Taking a Drop-in Stove Top and Replacing It With a Slide-In

Drop-In Stove Top Removal

• 1

  Turn off the power and/or gas to the stove top. For an electric stove top, flip the circuit breaker at the household breaker panel that controls the stove or remove the fuse and unplug it. For a gas stove top, turn off the stove's gas line by turning the valve handle at a right angle to the valve body. Then use a wrench to loosen and disconnect the stove's gas hose from the gas line. Cap the gas line until you're ready to install the new unit.

• 2

  Open the cabinet doors and/or remove the cabinet drawers to access the area underneath the stove top. Look inside and up around the perimeter of the stove top's base. There should be brackets that hold the stove top in place with screws. Remove the bracket screws from underneath the stove top with a screwdriver. Loosen one screw at a time and pull off the brackets to free the stove top from the counter.

• 3

  Pry the stove top up along its sides with a flat head screwdriver to loosen it from the counter top. Lift the unit out of the counter top and set it aside.

Slide-In Unit Installation

• 4

  Measure and record the width of the counter top opening. You will need a replacement unit that fits in the existing opening. The depth measurement -- from the back of the counter to the wall -- and the height measurement -- from the floor to the top of the countertop -- are fairly standard and easy to work with. For example, if the replacement stove protrudes an inch or two out from the countertop, that is not going to look awkward, and the height of the slide-in stove unit is adjustable. Locate the adjustable "feet" at the base of the unit that can raise or lower it. This feature also works for floors that are not level.

• 5

  Select a slide-in unit that fits the width measurement exactly or is slightly larger than the cut-out area. Choose a larger rather than smaller unit to avoid gaps on the sides once it is installed. Even when slide-in units have borders to hide the gaps between the stove and the countertop, keep in mind that these gaps will be obvious between the stove and the adjacent base cabinetry.

• 6

  Cut the counter top to the exact specifications of the slide-in unit. Mark the width measurement with a tape measure and pencil or marker. Align a straightedge on each mark, from the back to the front of the counter, and draw a straight line. Cut through the countertop material with a circular saw and finish the cut with a jigsaw where the circular saw cannot reach.

• 7

  Transfer the cut lines from the countertop to the cabinetry beneath. Use a level and straightedge to mark vertical lines. Cut through the cabinetry with the circular saw then use the jigsaw to finish the cut.

• 8

  Measure the width and length of each side of the cabinetry in the opening and cut two pieces of plywood to enclose it. Screw the plywood to the cabinetry and stain or paint it to match the cabinets.

• 9

  Enclose the front of the cut cabinetry. Replace the cabinet doors and/or drawers if the cabinetry cuts did not go through their openings. For cuts that went through the door and drawer openings, measure the widths and lengths of the openings on the face of the cabinetry, cut 1-inch-thick wood boards to enclose the opening and nail them into the cabinetry with a pneumatic nail gun and 2-inch brad nails. Wood boards are sold in standard 6-, 8-, 10-, 12- and 24-inch widths.

• 10

  Slide the unit into the opening and level it to the countertop by adjusting the feet to raise or lower its height.

• 11

  Dry-fit the stove into place then pull it out. Reconnect the electricity or gas. Slide the unit into the counter's opening.