Over-range microwave without upper cabinet
 

I want to install an over-the-range microwave, but I will be removing
the upper cabinet completely and just putting a shelf above the
microwave.

The problem I have is that the microwave mounts to a rear plate and
then swings up and is designed to be attached to an upper cabinet with
2 bolts. Anyone have a good way to do this without the upper cabinet?
There is a stud right in the middle behind it.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Over-range microwave without upper cabinet
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
I want to install an over-the-range microwave, but I will be removing
the upper cabinet completely and just putting a shelf above the
microwave.

The problem I have is that the microwave mounts to a rear plate and
then swings up and is designed to be attached to an upper cabinet with
2 bolts. Anyone have a good way to do this without the upper cabinet?
There is a stud right in the middle behind it.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Make a box-section double shelf- 2 layers of ply or 1x or whatever, held
apart by cleats and a back rail, with a piece of wide trim on the front,
including maybe a slight lip so stuff doesn't fall off the shelf into
whatever open pot is sitting on stove. Visually, a thick shelf will probably
look better, and a single layer may be too flimsy to hold the micro without
sagging anyway. Make sure you can get a wrench on the hidden bolt heads-
mount the front trim on blocks that jam-fit between the shelf layers. Needs
to be a tight fit, but one you can pull out when you need to. Build the
bottom 2/3 of the shelf, screw it in place, then add the top layer and the
front trim. How are you going to route the exhaust duct? Straight back
through the wall?

aem sends...

Over-range microwave without upper cabinet
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
I want to install an over-the-range microwave, but I will be removing
the upper cabinet completely and just putting a shelf above the
microwave.

The problem I have is that the microwave mounts to a rear plate and
then swings up and is designed to be attached to an upper cabinet with
2 bolts. Anyone have a good way to do this without the upper cabinet?
There is a stud right in the middle behind it.

It's going to have to be braced well so the micro doesn't sag or come
tumbling down. That lone stud, the shelf assembly, and the fasteners going
into it are going to have to bear not just weight, but significant torque.
Attach the shelf to a back board that is large enough to go all the way to
the bottom of the oven, and brace the shelf strongly to the board at the
ends. (Use braces with a triangular shape, not just right angles having a
stiffening groove.) The assembly should be strong enough that you can set
the microwave on the shelf and not have it bend or pull apart. Bolt the
back board in several places along its height to the stud (pre-drill holes
and center them carefully, so as not to split the stud), check the strength
by temporarily setting the microwave or something equally heavy on the
shelf, then attach the microwave's rear plate to the board as you would to a
wall and affix the microwave to the shelf as you would to the bottom of a
cabinet.