Vintage GE Dishwasher Installation Concerns

After several years of searching, I found a nice clean low use avocado dishwasher for my kitchen. It's a 1975 GE, model GSD281-02. It is replacing an early 2000's Maytag unit that was in place at the time I bought my house. My house has the original kitchen cabinets from 1964 when the house was built.

My main concern is how far set back these units were intended to go with respect to the front edge of the cabinets? I didn't get any of the original installation instruction with this unit other than the owners manual. I've read that you're supposed to set the tub flush to the front of the cabinets, but perhaps thats the rule of thumb for newer machines. If I do that, then the machine protrudes too far such that a gap in the access panel is apparent. If I set the unit further back in the cabinets, then I start to see the void in the cabinets when the door is opened. I've organized my photos into three situations as outlined below:

Photo 1.1 thru 1.2: Shows the dishwasher with the tub flush to cabinets, but the unit appears to protrude excessively when the door is closed, such that a gap is revealed on the side by the access panel.

Photos 2.1 thru 2.2: Shows the dishwasher with the rear edge of the door flush to the face of the cabinets. This closes the gap at the access panel, but when the door is opened, the edge of the tub is borderlined to where the void in the cabinet starts to become visible.

Photos 3.1 thru 3.3: Shows the dishwasher with the front of the door flush to the face of the cabinets, which seems to look the best, but when the door is opened, the void in the cabinets is clearly visible.

Can anyone provide some information on what was the correct factory intended install on this era of machine?

Photos... < > Photo 1 of 7 View Full Size


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Post# 1148692 5/14/2022 at 08:52 (705 days old) by drh4683 (Chicago western suburbs)
Checkrate/Likes After several years of searching, I found a nice clean low use avocado dishwasher for my kitchen. It's a 1975 GE, model GSD281-02. It is replacing an early 2000's Maytag unit that was in place at the time I bought my house. My house has the original kitchen cabinets from 1964 when the house was built. My main concern is how far set back these units were intended to go with respect to the front edge of the cabinets? I didn't get any of the original installation instruction with this unit other than the owners manual. I've read that you're supposed to set the tub flush to the front of the cabinets, but perhaps thats the rule of thumb for newer machines. If I do that, then the machine protrudes too far such that a gap in the access panel is apparent. If I set the unit further back in the cabinets, then I start to see the void in the cabinets when the door is opened. I've organized my photos into three situations as outlined below: Photo 1.1 thru 1.2: Shows the dishwasher with the tub flush to cabinets, but the unit appears to protrude excessively when the door is closed, such that a gap is revealed on the side by the access panel. Photos 2.1 thru 2.2: Shows the dishwasher with the rear edge of the door flush to the face of the cabinets. This closes the gap at the access panel, but when the door is opened, the edge of the tub is borderlined to where the void in the cabinet starts to become visible. Photos 3.1 thru 3.3: Shows the dishwasher with the front of the door flush to the face of the cabinets, which seems to look the best, but when the door is opened, the void in the cabinets is clearly visible. Can anyone provide some information on what was the correct factory intended install on this era of machine? Photos... < > Photo 1 of 7 View Full Size

Post# 1148706 , Reply# 1 5/14/2022 at 11:23 (705 days old) by Repairguy (Danbury, Texas)
Checkrate/Likes I like picture 3. The main thing is that there is something to secure the mounting tabs to. Level it up the best you can, secure it, and you are good to go.

Post# 1148719 , Reply# 2 5/14/2022 at 19:25 (704 days old) by pulltostart (Mobile, AL)
Checkrate/Likes I vote for the middle position of the 3 illustrated (pics 2.1 and 2.2). Seems to be a good compromise to me. I don't like the third arrangement. lawrence

Post# 1148726 , Reply# 3 5/14/2022 at 20:31 (704 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)
Checkrate/Likes 4 *Best DW installation* Differently the 3rd picture, it is always best to have the front of the DW even with the cabinets, it simply looks more built-in. Many times it is not possible however, if you don't like the look of the gap when the door is open you can add some wood strips to the sides of the cabinets and stain it to match. John l.

Post# 1148868 , Reply# 4 5/16/2022 at 21:00 (702 days old) by Dermacie (my forever home (Glenshaw, PA))
Checkrate/Likes In the photo is a GE space maker, which were common in my subdivision. It looks like it was installed like the second pic you have. View Full Size

Post# 1148876 , Reply# 5 5/16/2022 at 23:06 (702 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)
Checkrate/Likes I always set the front of the dishwasher in the same plane as the doors of the cabinets, just put a 4' level across the adjacent cabinets.