We see ovens, dishwashers and other heat generating appliances integrated into the kitchen cabinetry nowadays, and that prompts up to ask the question of whether or not cabinets: the special building blocks of our kitchen space, are heat resistant?
Here’s Why Kitchen Cabinets Are Heat Resistant
The material mostly used in the construction of kitchen cabinets is wood, which by default, is a poor conductor of heat. Nowadays, steel is also employed in the construction of cabinet carcass, and steel too has an impressive tolerance for very high heat.
Cabinet Materials, Finishes and Their Relationship With Heat
Plywood
Plywood is a good thermal insulator primarily because it is made up of wood which by nature is a very poor conductor of heat.
The thermal insulation property of plywood is further enhanced by its construction; cross lamination (which is the way the veneers are layered) as well as the adhesive used between the veneers.
As a result of plywood’s ability to keep heat away, it hardly wraps, shrinks or expands when used in applications that may expose it to heat.
Particle Board
Particle board is another great heat insulator, unless moisture or steam is the medium carrying the heat, in which case, the particle board suffer swelling, discoloration and possible cracking.
Solid wood
Solid wood is basically ordinary lumber without hollow spaces. Solid wood is highly heat resistant because of its porous nature, and therefore a good thermal insulator.
Solid wood has a flash point of 200°C to 275°C.
Flash point is the lowest temperature at which a material will burn, and 200°C to 275°C is quite high of a flash point.
MDF
MDF is basically an engineered wood. Because it has woody component, it is also very good at keeping heat at bay.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is gaining popularity as one of the materials used for cabinet construction.
Contrary to wood, stainless steel is metal, and therefore has a high heat conductivity.
But this shouldn’t present a problem because most built-in household appliances are properly insulated to prevent heating of their surfaces which can transfer radiant heat to the near by stainless steel surface and cause a rise in temperature.
The verdict
Now that we’ve gone through the various materials employed in cabinetry, and their relationship with heat, let us discuss the various finishes applied on cabinet materials and their relationship with heat as well.
Finishes
Varnish: Shellac, Lacquer, Polyurethane, Polycrylic, General Finishes Arm-R-Seal
Varnish is a liquid coating applied to wood materials via brushing or spraying in order to affect its final look and texture. Varnish basically applies a hard transparent film on the surface of your wood.
Varnish, aside providing aesthetic appeal and smooth texture, also provides heat insulation properties to the wood, the degree of which depends on the formulation of the specific varnish you’re using.
Varnish can apply heat resistant coating of up to 800°C.
Natural Oils: Tung, Danish, Linseed
These are finishes made of natural oils which, unlike varnish, penetrate deep into wood fibers in order to serve their effect.
Oil finishes aren’t as protective as varnishes and other forms of finishes, but they do add some extra layer of heat resistance to a wood.
Hard Wax Oils
These started out in the hardwood flooring industry and eventually ended up in furniture. Hard wax oils consist of two basic components, wax and oil.
The oil does the normal thing it does which is to penetrate deep into the wood surface and bond with the fibers, whereas the wax solidifies into a hard buttery layer on the surface of the wood.
The two components, each provide their own layer of heat resistance to the wood.
Paint & Stain
Paint and stain are also other types of finishes that add an extra layer of protection and heat resistance to wood.
Thermofoil
Thermofoil is a type of finish applied to MDF wood due to it’s characteristics of not readily accepting paint and easily chipping off and swelling.
Thermofoil, doesn’t add a layer of heat resistance to cabinets because the material itself is very susceptible to heat and moisture in comparison to other materials.
So at the end of the day, we can easily arrive at the conclusion that cabinets, really, are heat resistant, which is why heat producing appliances like ovens and fridges are integrated into their carcasses without any issues.
We can also see how finishes add more (or nothing) to the heat resistant property of a particular type of cabinet material.
Putting Appliances inside a Cabinet
Oven
It is completely safe to integrate or put an oven into a cabinetry.
While ovens produce tremendous heat on the inside, the outside barely heats up to more than 93°C, and cabinet skeleton materials such as plywood and particle boards can easily soak up air heated above that temperature with ease.
Adhesives used to hold adjacent cabinets too have high heat tolerance and won’t melt.
Most built in ovens come with specific instructions on how to install them into a cabinetry.
The universal recommendation however is to always leave the back panel (of the cabinet) out and make sure to place the oven on two strips of wood aligned at the farthest width of the oven.
When these two recommendations are considered, then the issue of ventilation is kicked out of the window already!
