What is the purpose of kitchen soffits?

What's a Soffit? A kitchen soffit is usually a boxy structure built to hide wiring, pipes, or other mechanicals, or to fill the space between the top of your cabinets and the ceiling. Depending on the age of your home they may be very large and perhaps even extend out past the cabinets.

Why do they put soffits in kitchens?

As one of the primary purposes of a kitchen soffit, there may be hidden electrical wiring, plumbing pipes, or ductwork within the structure. A soffit plays a vital role in housing these components, giving them a place to be concealed and easily accessible.

Are kitchen soffits outdated?

Kitchen soffits are out of style, with fewer people retaining these fixtures in their homes and fewer still having them installed at all. Their outdated look often makes a room look smaller, and when building new kitchens, it's better to free up that space for a bigger and brighter feel.

Should I build soffit above kitchen cabinets?

Building a soffit above your cabinets can help you hide unsightly HVAC pipes, wiring, or plumbing exposed in the space between your upper kitchen cabinets and the ceiling. It's also a genius solution to fill that awkward space too big for trim but too small for more cabinetry.

What do you put on kitchen soffits?

KITCHEN SOFFIT REMOVAL (PART 1) | WHAT'S BEHIND THEM? | SHOULD YOU REMOVE THEM? ExStepCousinInLaws

How can I make my kitchen soffits look better?

Why do kitchen cabinets not go to the ceiling?

Ceiling height cabinets are not easy to access as they are very high up in the ceiling. Anything up there at the top of these cabinets is quite hard to access hence you will need to have something to step on in order to reach these things. This also poses some very serious safety concerns.

What do you do with empty space above kitchen cabinets?

How do you fill the gap between kitchen cabinets and walls?

But don't despair, you can make these gaps disappear fast and easy with a caulking gun and a tube of caulk. You can use a colored caulk matching either the cabinet or wall color or paint white caulk to give your kitchen a more detailed, seamless appearance.

What is the purpose of a kitchen bulkhead?

A bulkhead is a lower portion of the ceiling and is predominantly installed for functional reasons: to conceal services, to project air conditioning and to mask changes in ceiling heights. But kitchen bulkheads can also serve as decorative design features, as well as defining the kitchen area in an open-plan setting.

What is the space above kitchen cabinets called?

A soffit or bulkhead is any solid structure that covers up unsightly areas or items such as vents and pipes. Cabinet soffits can be constructed of drywall, metal, wood, or any other structurally sound material.

Do kitchen cabinets go to the ceiling?

The kitchen cabinets and molding do not go to the ceiling and the wall cabinets and trim will be just below the ceiling. Any crown molding or trim will continue around the room, above the cabinetry.

How much does it cost to remove a kitchen soffit?

The national average materials cost to remove a kitchen soffit is $0.25 per linear foot, with a range between $0.24 to $0.27. The total price for labor and materials per linear foot is $8.20, coming in between $4.99 to $11.42. A typical 25 linear foot project costs $205.04, with a range of $124.64 to $285.44.

Are soffits ever structural?

Technically, a soffit is any material that makes up the underside of a part of your house, including ceilings, stairs and cornices. Older homes might feature soffits as a decorative element, while other structures use soffits to hide things like structural beams, HVAC ducts or plumbing.

Should soffit be same color as cabinets?

If you're asking us, then our answer is a resounding - YES! No matter which side of the soffit paint debate you landed on at the end, either wall or ceiling color, painting the entire soffit the same color is important in making sure it looks intentional and cohesive.

Do countertops need a backsplash?

A backsplash is the vertical surface at the back of a countertop. You need to have a backsplash in a kitchen because of water, grease, and other elements that can damage or discolor the wall behind the sink and stove.

Should kitchen cabinets be flush with wall?

Kitchen cabinets do not have to be flush with the wall. If they are or not all depends on the design of the cabinets, the space in your kitchen, the lighting, and even the color of the walls.

Should you caulk around kitchen cabinets?

It's not necessary to caulk the seam between your kitchen cabinets and wall. If you do, it's for esthetics purposes only — the caulking isn't keeping your cabinets on the wall; the screws and bolts are.

Should you put flooring under kitchen cabinets?

Installing flooring before your cabinets is the best choice for most hardwood floors. When professionals install floors then cabinets, it's easier to get everything to standard heights. It's also a safer installation process for your cabinets since you won't risk any damage to them as professionals install the floors.

When remodeling your kitchen do you do the floors first?

In most cases, given standard flooring heights, you will install the cabinets before the floor covering. Floor covering, or finish flooring, is the surface that you see and walk on, not the subfloor (under the underlayment) or underlayment (between the subfloor and finished layer).

How much space should be between countertop and upper cabinets?

The standard distance between the top of a kitchen counter and the bottom of the wall cabinets above it is 18 inches. For the average person, this distance is the ideal balance between plenty of space to work on the countertop and the ability to reach all of the shelves in the cabinet.

Are staggered cabinets out of style?

Staggered cabinets, like all cabinet trends, ebb and flow in terms of popularity. This style of cabinet design hasn't been getting much attention in recent years, either positive or negative. While staggered cabinets may not be the next hot design trend, neither are they hopelessly outdated.

How hard is it to remove soffit?

If you choose to remove your soffit, cut a hole in the side and look in there first. If it's empty, there is little difficulty in removing it. If it is full of pipes or duct work, the difficulty lies in rerouting these items. This means either opening the ceiling or the wall behind them to give them a place to go.

Should I extend my cabinets to the ceiling?

Ceiling Height

A general rule of thumb is for wall cabinets to be mounted so the bottom edge is 54 inches above the floor, which means that an 8-foot-tall ceiling creates 42 inches of available space for wall cabinets, while a 9-foot-tall ceiling has 54 available inches.