Ikea Metod kitchen - distance between worktop and wall units

[AnotherGuy]

Hi,

Hope someone has come across this before. I'm planning an Ikea kitchen and wanted an integrated tall fridge freezer unit. This means the height of the wall units will be dictated by this height dimension.
All the UK websites, DIY kitchens and my existing kitchen suggest there should be 45-49cm gap between worktop and bottom of wall unit.

Ikea offer a 200cm or 220cm height for a tall unit and 60/80 or 100cm for a wall unit.

Using the 200cm as an example this means you have (starting at floor) 8cm legs + 200cm unit giving 208cm total height.
Next to it you would have (starting at the floor) 8cm legs + 80cm base unit + 4cm worktop then a gap then a 60cm wall unit. This means you have a worktop to wall cabinet gap of 56cm.

It doesn't matter if you change to a 220cm fridge/freezer unit and 80cm wall cabinets, you end up with the same 56cm gap. Am I missing something or does the increase from 49-56cm really not matter in a UK kitchen?

[Scrump]

It doesn’t matter. I would say it is better.

[ARHarh]

Surely the legs are longer than 8cm, my ikea kitchen fitted 9 years ago the legs are nearer 16cm.

[AnotherGuy]

ARHarh said:

Surely the legs are longer than 8cm, my ikea kitchen fitted 9 years ago the legs are nearer 16cm.

They are actually 8cm and the plinths are the same size to match, I guess it mean you get massive cupboards but makes routing services a pain.

[ARHarh]

AnotherGuy said:

They are actually 8cm and the plinths are the same size to match, I guess it mean you get massive cupboards but makes routing services a pain.

OK, running services was always the biggest problem with Ikea kitchens. When I fitted mine I had to move all services as there was no gap behind the cupboard backs to run pipes.

Just measured my cabinets and the are only 70cm tall, so ikea must have resized everything.

[NextSlidePlease]

They did change the units some yeara ago, the base units are now 80cm tall, leaving a smaller plinth, which by the way is a right tt to get a brush under for sweeping.

As for the gap i would argue a larger gap is better, and also to go with the higher units to maximise space. By sheer luck i am currently finishing one off in a rental and have the exact same setup you are after. Thats a 57cm gap just measured it.

Edited by NextSlidePlease on Wednesday 1st December 12:06

[AnotherGuy]

Thanks NextSlidePlease (and others), that's perfect. This ones going in a rental as well.

Bits collected yesterday and my builder is already swearing at the 8cm plinth height, lack of service void and the suspension rail system that they use.
I got off to a false start as I selected a 220cm fridge/freezer and 80cm wall units only to realise that the total height was so close to the ceiling that a) you couldn't raise the wall units 20mm to get them on the rail and b) my ceiling runs out 10mm from left to right and therefore they looked sh*t. Gone for 200cm and 60cm, pictures will be added in due course

Edited by AnotherGuy on Thursday 2nd December 10:51

[Little Lofty]

Fitted an Ikea kitchen for my sister years ago, swore I’d never fit another one. By all accounts they are worse now than the one I fitted, they seem insistent on making everything more difficult, and as odd as possible.

[Carbon Sasquatch]

Legs are irrelevant - the 200cm or 220cm unit sits on them as do the base units.

The base units are 80cm so you have 120 or 140 left.

There's usually a light plinth thing that hangs under the wall units & effectively narrows the gap between wall units & worktop.