built in microwave - what am I missing

[Lottle]

Help please!

I am getting a new kitchen next year. I totally understand how eye level built in microwaves look neater than those on a worktop.

However....whenever I take something out of the microwave e.g. a ready meal in a container that's gone floppy in the heat, I have to immediately pop it down on the space on the worktop in front of my freestanding microwave. If I was taking it out of a microwave that had no worktop space directly in front, I'm not sure how I'd manage....what am I missing?!

(I'm also below average height and the inbuilt microwaves always seem quite high up.)

Thanks!

We have a normal
Microwave in a cupboard - had a hole put in the back for the plug and have to leave the door open when it’s being used but has given us back worktop space and looks neat when the door is closed - could that be an option? Much cheaper then a built in one and you could then always revert back to having it on the worktop if you find your missing it there

Mine is built in and high, I chose that (5’10), but didn’t think of DCs getting older and wanting to use it safely themselves before reaching/exceeding my height! So I’m likely to get a second counter top one for teenagers. Sigh.

Apparently there's a safe height for them. I'm 5 foot 4 and can reach ours fine. My 9 year old is 5 foot 2 and can also just about reach safely.
I use a plate to microwave things on but I've seen my older kids slide hot containers straight onto a plate or tray to carry elsewhere, but there is worktop right next to ours.

I'm five foot nothing. No surprise that I can't reach

I have a normal cheap microwave in my pantry cupboard (had a plug put in there). I'd do that if having a new kitchen

I have one inside a tall cupboard at sort of boob level. It means it is hidden and that there is a ledge in front of it in case something is too hot. Obviously it uses up a shelf and there has to be some space around it but it is ok in a bigger kitchen and I prefer it to the high up microwave that just seems a recipe for dropping things oneself

I got the kitchen fitters to put my main oven lower than "normal" and then the built in microwave above it.

My microwave is under the oven

5ft3
Love mine. Would never want one on the worktop again. I have a wall of tall units with all appliances built in so it's pleasing to my eyes.
I microwave things on a plate, maybe have a tea towel maybe nearby for stirring?
I suppose it depends how much you use it. I don't use it often to be honest.
I do have a plastic microwave saucepan thing for liquids with a handle and lid from the range so it's never been a issue removing.
Mine is an oven combo thing too. Although I have no idea how to use that.

Best thing I ever did was get a built in microwave. I hate cluttered sides.

Use a plate for anything you put in and lift the plate out.

Integrated microwave can be smaller inside do check the measurements at least meet your dinner plate size.

My built in microwave is below the worktop with a pan drawer underneath. Inherited it with the kitchen and it's fine. I did wonder about it's position at first, but I bend down to use the oven so why not the microwave?
I don't use a microwave often enough to justify one taking up worktop space and rarely use this one so where it is is fine.

There are set heights for built in microwaves due to the door/drawers underneath and above. But mine is literally the same height as if it was on a worktop. Mine is also directly next to the worktop so you don't have to hold anything long.

However, if your ready meal goes directly into the microwave then surely you just open the door, have a side plate in your hand and pull/slide the container up onto the plate.

If the microwave dies (as mine did from the original kitchen fitting 7 years ago) you just buy from the same manufacturer which is usually 2 or 3 brands anyway and most housing is the same size. Just remember you need a plug socket behind the microwave. Mine is plugged in to a socket you access from the cupboard above, same as the fridge freezer so I can unplug it easily ie it isn't directly behind the microwave. Just a small access panel cut out of the backboard.

I have one but all I can say is that it looks great but is extremely impractical and I feel like I'm just waiting for an accident to happen. Already broken two of the glass plates when they came out stuck to the pot I was heating up and crashed into the worktop.

Wouldn't have got one if I'd thought longer about it.

Ours is a combi microwave / oven / grill. The height is fine (I'm 5'4) and I wouldn't go back to having a counter top one. However - the microwave bit has broken, and it would cost £500 to fix it

We only really used it for defrosting things or heating up milk, so we haven't bothered fixing it and haven't missed it.

You rest it on the door. The door opens down and is sturdy.

You rest it there, change your grip , pivot and put it on the counter next to the tower.

I am also short but it works fine.

We have a normal one, but keep it in the utility room. Do you have that option?

IMO units for stacked appliances have the upper unit far too high for safety especially with a downward opening door rather than a side opening one. Designed badly by men I expect.

You can challenge your kitchen designer/fitter to rearrange the doors/drawers/shelves of the unit and move the appliance block down. We did this for my mum's kitchen. But yes a worktop nearby would help, or spend a few £ on a small microwaveable plate.

Mine is too high and I have to stand on tiptoes to use it.

We have one built in at mid body height, with a warming drawer underneath and opening downwards . The original one was in the kitchen when we bought the house, when it broke the replacement that fitted the space was £500. I’d never fit one if it was my choice.

I had a built in one and it went wrong just outside the warranty period. Getting it fixed was silly money so I bought a cheaper free standing one but in a small kitchen I missed the working space and the streamlined look of the built in one so my clever DH built a housing, with ventilation. Looks great.