You follow the instructions in the appliances' installation manuals when you install them and the user manuals when you operate them.

Ducts go up snd out through the roof. Or up and to the left or right through the top shelf of a cabibet. Or through a joist bay to a house side. Or several other options snd variations.

Your kitchen designer DESIGNS the solution to work with the whole, after reading all of the specs of the cabinets, appliances, and the structural and building codes, that apply to the situation.

Built-in appliances--are you talking about a hood, or a refrigerator? Because if it's the latter, the venting is created by the spacing between the fridge and the cabinet surround. It doesn't matter whether the cabinet above is one foot high or three feet high. It just matters how much air gap you have between the top of the fridge and the bottom of the cabinet. Which takes you to wdccruise's advice--look at the manufacturer's specs.

If it's a ducted appliance (like a hood), the ducts run through any cabinets.

Builtin fridges and ovens usually have vents built into in the front of the appliance and you don't really do much about it beyond planning the proper cabinetry.

@mcarroll16, true built in fridges, like Sub Zero, do not need air gaps around the fridge. In fact, they’re installed tightly to the cabinets. A true built in fridge is vented out the front. With SZ, the vent is on top. This is ours:

It’s only with full depth fridges pretending to be built in, that you need air space around the unit.

Thanks, darbuka. Confirms my main point though--the venting is not out the top of the cabinet, so it doesn't really matter whether the cabinet stops a foot short of the ceiling or goes all the way up.

Btw, Sienna…”Appliance Ventilation Debacle!!”…where is the debacle? Do you even know what the word means?

There’s been no fiasco, no absolute failure with any built-in fridge that’s been noted anywhere that I’ve seen. Not in any news outlet, nor on this forum…and I’ve been here looong before Houzz took over the GardenWeb, and even before the GW, when it was That Homesite. That’s at least 20 years.

I purchased my first SZ built-in fridge in 1990. It was still going strong when we sold that home 26 years later. There is a reason why SZ has been in the built-in fridge business for so long…and that other companies have come along and copied the SZ model. So, before you start a thread with an alarmist title, perhaps gain knowledge of the topic first.

If you go on AJMadison and choose different appliances, you can download the installation guides. Use those for planning. A little organization of the requirements will help you compare space available with requirements.

Still doesn’t matter. Your contractor (and plumber) will have read the instructions for any built- in appliances you purchase, and will install the appliances according to the brand’s instructions.

My contractor had me send him, in advance, the specs for all of our appliances…Bosch dishwasher, Thermador rangetop, Miele wall ovens, and SZ fridge. All I had to do was ask the independent appliance dealer for them, and pass them on to the GC. Only the Miele ovens were not installed by the GC, as Miele uses their own certified installers. Electric wall ovens vent heat out the front (top) of the unit.

As for the stacked washer and dryer, DH and I went back and forth as to whether to encase them, or not. In the end, we decided not to. For one thing, should a repair mean moving the stacked units out, it would be easier, less cumbersome to do as a free standing stack. Secondly, they’re nice looking front loaders (Electrolux), and well, they’re in the laundry room, not in the public area.

Btw, it’s really better not to install a built-in mw. They usually have a short lifespan, and it can be difficult to find a unit of the same size, to fit the hole. You can always do something like we did:

And yes, we have enough air space surrounding the mw, to allow heat to escape.

@darbuka, is that a combi-steam oven on top of a regular oven in your kitchen? Are they both venting out the front?

Yes, that’s a combi-steam oven, over a convection oven. Both Miele. And, yes…they vent out the front. All electric wall ovens vent out the front. Best ovens I’ve ever had.

@darbuka, what’s shown in this picture is what the appliance specifications indicate as protocol for ventilation. I doubt your cabinet makers did this.

First if all, the diagrams you’ve shown are not Miele instructions. They’re for PureLine, a far inferior product line.

Secondly, Miele sends out their own certified installers, and are very particular. They would not have installed the two ovens, had they thought anything was improper with the cabinets.

Thirdly, the specifications for all of my appliances, were sent to the cabinet company…one of the better semi-custom lines, (Tedd Wood), by the KD. The cabinets were built to accommodate these specifications.

And lastly, how the heck would you know what ventilation “protocols” my cabinet maker followed, looking at a photo? What makes you think Miele specs are the same as PureLine, anyway?

After 6 years of regular use, none of my built-in appliances have overheated, or malfunctioned. Nor have they damaged the surrounding cabinets.

PureLine isn’t a brand. Lol! See for yourself: https://us.mieleusa.com/MieleMedia/docs/products/specs/pdf/dg/PureLine%20DGC%206800%20XL%20Spec_FINAL.pdf

PurelLne is one of the current design lines Miele offers. ArtLine and ContourLine are the others.

🤦‍♀️Oh, right. Sorry, it’s been 6 years. I’d forgotten the name of the style we chose. Yes, I believe we have the PureLine model.

Anyway, what I wrote above still stands. All of it, except for #1. So, beginning with my second point, and cutting and pasting: Secondly, Miele sends out their own certified installers, and are very particular. They would not have installed the two ovens, had they thought anything was improper with the cabinets.

Thirdly, the specifications for all of my appliances, were sent to the cabinet company…one of the better semi-custom lines, (Tedd Wood), by the KD. The cabinets were built to accommodate these specifications.

And lastly, how the heck would you know what ventilation “protocols” my cabinet maker followed, looking at a photo?

After 6 years of regular use, none of my built-in appliances have overheated, or malfunctioned. Nor have they damaged the surrounding cabinets.