Building Code for Kitchen Wall Cabinets
Your kitchen is arguably the most important room in your home. It's where you prepare meals and where family and friends gather. Not only does it have to be aesthetically pleasing, but it has to be functional. Unfortunately, poorly designed kitchens are common in American homes, even in brand-new homes. If your kitchen is in need of a redesign, make sure the changes you make go beyond aesthetics. These 31 essential kitchen design guidelines from the National Kitchen & Bath Association are a roadmap to good kitchen design. They cover everything from ergonomics to safety to general usability. If your current kitchen layout is violating any of these recommendations, you'll probably already be aware of the negative consequences poor kitchen design can have. To give you the full picture, I also included references to the International Residential Code (IRC) where it applies. The IRC is the set of guidelines upon which most cities base their building codes. Now, let's jump in and learn the standard dimensions and rules of thumbs we designers use to create kitchens that are delightful to use! See also: Residential Bathroom Code Requirements & Design Tips Building codes are an area's official rules on building safety. Anyone tackling a construction project (including a homeowner doing DIY work) is legally required to follow these rules. For all but the most minor cosmetic building projects, city inspectors will check to make sure that building codes were followed. See also: What Happens if You Get Caught Remodeling without a Permit? Most cities and municipalities choose to adopt a set of universal building codes for residential construction that are developed and updated by theInternational Code Council(ICC). Collectively, these are referred to as the International Residential Code (IRC). Municipalities can they layer more specific rules on top of the IRC or otherwise amend certain rules. When planning a project, the IRC is a good starting point, but always check your local codes. Here in Seattle, for instance, we have theSeattle Residential Code(SRC) that includes many amendments to the IRC. The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) publishes planning guidelines to help interior designers create kitchens that are both functional and safe. These are not legal requirements, like building codes, but they are extremely helpful in ensuring that a kitchen is not only safe but enjoyable to use. NKBA members, like CRD Design Build, refer to these guidelines regularly, as well as our own experience, to design kitchens that are as functional as they are beautiful. See also: The Ultimate Guide to Kitchen Remodeling While you always have to follow your local code, you'll find that NKBA guidelines either take the code and build upon it or offer recommendations on which the code is silent. Below is a summary of the 31 NKBA kitchen design guidelines for full-scale kitchen design. I also included the relevant codes when applicable. Narrow doors are constricting and give a kitchen a closed-off feel. For the sake of universal design, I recommend 36" doors wherever possible. NOTE: If you are remodeling an existing kitchen, most cities will allow the existing door width to remain, even if they have a local code in place requiring a wider door. However, if the location of the door is moved, it usually will have to follow the code. Here's a common-sense recommendation: Design your kitchen so appliance doors (and regular doors) don't bump into one another. A good way to ensure that you can meet this guideline, even in a small kitchen, is to design an entry door that swings out into the hall instead of into the kitchen. If you divide a kitchen up into its functional components, you come up with the idea of "work centers." Simply put, these are the stove, the sink/prep area, and the refrigerator. Traditionally, this has been called the kitchen work triangle, and idea that dates back many decades. Since then, more work centers have made their way into kitchens, such as dishwashers, second sinks, warming drawers, etc. While not part of the building code, the kitchen work triangle concept still has validity, and cooking and cleanup flows smoother when the important functional areas are close at hand. See also: Kitchen Layout 101: The Work Triangle and Zones This rule complements the work triangle idea above. If the goal is easy movement between important work centers in the kitchen, it's important not to block the way with large objects. In an ideal world, people wouldn't have to walk right through where the cook is cooking. However, it's impossible to adhere to this guideline if you have a galley kitchen that is open on each end. We also see plenty of kitchens that have an exterior door, perhaps to a deck or patio, at the back of the kitchen. As long as family members and guests aren't constantly passing through the work triangle, your kitchen will still be functional. See also: Timeless Kitchen Design "Work aisle" is