How to Fill the Gap Between Your New Cooktop and the Counter
We get this question a lot. You've got an existing cutout in your countertop — granite, quartz, whatever it may be — and you go shopping for a new cooktop. The problem is, the one you find doesn't match your old opening. Now you've got a gap, and you're trying to figure out what to do about it.
Here's how most people end up approaching it, and what actually works.
The Scavenger Hunt
The first instinct most people have is to find a cooktop that fits their exact opening. That sounds reasonable, but it turns into a scavenger hunt pretty quickly — especially if several years have passed since the original cooktop was installed. Sizes change constantly. What was standard then may not even be made anymore.
There's another problem too. When you pull an old cooktop out, you often find staining or discoloration on the countertop around the edges — areas that were covered and never cleaned. Even if you find a cooktop that fits the opening, if it's slightly smaller than the original, that discoloration will be visible. It doesn't look finished.
What About Modifying the Countertop?
Some people go this route — calling a countertop company to see if they can close in the opening a bit. In most cases that's not really feasible, and when it is, it gets expensive fast. We're talking thousands of dollars for what amounts to a cosmetic fix.
A Trim Kit Is Usually the Better Answer
A cooktop trim kit is a custom-made frame that overlaps your countertop and surrounds the new cooktop. It covers the gap completely and gives everything a finished look. It also opens up your options considerably — instead of hunting for a cooktop that matches your exact cutout, you can choose the cooktop you actually want and let the trim kit handle the difference.
We make them in brushed stainless, white, black, and black stainless.
Sizing does take a little math, but we have a cooktop trim kit calculator that walks you through it and tells you exactly what dimensions to order. It's pretty straightforward.
Will the Trim Kit Support the Cooktop?
This comes up a lot. The short answer is: our trim kits are not load-bearing, and there are a few good reasons for that.
To make a trim kit structural, you'd need material that's quite thick — probably around 1/4" steel plate — to handle the weight of the cooktop plus heavy pots and pans full of food and water. In our experience, that's not popular. It looks unfinished, and at that thickness, fabrication and shipping costs become significant.
So if your new cooktop is smaller than your opening in both directions, you'll need some kind of framing underneath it before you install. This is common. Most people use 2x4s or similar lumber attached to the adjacent cabinetry to bring the frame up level with the countertop surface. With the framing flush to the top of the counter, the trim kit sits on the counter, the cooktop drops into the opening in the trim, and everything is supported properly.
A practical note on the framing: bring it up to countertop height rather than just supporting from below. That gives the trim kit a solid surface to rest on and makes installation much cleaner.
What If the Cooktop Only Overlaps on Two Sides?
A few things to consider here. If your new cooktop is wide enough front-to-back but short side-to-side (or the other way around), you may only have a gap on two sides. In that case, the overlap on the covered sides is doing some of the support work.
Whether you need framing underneath in that situation depends on how much overlap you have. A half inch or more is generally fine to rely on. If you're down to a 16th of an inch, we'd recommend adding framing to be safe. Every setup is a little different, so use your judgment — but that's our rule of thumb.
Installation
Installation is pretty straightforward. With the cooktop out of the hole, drop the trim piece into place on the countertop, then lower the cooktop into the opening in the trim. The trim is designed to fit snug around the base of the cooktop so it won't shift around. Most people don't add any adhesive — the weight of the cooktop holds everything down.
That said, if you are nervous about things moving around, a quick dab of somehting like Loctite Gel Adhesive or a bead of silicone can help keep the trim in place.
Questions?
You can contact us here with any questions about your particular project.
