll know more than the guys building the house. Even when asked a direct question from the builder you aren't really sure what the consequences of your answer will be or what if any other options may be better. You really have to trust that the guy you're giving your $$ too has you best interest in mind with every decision he makes.

Can you cut open the drywall at the back of the appliance garage to steal a few inches? It would be like a hidden recessed area. Just make sure to fill in the gap between the counter and the free space so nothing falls behind.

A goose neck or adjustable shower arm can easily raise the shower head and I believe it is a more elegant solution than installing the arm higher. You can buy it online and install it yourself. But your designer/builder should have asked what you wanted.

A floor receptacle should be located as late as possible even after occupancy when you are sure of the furniture placement. But your designer/builder should have asked if you were sure about your furniture placement and taken care of the issue.

The term "standard" is jargon for builders and suppliers not homeowners. Only the lowliest cabinet suppliers offer only one upper cabinet depth. Your cabinet designer/supplier should have asked you how deep you wanted the upper cabinets, or asked you to measure your plates, etc. You will find that it is rare for a plate to be larger than 11 inches but it should be your choice. As for appliances garages, they are not intended to house large appliances like a stand mixer. That size equipment should be in a lower cabinet with a pop up platform or in a pantry or a separate work counter. Did the cabinet designer not show you a catalog of special cabinets? See the link below for what is typical these days for cabinet design.

It appears the mistake you made was not to be uninformed but to make a poor choice of designers and builders. If you did that to save money you paid a high price for it.

Here is a link that might be useful: upper kitchen cabinet design

jdez, why can't you just install a disposal? People put them in existing homes all the time and its not hard to do.

OP, as said use a hand held shower and install it so it sits where its comfortable.

There's an old saying...experience is a tough teacher...it gives the test first, and then the lesson.

Keep in mind too that there's nothing that can't be fixed...it's just a matter of how much $$ it will cost...

debrak - cuz we are out of funds...lol

We are buying a gooseneck shower arm. It wasn't going to be worth the cost or the headache to fix it.

Builder is talking to the cabinet guy today to see if there is a solution. It kind of ticks me off that they didn't ask me about it first because I would have asked for deeper than cabinets. I was never intended on that space to be a work space to begin with. Just strictly for storage. We have plenty of counter space on our big island.

aimless I feel your pain... I didn't find GW until after our big addition / kitchen and bath renovation. I'm sure there are changes I would have made if I had the collective wisdom of GW! (Luckily I got the advice elsewhere to do drawers in the kitchen. Phew!)

You've asked many good questions on this forum and received lots of advice from experienced folks. You should be proud of that! Keep in mind all the mistakes you DIDN'T make because you did ask some great questions! Your house will be wonderful.

Mark me down as someone who will never do it again either!

Aimless, I encountered a similar problem with the upper cabinets when I renovated my current kitchen. The old ones were built in place, and were a full 12" on the INSIDE. New standard factory built cabinets are 12" on the OUTSIDE. I have hand made plates that needed to be put above the fridge because they no longer fit in the plate cupboard. Out of sight, out of mind. So we never use them anymore. :(

For weeks afterwards, I was measuring cabinets everywhere to see if my cabinet company had cheaped out on me. But no, I've never seen a proper sized cabinet anywhere.

Stupid, stupid things that they seem to rely on the consumer not to know about.

And I'm guessing you're on slab, and that's why you needed to know about your floor outlets early?

Unless this is a full custom build though, the builder may not have extra depth upper cabinets as one of their options.

It's very typical for cabinet upgrades to include painted finish vs. stained, upgrades for countertop materials and upgraded appliance or lighting packages, but I haven't come across extra depth as a routine upgrade with builders of typical semi-custom houses.

But I felt like my first set of renovations was "practice" and the second was better. I am hoping, in this third house to get it mostly right.

Aimless, feel your frustration. We are 3 months into our build and finding doubt and questions at every turn. Realizing some of it is on us - but the builder is a major frustration too.

Try to fix what is possible now and then see if there are work a rounds you can live with. Maybe a different place to store the mixer (then you've got to lug it onto the counter--- not ideal but maybe your solution for now).

Try to take some joy in the details you do like.

I don't think we can recess into the wall because we have outlets there.

And yes, we are on a slab.

Our cabinet maker makes everything on site. They are going to add a small piece of trim to extend the appliance garage by a little bit, but it will remain almost flush with the upper cabinets are. I think it will work.

Doing a new build. We currently live in a 2 story house built in 1902. We have remodeled just about everything at some point. Nothing is level or plumb in an old house.

Been in the house 42 yrs! I can tell you from experience.....
Everything is fixable or doable with a little Yankee ingenuity.

I know what you mean about not knowing! I was quite surprised to have to decide where the furniture was going before the slab went in. Well, only if we want a lamp toward the center of the space and not plugged into an extension cord... So it made sense, but it sure was a "huh?" moment at the time!

I hope it helps a bit that many of us are listening, so you're saving us from saying, "I just didn't know" -- at least for these specifics. We won't know something else, something equally important.

Knowing furniture placement IS vital! And that's why it's important to work with an architect who will understand and explain that to you. It's also important to get a scale model on graph paper with little cutouts of standard sized furniture pieces so that you can "play house" with re-arranging things until both the room sizes and traffic flow work, but also the electrical outlets and lighting plan that should be part of the construction documents also works. Those are things you don't usually get from "internet" plans. But they are part of a full design package from any architect.