You cannot do that because it will block the vents on top of the microwave, that is if you are speaking of the Whirlpool low profile microwave. That is the one I have.

Pics and what MW are you using is it meant to be installed the way you are trying.

All real hoods project more than 6” forward of the 12” deep cabinet above. It’s called capture. They aren’t designed to have the cabinet bumped out either. An 18” deep cabinet above would need blocking at the ceiling as a reinforcement attachment point, not let the MW vent adequately, and look really really bad.

Follow the installation instructions. The cabinet depth must be between 12 and 14 inches.

It depends on the microwave. Your cabinet maker or you must take a very close look at the installation instructions and find the restrictions on the depth of the upper cabinets. I have never seen a microwave where you can bring the cabinet above out to the front of the microwave, but sometimes you can bring it out a bit.

I am also considering this microwave in our remodel. My question is, is it hard to get to the cabinets above the microwave? One of the reasons I am choosing this microwave is so those upper cabinets can be built to go down lower and therefore easier for me to reach...but with how far it sticks out would this defeat the purpose?

The low-profile model sticks out only about 1-1/2" more than a standard Whirlpool oven but can be mounted to a cabinet 6" lower (24" above the cooktop). Seems like a reasonable tradeoff.

"Is there a reason they're deeper than regular ones?"

Sure, there has to be room (probably at the rear) for all the electronics and other components that are usually above the oven cavity.

Thanks--I thought about that after I wrote the question. I wish they didn't all have the giant 30" door that whacks you in the face when you open it.

I found this one where the controls are to the right of the door (so the door is not as long), but it's out of stock and $100 more everywhere else.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Whirlpool-Low-Profile-Microwave-Hood-Combination-1-1-cu-ft-Over-the-Range-Microwave-Stainless-Steel/1002792990

@cgs: "I found this one where the controls are to the right of the door..."

Yeah, the Whirlpool WML35011KS does have a slightly shorter door but it also has only a 360cfm blower while the other models have 400 cfm or higher.

• There are a number of these low-profile OTR microwaves on the market.
• Note that the 400 cfm GE, XO, Cosmo, and Frigidaire models are all the same, varying only slightly in appearance and price.
• The Samsung ME11A7710DS ($443) has a slightly shorter door but it has the most powerful blower of the bunch at 550 cfm and a 10-year magnetron warranty.
• The GE Profile UVM9125STSS is the cheapest at $392.
• I'd probably go with either the Samsung (if the oven were vented to the exterior and I wanted the most poweful blower) or GE (if the oven were configured to recirculate and/or I didn't need the most powerful blower and I wanted the lowest price).
• Check Home Depot and Best Buy too.

@wdccruise Thanks!

I went out to look at them in real life. I had considered the Samsung--I like the door latch and the controls.

However I think I'm actually going to go with this Whirlpool one even though it has the controls on the inside, which seems crazy.

https://www.appliancesconnection.com/whirlpool-wml55011hs.html

The +30 second button is on the outside, which is what I use 95% of the time. The door is about 6" shorter--I didn't realize at first because it's shorter from both ends. And it's not quite as deep as others--an inch less than some others. All these things help with the face-whacking issue.

As for the fan, this one does have 400 cfm, but I almost never use the fan. I should, as we have a gas range. But I rarely cook anything splattery and we're switching to induction, so won't have the indoor air pollution. And it doesn't vent outside. We were going to vent outside as part of the renovation, but since we really use it so rarely, husband (who was the one who wanted it to vent outside in the first place) decided he'd rather not put a hole in the house.