Cooker doesn't fit.

[Sadusername]

I have just been given a brand new cooker, zanussi with ceramic hob and double oven. It has been barely used. It felt like Christmas. The oven on my old one doesn't work , I have never been able to replace it due to finances!

It has just been brought round and I realise it doesn't fit between the two cabinets. It SHOULD fit, the opening at the top, where I measured is big enough, 60cm. But the cabinets are badly fitted and probably distorted from wet etc so it will only go in an inch or two and then it is too narrow at the bottom
The cabinets themselves are old, ugly,cheap and nasty and luckily the counter top is ok.

Any suggestions as to how I "shave" off the sides of the cabinet? They are chipboard with some kind of vinyl coating.
Many thanks

I don't think you could shave anything off the cupboards as they will just collapse. Have you got any filler panels that you can remove and shove the cabinets along a bit? Failing that, what you can do is take them out, remove the bottom of the cabinet and the top (or the two wooden braces that run along the top) and trim a couple of centimetres off the side of those - try to make sure you do it on the same side - then, with a screw gun, screw the side panel of the cabinet back into position. You'll have to then cut the same amount off any internal shelves. Depending on how much you take off you may then have to plane down the door.

If it's a fairly standard kitchen design (white fronts/shaker style etc), it might be easier just to get rid of one of the existing cabinets and buy another 10cm smaller and a filler panel.

Thanks lala, but I fear both of your suggestions are beyond me and the limited range of skills and tools I possess.
I could cry!

just take out one of the cabinets.

They will probably be 500mm, 600mm or 1000mm wide. If you have a choice, take out the most damaged or the smallest. You can buy a new unit later, of whatever size and quality suits you.

Assess the job to see if you can do it, or if you need someone to help.

To start with, empty out the cabinet and find a torch. It might be screwed to the wall through the back; it might be screwed to the worktop, it might be screwed to the cabinet beside it. There will probably not be more than three screws. Observe the screwheads. Are the slotted or Pozidriv? Do you own screwdrivers to fit, in good condition?

Does the unit have legs? If so, they will be made of two metal or plastic tubes, one screwed inside the other. If you put on a pair of rubber gloves (for grip) you will be able to take hold of the lower part and screw it upwards slightly. This will make the unit lower so that (once unscrewed from the wall or adjacent unit) it will slide out. Just try one for now. There will always be one looser than the others, and one tight leg, due to the amount of weight on it.

Observe the worktop. Does more than a third of it stand on the cabinet you need to remove? If so, you will have to provide a support to prevent it falling down.

Post lots of pics for our entertainment further advice.

PigletJ and lala. Thanks for replying . I think I panicked but as I have a torch and a screw driver, it feels somewhat more doable........

Just thought - Will the draining board fall off if I remove this cabinet? Aaaaargh.

look inside the cabinet. There will be access to the gap under the draining board. Do you access it through the door under the sink, or the door by the cooker?

Door by the cooker.

then sadly you will have to lower the legs and observe if the draining board sinks. It is probably resting on the carcase, but not screwed to it. It will be rigid enough not to fall down, and it might be siliconed to the wall, and stay in place as long as you don't put weight on it.

If you have a drill, you can fix a batten to the wall under the edges of the sink to take its weight. If you are lucky, there may already be such a batten in place, and you will see it when you pull the old unit out.

If you buy a replacement unit, you will push it under the sink unit, then wind the legs up so it presses against the bottom of the drainer.

Sometimes it is very difficult to reach into the corners of cabinets, so you could leave the drainer with no unit under it, just a gap, and put a single unit next to the cooker.

Is there a unit on the other side of the cooker that might be easier to remove?

p.s.

if you show a picture of the end of the unit, including its legs, it might spark other ideas.

My elderly neighbour came over and was able to wiggle it in. Basically he used several wooden wedges which he hammered in at the sides and then pushed it in bit by bit from side to side. Not sure how it worked but did! So pleased , as even with your explicit instructions I was going to struggle. Many thanks for taking time to reply.