just a fancy way of saying "walking space between countertops." At CRD, we've been known to distinguish between "one-butt kitchens" and "two-butt kitchens." If you and your partner, for instance, like to cook together, it's important to follow the NKBA's recommendation and design ample space for the two of you to walk past each other without bumping into one another or the countertop. NOTE: This rule usually applies to galley kitchens or kitchens with islands. If you have to choose between extra deep counters and work aisle space, I recommend you go with the latter. Extra counter space is great, but even more important is your ease of movement around your kitchen. First, a definition. What's the difference between a work aisle (defined above) and a walkway? The NKBA distinguishes between the place where the cook stands while cooking or cleaning up (the work aisle) and a walkway, which is simply a passageway for others to walk through the kitchen. The minimum space for a work aisle is quite a bit more generous than for a walkway. That's because a cook needs to be able to turn around, bend over to reach items out of lower cabinets, and pull hot pans of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. (Mmm, cookies!) If you have a seating area built into your kitchen (most commonly a "breakfast bar"), you need to make sure there is enough space behind seated individuals. The required space varies depending on whether people need to be able to walk past, slide past, or don't need to pass by the seated individual at all. NOTE: Wheelchair access in a seating area requires a minimum of 44" of clearance. To be comfortable while you're seated, you need plenty of knee and elbow room. If you are wondering if you have space for a breakfast nook, keep in mind that these knee-space guidelines apply to kitchen nook dimensions as well. The effect of this rule is to prevent the refrigerator or stove being installed along the same wall as the sink. Given that your sink is the center of your food prep efforts, it's just easier to access those other work centers by turning 90 or 180 degrees on your heel than it would be to walk back and forth along one wall. This is a great rule in theory, but occasionally it can backfire if your kitchen has a very wide U-shape floorplan, which would require you to walk several paces from your sink to reach your appliances. There are few things that ruin the ergonomics of a kitchen faster than insufficient counter space on each side of the sink. If you've ever tried to wash dishes in a kitchen in which the sink was located right next to a wall or refrigerator, you know what I'm talking about. Every cook knows you need room to chop veggies, measure ingredients, and mix up the chocolate chip cookie dough. (There I go again!) The NKBA specifies a wide swath of countertop next to a sink for the cook's primary prep area. And, if you're like most people, your cleanup and prep areas center around the same sink, so this rule essentially supersedes Rule #11 above. See also: The One Thing You Need to Know about Great Kitchen Design This one is a no-brainer! Place your dishwasher near the sink and leave some space on either side of the door when it swings open. If you're deep in the zone, cooking up a meal, you don't want to have to pause constantly to walk to the other side of the room to throw away some scraps or packaging. If you have an extra sink, say in your kitchen island, it needs to have a bit of counter space on each side. It's essential to have counter space close at hand for loading and unloading your refrigerator. Landing areas are just as important for cooktops as they are for refrigerators. If your stove is mounted higher or lower than the rest of your countertops (not something I normally recommend), the landing area should be at the height of the cooktop. You don't want hot pans to slide off the edge of the cooktop or be boxed in. For fire safety, you need plenty of space between the top of your stove and the surface above it. A non-combustible surface usually means a range hood. See also: 5 of the Most Durable Kitchen Materials An exhaust fan over your cooktop (or incorporated into it) is essential in the kitchen, and it needs to have sufficient flow to be effective. In newer, more airtight homes, you need some way to replace the air that is exhausted. Window curtains above a stove are an obvious no-no. A window that opens and lets in the breeze could blow out the gas flame on your range and create a different sort of safety hazard. See also: Here's What To Do After a Fire Most microwaves are placed too low for ease of use. Ideally, the bottom of a microwave will be a few inches below the top of the user's shoulders. Under-counter drawer-style microwaves are an ergonomic alternative, but they shouldn't be mounted too low to the floor. Wherever you place your microwave, it should have a handy countertop spot nearby to set a hot plate on when you pull it out of the appliance. An oven needs a bit of countertop on either