Curly Sue wrote:
On Sat, 08 Jul 2006 13:45:52 GMT, Robert Gammon
wrote:


Don Wiss wrote:

On Sat, 08 Jul 2006, Robert Gammon wrote:



The issue is that 36 inches is designed for the 'standard' American
male/female at 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 10 inches of height.


I don't know about the 'standard,' but the average is 5' 5" for women and
5' 9" for men.



We want to build a new house and I am looking for resources that can get
us 32 inch counter height, as that will be MUCH more comfortable for us


Have you actually worked at a 32" counter for a length of time? How about
platforms at the places where you want to be higher? Your stove and
dishwasher are still going to be at the 36" height.



Cooktop, Rangetop solve the height problem here.

I have worked at a 36inch height in this house for 25 years, and it is
uncomfortable. Wife frequently stands on tip toes while working on
counters.

Wall ovens get the oven off the floor and roughly at eye level, or
bottom rack at roughly the same level as the counter.

Dishwasher yes, has to have a 36 inch section, so does dedicated ice maker.

EVERYTHING else can be at 32 inches.


32" seems like it will be really low for all of the counters.

When my parents remodeled the kitchen they put in sections with
different heights. (They did all the work including building
cabinets). The part with the sink and dishwasher seems to be standard
which works out well because the sink is... sunk. If you start at 32"
and go lower, you might end up bending quite a bit. Plus they didn't
have to make any special accommodations for the dishwasher as I did
(see below). OTOH, they have a low section (don't know the height but
32" seems in the ballpark) which in my 5'5" opinion is a bit too low.

In my kitchen the counters are at 34.5", including the sink and
dishwasher area which is pretty comfortable. When I moved in there
was an undercounter refrigerator next to the sink which had required a
cutout of the laminate counter. When I took the refrigerator out to
install a dishwasher, I had to additionally remove floor tiles. If I
ever re-do the counters, I will have to figure out some solution
because I don't want to go to 36".

A couple of thoughts- before putting in all counters at 32", think of
where you really need to use that working height. Grouping the sink
and dishwasher in a section at 34" or even the standard 36" might work
OK. Depending on how big your kitchen is, perhaps an island at 32"
with a small prep sink would be ideal or even a 32" island without
services but close to the standard sink would work.

Be sure to consider having different heights. What is comfortable for
your wife might not be comfortable for you.

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!



I will not have an undermount sink. That moves the grit, gum, mold area
out of view and darn near inaccessible. Top mount sinks ONLY, where
I can deal with the issue directly.

Kitchen is roughly 15 feet square with sink, dishwasher on one side,
rangetop, ovens to the left, refrigerator/freezer to the right and an
island with prep sink, two burners (or Wok burner) , and deep fryer on
the island surface.

Garnite is appealing for all countertops, but staining can be issue that
tilts the decision towards an engineered surface (Silestone, Xodiac,
Corian, and the like)

Heavy use areas will be to left and right of rangetop, between sink and
rangetop and on the island.

Island at 32 inches makes alot of sense

Use a 36 inch counter beside the Refrigerator to hold the icemaker,
between the refrigerator and the kitchen wall

That means sink, dishwasher to its right and the rest of the counter to
the wall are at 36 inches. Wall ovens then are the divider between 32.5
counter and 36 counters with all other countertops at 32.5 inches.

I will live with lower counters as I want my spouse to be more
comfortable in this kitchen. And should we sell, the house is then
appealing to handicapped as the lower counters are a great benefit for
someone in a chair.


Going to talk to a pair of experts in kitchen design today. Each has
about 30 years in this and they have achieved certification in Kitchens
and Bath design. Their questionnaire asks about height of primary and
secondary cooks, age of children, activities planned in the kitchen,
types of foods prepared....