We're about to buy a wall oven and none of the stock cabinets I can
see are just what I want. IKEA has something close - a cabinet that
takes a small refrigerator on the bottom, and the oven in an enclosure
over that, but it then has another cabinet on top of the oven, where I
want a surface that I can use for other things. Is there any reason I
can't just build a box of sorts out of plywood and angle brackets? I'd
guess that I should use some sort of bracing under the "shelf" where
the oven will sit but are there any other things I shoulod know before
I try to do this sort of thing?
BTW I live in France, so recommending cabinets from this or that
American supplier won't work! ;-) I'm sure they have everything I
could possibly want but I can't get them to here.

Thanks,

Ellie

"American ex-pat artist" wrote in message
...
We're about to buy a wall oven and none of the stock cabinets I can
see are just what I want. IKEA has something close - a cabinet that
takes a small refrigerator on the bottom, and the oven in an enclosure
over that, but it then has another cabinet on top of the oven, where I
want a surface that I can use for other things. Is there any reason I
can't just build a box of sorts out of plywood and angle brackets? I'd
guess that I should use some sort of bracing under the "shelf" where
the oven will sit but are there any other things I shoulod know before
I try to do this sort of thing?
BTW I live in France, so recommending cabinets from this or that
American supplier won't work! ;-) I'm sure they have everything I
could possibly want but I can't get them to here.

Thanks,

Ellie
If you do it yourself, you can make it any way that suits your purpose.
If it were me, I would make the sides and shelves out of thick plywood.
I would cut dadoes in the sides to mate the shelves to the sides.
I would install a thin plywood back.
I would use face frame front. The face frame can be made of whatever wood
you wish.
I would glue the shelves in place. I would attach the back with glue and
nails.

Such a cabinet needs no brackets. You will be surprised at how strong the
cabinet will be.

Jim

"American ex-pat artist" wrote in message
...
We're about to buy a wall oven and none of the stock cabinets I can
see are just what I want. IKEA has something close - a cabinet that
takes a small refrigerator on the bottom, and the oven in an enclosure
over that, but it then has another cabinet on top of the oven, where I
want a surface that I can use for other things. Is there any reason I
can't just build a box of sorts out of plywood and angle brackets? I'd
guess that I should use some sort of bracing under the "shelf" where
the oven will sit but are there any other things I shoulod know before
I try to do this sort of thing?
BTW I live in France, so recommending cabinets from this or that
American supplier won't work! ;-) I'm sure they have everything I
could possibly want but I can't get them to here.

Buy from B&Q and cut and adapt is the simplest and easiest approach. an oven
isn't all that heavy but fix wooden battens under the shelf for extra
security.

Tim w

On Jul 22, 1:13*pm, American ex-pat artist
wrote:
We're about to buy a wall oven and none of the stock cabinets I can
see are just what I want. IKEA has something close - a cabinet that
takes a small refrigerator on the bottom, and the oven in an enclosure
over that, but it then has another cabinet on top of the oven, where I
want a surface that I can use for other things. Is there any reason I
can't just build a box of sorts out of plywood and angle brackets? I'd
guess that I should use some sort of bracing under the *"shelf" where
the oven will sit but are there any other things I shoulod know before
I try to do this sort of thing?

To what tools do you have access? A table saw?
JP

Jim wrote:
"American ex-pat artist" wrote in message
...

We're about to buy a wall oven and none of the stock cabinets I can
see are just what I want. IKEA has something close - a cabinet that
takes a small refrigerator on the bottom, and the oven in an enclosure
over that, but it then has another cabinet on top of the oven, where I
want a surface that I can use for other things. Is there any reason I
can't just build a box of sorts out of plywood and angle brackets? I'd
guess that I should use some sort of bracing under the "shelf" where
the oven will sit but are there any other things I shoulod know before
I try to do this sort of thing?
BTW I live in France, so recommending cabinets from this or that
American supplier won't work! ;-) I'm sure they have everything I
could possibly want but I can't get them to here.

Thanks,

Ellie

If you do it yourself, you can make it any way that suits your purpose.
If it were me, I would make the sides and shelves out of thick plywood.
I would cut dadoes in the sides to mate the shelves to the sides.
I would install a thin plywood back.
I would use face frame front. The face frame can be made of whatever wood
you wish.
I would glue the shelves in place. I would attach the back with glue and
nails.

Such a cabinet needs no brackets. You will be surprised at how strong the
cabinet will be.

Jim


This sounds good - but I will probably do without the face frame front,
since it's beyond my skills and available tools. My aesthetic standards
have taken a sharp leap downwards since we moved to France, practicality
being the only thing that is on offer anyway. Cutting dadoes isn't
something I can do here, since I left all my woodworking tools back in
the US and even if I bought new ones here I'd have no place to put them.
So, now router to do such things. That's why I figured on angle brackets
- which won't be seen once the oven is in place anyway.

As for the back, should I leave the part right behind the oven open for
air circulation? I've never had a wall oven so I don't know what sort of
heat they throw off.

Thanks!

Tim W wrote:

"American ex-pat artist" wrote in message
...

We're about to buy a wall oven and none of the stock cabinets I can
see are just what I want. IKEA has something close - a cabinet that
takes a small refrigerator on the bottom, and the oven in an enclosure
over that, but it then has another cabinet on top of the oven, where I
want a surface that I can use for other things. Is there any reason I
can't just build a box of sorts out of plywood and angle brackets? I'd
guess that I should use some sort of bracing under the "shelf" where
the oven will sit but are there any other things I shoulod know before
I try to do this sort of thing?
BTW I live in France, so recommending cabinets from this or that
American supplier won't work! ;-) I'm sure they have everything I
could possibly want but I can't get them to here.


Buy from B&Q and cut and adapt is the simplest and easiest approach. an oven
isn't all that heavy but fix wooden battens under the shelf for extra
security.

Tim w


I don't know what B&B is/are but the only ready-made oven cabinet that
will suit comes from IKEA and would be fine except for the fact that the
cutting and adapting would have to be done in the IKEA parking lot to
fit the thing in my teeny car. :-) Whereas if I buy plywood at the local
hardware store they will cut to roughly the size I need, which will then
just fit.

Yes, using wooden battens sounds like a good idea.

Thanks!

Jay Pique wrote:

On Jul 22, 1:13 pm, American ex-pat artist
wrote:

We're about to buy a wall oven and none of the stock cabinets I can
see are just what I want. IKEA has something close - a cabinet that
takes a small refrigerator on the bottom, and the oven in an enclosure
over that, but it then has another cabinet on top of the oven, where I
want a surface that I can use for other things. Is there any reason I
can't just build a box of sorts out of plywood and angle brackets? I'd
guess that I should use some sort of bracing under the "shelf" where
the oven will sit but are there any other things I shoulod know before
I try to do this sort of thing?


To what tools do you have access? A table saw?
JP

Don't I wish! No, I have a circular saw, a sander or two, and the usual
assortment of hand tools. Oh yeah, and a hammer drill - indispensible to
anyone living in France. (I so miss wood-studded plasterboard walls!
Stone houses may seem romantic but not when you want to do a simple
thing like hang a picture! And I'm an artist so this is a frequent event.)

Thanks.