Surround for cooktop

Hi all. Hubby and I recently bought a new electric cook top, and of course it doesn't fit in the bench cutout for the old one. The new cooktop is just a couple of mm too small. I guess the best solution would be to replace the bench top and make a new cutout of the right size, but that job is more than I can handle.

I thought I could make a timber surround for the cooktop, sit the surround in the cutout and sit the cooktop in that. Both the old and the new cooktop are glass. The old one currently sits directly on the melamine bench top, with a thin strip of what looks like high density foam in between.

It seems like a simple solution - have I missed anything? What would be the best finish for the timeber surround?

I had a similar problem installing our cooktop in an old kitchen I was given. The hole was OK front to back but too wide. I used a couple of strips of stainless steel sheet which I glued to the benchtop and then sat the cooktop on top. I made it finish flush with the front of the cooktop.

If you want to use timber, you could just make up a frame (like a picture frame) the right size for the cooktop to sit in and wide enough to cover the hole in the bench. Screw it to the bench from underneath, or just glue it with a bit of construction adhesive. I'd say any decent hardwood would do the job. Seal it with some polyurethane or maybe tung oil or similar. Or you could paint it with an enamel paint to match the bench or the cooktop.

Thanks Silent, the frame idea is what I had in mind. Can the cooktop sit directly on the timber do you think? Or should I put something between - some kind of thin heat insulation material?

I don't see why not. Plenty of people install them in solid timber benchtops. Best check in the installation instructions though, in case there are special requirements for yours.

Thanks, I'll give it a go.

If you check your manual It should have minimum clearances for combustible materials around the stove. If not see the manufacturer-

IMO- it should be ok, but think about what happens if water, fat grease etc spill onto your surround. It needs to have the same properties as a benchtop in that it is reletively speaking, 'watertight' or spill proof if you get my drift?

Mdf should do the job ok but will burn and you could probably get it at a hardware store in a nice profile to sit under the cook top but over the benchtop like a skirting board to hide the join.