"Todd Fatheree"wrote in message

overlay door. I'm also going to be putting up crown molding, and it seems
that the 1.5" left on the top is going to be pretty tight for crown
molding.

Depending upon the molding, and you won't be able to use to tall a molding
or you will throw your design with 42" cabinets out of balance, that's
plenty of room .... more than you need in actual practice. Draw it out to
scale, or mock a full size profile up, and see how it looks to you.

I'm considering either of the following (or perhaps a combination). I'm
thinking about using 3" stock for the top rails to provide a wider space
to
place the crown molding.

Not necessary, but suit yourself. The trend in the more expensive homes,
most which have at least 10' ceilings, is a _tall_ look in kitchen uppers,
and that will certainly add to that perception.

I'm also considering leaving an inch of space
between the cabinet and the ceiling to a) account for any variation out of
level in the ceiling and b) provide additional space to fit in the crown
molding.

It is certainly recommended, due to any variation in ceiling height/level.

If I left additional space at the top, I would, of course, shorten
the cabinet accordingly to leave the same amount of space between the
countertop and the bottom of the wall cabinets.

You should do that in any case ... industry standards in that particular
dimension are there for a good reason and bucking them can make resale a
problem.

Which way would you go?

Since you will not have room at the top to use exterior fasteners to fasten
to the wall (fasteners at the top of kitchen cabinets are most important for
strength over time, IME), you would do well to insure that you have good
blocking in the walls, and solid tack strips built into the cabinet backs,
so that you can get a good join to the wall.

And since I have your attention, I know that stock kitchen cabinets are
generally 12" deep. Do any of you bump that out an inch or two?

Not really necessary, but suit yourself without deviating too far from
standard practice as it can bite you in the butt in unforeseen circumstances
when you do.

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Last update: 10/16/05