AGA Cooker or Stove Plinth

Image by Zacha Rosen via Flickr

I thought I'd make a comment about the plinth for the AGA cooker ((AGA stove if you are in the US). I have read on some forums that some people are trying to make difficult choices re the plinth for their AGA cooker and are thinking about not having one and the other thing is which type to get.

We have cleaned hundreds of AGA cookers over the years and only a few haven't had plinths. Most of these were original ones from the 1930s before fitted kitchen cabinets came along. The addition of the plinth is a modern addition to make the AGA higher and easier to use.

When AGA cookers haven't got a plinth the AGA really does look odd. I have seen one recently where the whole kitchen had been refurbished with new cabinets, new stone floor etc but the AGA was sitting there without a plinth looking quite peculiar.

To put this right would mean a complete strip down of the AGA, then some time to build the plinth (if concrete) or if you use a metal plinth then it would be just a case of putting it in and then the AGA would have to be rebuilt. So not an easy or cheap job.

So the AGA cooker really does need a plinth to get it to the same height as the kitchen cabinets.

So if you are thinking of not having a plinth please reconsider and have one.

So two tips for the AGA cooker plinth.

1. Measure the height of your kitchen cabinets and decide on how high you are going to have it (i.e the same height as your kitchen cabinets or slightly higher). If you are building it yourself from concrete make sure that you make it well before the installation day (I have built two concrete plinths for my AGAs and built both the night before the day of installation - though AGA recommend three days see AGA plinth data page. I used fast trying cement and in both cases the plinth was fine for the next day and nine years later is still fine. Although it has never been finished off so at the front it is still rough. It would benefit from the addition of tiles.

2. Think about the metal plinth. For my 30 Amp AGA I didn't build a plinth but I ordered a AGA metal one. The mat black painted one looks very smart and you don't have to worry about finishing it off once the AGA is fitted.

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