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I recently had an oven installed and the new oven is a little smaller than the cavity and now there is a large gap above the oven. The new oven is stainless steel finish, what can I use as a filler panel that will match?
I had the same issue with the kitchen in an investment property earlier in the year. Despite my explicit request for the electrician to check ALL of the measurements during the quotation (I wasn't present, otherwise it would have been done correctly!), he didn't...and the three new appliances (oven, cooktop and rangehood) didn't fit! 😡 Something had to be done and done quickly and done by me, as new tenants were due to move into the property in a matter of days.
I had resprayed the kitchen cabinets white, 12 months beforehand, so I was able to buy a Kaboodle gloss white filler panel, trim it down using a circular saw with a fine-tooth blade and glue it onto fill the gap.
I was happy with the outcome and, when the electrician returned to the property after I'd finished, he was very complimentary about my neat work and the fact that I'd found a solution to all three problems (along with replacing and regrouting the broken tiles in the bathroom when the new toilet was installed! That's another story...). Ten months later, it still looks great in the photographs the property manager has emailed me.
I doubt you'd be able to exactly match the laminate of your cabinet doors and drawers or get a stainless-steel panel to fit the gap exactly but, because your benchtops are black, why not try a black filler panel? That way you can trim the piece to exactly fit the gap. Place painter's tape over the line where you cut and just be sure to seal any exposed surfaces with a primer and black laminate paint to prevent any moisture from entering the replacement panel. If it were me, I'd replace the top section, just above the gap, and the narrow section below the oven too - all one vertical block of black to match your black and stainless oven.
All the best with finding a solution that makes you happy!
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Melissajane. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about filling a gap in your cabinetry.
It's great to see that @RenoRach1 has already been assisting.
What do you think about using 1800 x 295mm 16mm Melamine Natural Wood and cutting out the correct-sized filler piece? It's hard to tell from a photo how well the colour will match up. Alternatively, there is a 38 x 17mm 2.7m Melamine Batten Natural Wood, but that might not be quite large enough. We also have Australian Handyman Supplies 600 x 300 x 0.9mm 316 Stainless Steel Mini Sheet, which could be used if cut down and adhered to a solid backing.
I like @RenoRach1's idea of replacing all the laminate above and below the oven with a black melamine-coated particle board.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
