Put some wood blocking on the inside, all the way in the back, so the DW can't be pushed back.

Is it granite in the back too? If it is, you can probably glue the blocking to the granite with some commercial grade glue made for stone.

I've never seen a DW encased in granite, but that doesn't mean you are the only one!

I think you're the only one. :)

Is the problem that the DW gets nudged back or that it flops forwards?

“I'm quite sure I'm not the only person ever to install a dishwasher in a box with granite on 3 sides!”

You would be quite wrong about that. You are the only one to create a DW sarcophagus. Most people use wood panels around their DW, partially to avoid the exact install problem you have. But mostly to avoid the very large expense of doing what you have done, and ending up with what you have.

Replace the stone with wood.

I think a raised dishwasher is an excellent feature; we are planning it for our next house. But I sincerely want to know why you encased your dishwasher in granite. I also want to know why your granite fabricator did not try to talk you out of it, or discuss with you in advance the failings that you are experiencing now. My granite installer would have declined to do this job.

Raised DW’s are not uncommon. A stone encased one just doesn’t function correctly. Redesign it without the stone.

@verbo “dishwasher sarcophagus” made me laugh

There's nothing inherently wrong with stone surrounding a dishwasher that 2 Tapcons can't fix. Y'all are way over thinking this.

^ right, just curious about the extra expense and why, did anybody offer that the stone encasement was kind of unusual? Solve it by listening to joseph, easy.

I am really curious as to this choice of granite as aDW surround so humor me and explain.

I'm also curious as to what the dishwasher is actually sitting on. It appears that the drawer beneath it is open at the top without any sort of base to sit the dw upon.

"Until that tapcon cracks the stone, and you have an even bigger problem."

If you're that paranoid, use asquirrel.

chispa: the back is also granite. I've had the idea you mention but would like to find something that doesn't require fully removing it, if possible.

Fori: it gets nudged back

Joseph: I'm quite concerned that drilling into the granite may well crack it.

Verbo and Tanna: I'm not replacing the granite. It's part of a very long island.

Roy Hobbs: Good question but no answer. My designer blames my contractor. My contractor blames my designer. We live in an area with a dearth of fabricators and who knows why someone didn't do something.

Patricia Colwell: This is part of a long island in a fairly narrow kitchen . This end of the kitchen is open into a wide hallway and open living room. Everyone thought that the island should end with a waterfall in the same material as the island itself.

blubird: there's a drawer under the dw and it has some kind of a wooden top. I can't really seen it properly but I know it's there.

To all: looking for a simple solution that doesn't risk damaging an expensive island.

Any wiggle room on the sides?

I guess if the only problem is that it gets pushed back, you could just put a chunk of something solid back there after pulling the DW and seeing where you have solid parts to put the chunk. A bit of rubber on the sides will help slow it down, if you can get it in.

Fori: By my calculations, there is about 2.25" behind the DW before it hits the back granite wall.

There is no room, however, side to side. Either when this was built or when the problem first occurred, tiny wood strips were put onto the sides of the granite. They look to be less than ¾" wide and have almost no depth. You can see the upper tip of one in the first photo I attached. They didn't hold whatever someone attempted to attach to them, but they are there. Since they are wood they expand and contract based on the running of the dishwasher and the steam it puts out as it dries.

Silicone a dishwasher bracket to the top of the bottom of the stone. Screw your dishwasher tabs into it please. No drilling stone involved.

Dishwashers, of course, are intended to be anchored to the cabinetry into which they're installed to 1) prevent tipping forward when loaded, heavy dishracks are pulled out, and 2) preventing the unit from shifting within the cabinetry space. Typical anchor methods are screws through brackets at top/front exterior of the machine's tub, or through anchor holes along the side trim of the tub. An installer who doesn't anchor the machine properly is incompetent.

Listen to Joseph. It has to be physically connected somehow. Either drill into the stone (I would use a plastic anchor and SS screw but a tap con would work) or glue a dishwasher bracket under the counter. This was a fussy design that your designer didn’t think through unfortunately.

Thanks all. Interesting comments and ideas. Lots to think about

Is this a new installation? If it's been in for years and this is the only problem, then a more relaxed attitude is in order than if you just put it in and are now realizing you need to freak out. :)

Fori: This is an install done as part of a major home reno done 2020-2021, during the worst of Covid. It seemed fine when installed--see pic below from late 2021. Since then the contractor has retired (and is good acquaintance in this small town) and the designer, who was always a couple of hours away, has moved cross country. The fabricator of the granite was no bargain at all -- but choices here are few and far between. The DW is a European model and installation was done by company's certified installers who come from a couple of hours away. One piece of this I can't figure out is that I can't see the tabs that should exist to have installed this into the top of a counter. The installation instructions I see on-line show them but I don't see them. Next step may involve the original installers but I'd like to be clear about what I'm dealing with before someone travels 2 hours to try to "fix" the problem.

The top brackets sometimes are separate pieces that aren't attached/installed to the machine unless that is anchor method of choice, or they are factory-attached but removable accordingly. Screw holes along the side edge of the tub may have snap-on covers that are left in place if that isn't the method of choice, or the covers are put back on after the screws are set.

I've had tabs that you bend up, too.

I'm surprised that certified installers did this...well, a lot about this is surprising. :)

It might help the installers if you pull it out and take enough photos so they know what they're dealing with before they come (or it might void their warranty, if they have one. Definitely talk to them). And if you end up fixing this on your own--which you might have to because it's probably not going to be a proper approved installation--more photos and measurements would help you get suggestions here for rigging it up.

On the bright side, it's working. And it's going in instead of coming out.

Why is there such a large gap above the dishwasher? I've only ever had Bosch dishwashers and this one is... a Miele?

In all the (DIY) installations I've done, I have never attached the dishwasher to counter (for various reasons).

While it is certainly best practice to anchor the dishwasher somehow, I've never had a problem with them moving around - neither on hardwood, nor on slippery tile flooring.

I simply raised the dishwasher up to the point where there was no more gap between the dishwasher and the countertop, which is what the installation manual advises anyway. This is easily done because all Euro dishwashers have three to four adjustable feet. That way, the dishwasher(s) essentially pressed against the counter and never budged.

Again, it's best to attach the dishwasher... but you might want to try raising the unit first - unless there's something underneath your counter that prevents this.

Here's my 18" Bosch, raised all the way up but not attached to anything.

Wow! Thanks. That might easily work. We certainly can’t do it ourselves (seriously seniors and no mechanical ability 🤣) but install crew might be able to. It is a Miele and I want to measure opening if I can access the “floor” it sits on, check exact height of DW and see if specs give me amount legs can be raised. Thanks!!!

I’m certain the advice you’ve gotten here will help you secure the dishwasher. That’s not going to fix a bad design problem, however. Ending the island in that pretty stone as a waterfall isn’t the issue. I can see why you’d want to do that. Jacking up the continuity of the island — and the waterfall effect — with the raised dishwasher positioning is the problem. I think your designer shoulders the blame for this.