Installing an OTR cabinet and have run into an issue. The upper cabinet has a lip that runs around the whole thing. This will cause the top of the microwave to not be flush against the bottom of the upper cabinet, as the microwave will come in contact with the lip/trim first.
There will be about an inch gap. Is this still safe to install this way? It looks like even with the gap the bolts will be able to go about an inch an d a half into the microwave.
Best Answer
Yes there is normally a gap between the OTR and the cabinet above it. If you review the install instructions usually the gap is 1".
The gap is almost required and the typically U shaped metal mount on the back wall requires that the OTR be tilted in to be installed. The tilting then requires that both the air output and the electrical cord coming out of the top of the unit thread into receiving holes in the bottom of the upper cabinet. When tilting if you were to make it flush you'd need a trench type hole to allow the electrical cord to feed up into the upper cabinet. I've done it flush before but it was quite a bit more difficult and the lower shelf of the cabinet above had to be butchered.