And then there’s heat shield too, which helps deflect heat away from the cabinets when installed.
Fridge
Fridges too come built in, and they are perfectly safe to install into a cabinet.
When installing refrigerators, it is recommended to leave at least 1 inch space at both sides and the top, and also 2 to 3 inches at the rear for ventilation and easy removal.
Fridges, like ovens, have inbuilt insulation in their walls to prevent the appliance from heating up the space they occupy. So even when they are installed in a cabinet with the spacing as mentioned above, the insulator installed in the fridge’s wall will perform a good job at keeping the outer surface relatively cool.
Microwave
Microwaves can safely (and are best) installed into a wall cabinet. Microwaves pose lesser problems than ovens because they work quite differently.
Microwaves don’t heat up the air inside the cavity (unlike ovens) which means there will be no medium to attempt to conduct heat through the INSULATED walls of the microwave.
When installing a microwave into a cabinet, make sure the cabinet is situated at an elevation of no less than 85 cm off the floor.
The depth of the cabinet should be at least 2 inches greater than the depth of the microwave for easy removal as well as ventilation (when the convention mode is used).
Dishwasher
Dishwasher can be integrated into a cabinet system, but clearance should be provided at the top, sides and rear for easy removal during times of servicing and also ventilation.
What about the Self-Cleaning Feature of Yourt Oven?
One important thing to talk about is the self-cleaning feature of ovens.
This mode produces so much heat when in use that the surrounding air becomes heated to a great degree, so the cabinets close to the oven must be ventilated in all ways possible, meaning, that the doors be opened and drawers slid out to allow heat to escape fast.
Heat shield if installed during the initial stage of oven installation, will help bounce off or absorb the excess heat given off as a measure to protect the oven cabinet.
Placing Appliances Directly Under the Upper Cabinet
Placement of appliances that generate steam such as: coffee maker, kettle, toaster, pressure cooker and air fryer, beneath the underside of the upper cabinet can cause condensation of steam on that side which may cause problems such as swelling, discoloration, drying, scorching, wrapping and break down of the finish applied to the cabinet material.
Having heat consistently directed at the underside of the cabinet will also cause problems such as scorching and drying of wood cabinet.
The easiest way to prevent all these is to line the affected surface with a heat shield, or pull the appliances out a bit more to reduce the amount of heat directed at the underside of the cabinet.
Can You Put A Cabinet Over A Stove?
It’s not recommended to install a cabinet directly over a stove top because of the issues that can arise from condensation of steam on the bottom of the cabinet above, as well as from radiant heat.
The issues include wrapping of the wood due to absorption of moisture (which is particularly noticeable in particle boards), dissolution, discoloration or breakdown of the coating or finish applied on the wood, swelling of the wood, brittleness of the wood and also its discoloration.
Stainless steel cabinet installed directly over the cooktop can get really hot which can pose dangers in the kitchen.
What you should actually be installing above your cooktop is a heat vent which will help with heat management in the kitchen.
What Should Go In Cabinets Above Stove?
Definitely not spices and foods as these degraded quickly with heat.
So anything that has high heat tolerance can be stored in the upper cabinet above or close to the stove top.
How Do You Protect Cabinets From Heat?
Cabinets themselves have a great degree of protection from the regular heat emitted by household appliances such as ovens and refrigerators. And this is thanks to the heat resisting nature of wood, and also the finishing applied on it.
But craving more isn’t a crime right?
So if you find yourself needing more heat protection for your cabinets, a heat shield is the way to go.
A heat shield helps to deflect heat directed at a particular item so it gets dissipated elsewhere. Additionally, heat carrying steam will condense on the shield instead of the cabinet sides close to the oven which can cause all sort of problems mentioned above.
Heat shield typically comes packaged with the oven cabinet or along with your appliance, together with the instructions on how to install it.
If yours didn’t come with one, you can always purchase it online or at your local home center.
Are Cabinet Lightening Heat Resistant
Cabinet lightening typically have high heat resistance, and this is because they themselves often get hot with prolonged usage, and thus the casings that enclose them must be able to tolerate high heat consistently.
With that said, you should always try to avoid directing heat or steam at the under cabinet lightening, because they will eventually fail, if not from the heat, then from moisture.
One solution is to use strips all the way to the socket area, and then skip the area and continue on the other side, so there isn’t any lightening under your toaster or heat emitting appliance that can cause it to overheat and get damaged.
You can ditch the long continuous strips of led and used other forms of lightening which can provide wider coverage when installed from a distance.