side on which a hot pan can be placed. If there isn't room next to the oven, that's okay, as long as there is some free countertop space directly across from it. By this point, you may be wondering how all of the NKBA recommendations can possibly work together. If every appliance needs its own dedicated landing area, and good design dictates that appliances can't be too far apart, how does it all fit together? NKBA's solution is the combined landing zone. You take the larger of the two overlapping landing zones, add a foot, and you're done. After all, the same space can be used for a hot pan from the oven and a gallon of milk from the fridge! In my mind, this should be rule #1! Countertop space is so important to good kitchen design. If you plan to use many small countertop appliances, like a microwave, a toaster, or a coffee maker, then plan for even more countertop space than the recommendation. Rounded or chamfered countertop corners are not only safer, but they are less prone to chipping if your countertop is a solid surface, like natural stone or quartz. See also: 10 Advantages of Quartz Countertops Over Granite Ample, well-designed storage is another must for a functional kitchen. The larger the kitchen, the more shelves and drawers it should have. Kitchens need lots of storage space, but they also need a good portion of that space to be easily accessible from the main sink area. While cooking and cleaning up, you need ready access to utensils, spices, and cleaning items. Good design means putting every space to good use. Corner cabinet space is sometimes underutilized or inaccessible. See also: What To Do with the #%$@ Corner Cabinet? Kitchen Corner Cabinet Design What are those little buttons in the middle of some of your receptacles that pop out and shut off the power? They're part of a ground-fault interrupt system that could save your life! GFCI outlets are required in damp environments like kitchens to help prevent shock by instantly depowering if they detect a fault. See also: What Happens if You Get Caught Remodeling without a Permit? Proper lighting is essential in a kitchen. You will want a good combination of natural light, general all-around light, and task lighting. Pendants and under-cabinet lighting serve well for the latter. See also: A Practical Guide to Window Placement Kitchen remodeling is too often thought of in terms of updating tired-looking surfaces, but proper design is way more than skin deep. If you are planning to remodel your kitchen, these 31 rules of thumb are a great place to start. But don't stop here. I encourage you to speak to an experienced interior designer to truly optimize your new kitchen layout (and ensure you don't run afoul of your local building code). Your designer will present you with several kitchen layouts to choose from, each conforming to these design standards and optimized for your unique needs. It's amazing how much a custom-designed kitchen can add to your enjoyment of your home and quality of life. My interior design colleagues and I here at CRD Design Build would be happy to discuss your kitchen remodeling plans. Please feel free to drop us a line to discuss your dream kitchen. We would love to be of service.What's the difference between building codes and NKBA guidelines?
Building codes are the law
International building codes keep things uniform
The NKBA offers best practices for kitchen design
Kitchen Building Codes and NKBA Recommendations
1. Kitchen entry door openings
IRC
NKBA
2. Kitchen door interference
IRC
NKBA
3. Distance between work centers
IRC
NKBA
4. Separating work centers
IRC
NKBA
5. Work triangle traffic
IRC
NKBA
6. Work aisle
IRC
NKBA
7. Walkways
IRC
NKBA
8. Traffic clearance for seating
IRC
NKBA
9. Seating space
IRC
NKBA
10. Cleanup/prep and sink placement
IRC
NKBA
11. Cleanup/prep sink landing area
IRC
NKBA
12. Food preparation work area
IRC
NKBA
13. Dishwasher placement
IRC
NKBA
14. Waste receptacles
IRC
NKBA
15. Auxiliary sink
IRC
NKBA
16. Refrigerator landing area
IRC
NKBA
17. Cooking surface landing area
IRC
NKBA
behind the cooking surface if the counter height is the same as the surface-cooking appliance. 18. Cooking surface clearance
IRC
NKBA
19. Cooking Surface Ventilation
IRC
NKBA
20. Cooking Surface Safety
IRC
NKBA
21. Microwave Oven Placement
IRC
NKBA
22. Microwave Landing Area
IRC
NKBA
23. Oven Landing Area
IRC
NKBA
24. Combining Landing Areas
IRC
NKBA
25. Countertop Space
IRC
NKBA
26. Countertop Edges
IRC
NKBA
27. Storage
IRC
NKBA
frontage recommendation.
Shelf and Drawer Frontage 28. Storage at Cleanup/Prep Sink
IRC
NKBA
29. Corner Cabinet Storage
IRC
NKBA
30. Electrical Receptacles
IRC
within the kitchen. (IRC E 3802.6) NKBA
31. Lighting
IRC
NKBA
See also: The 5 Main Types of Kitchen Lighting
task lighting.
Putting it all together
Article Categories: Kitchens
Building Code for Kitchen Wall Cabinets
Source: https://www.crddesignbuild.com/blog/kitchen-dimensions-code-requirements-nkba-guidelines
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