Should I buy an appliance size I can see or risk one online?
Struggling to find an appliance that fits a unique space forces buyers to choose between purchasing an accessible model in the wrong size or buying the correct size sight unseen. This dilemma leads to difficult compromises and costly mistakes, such as having to modify tilework or kitchen structures just by a fraction of an inch to make a replacement fit.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1filling the resulting gap with custom wood trim
- 2looking at pictures online to confirm decisions when units are unavailable in store
- 3Using a plywood shim or spacer behind the mounting bracket to clear the tile depth
- 4Using an oscillating tool with a diamond tip blade instead of an angle grinder if cutting is strictly necessary
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Long story short, I bought an over stove microwave 1/2 inch taller than my previous one. This threw off the whole replacement because the bracket is as low as it can go sitting just above the backsplash tile. I’m brainstorming ideas to get that 1/2 inch space and was thinking of using an angle grinder to cut some tile.”source ↗
“I’m torn to get something a similar size (but I can’t see it IRL) or buy something smaller (that I *can visit)”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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