Comments - a raised height cutting board for tall cooks - The Tall Street Journal

Let me be more specific. The…

2010-03-14T18:09:57.493Z

Let me be more specific. The success of putting the chair on a 2x4 box platform led to the IDEA of simple, raised platforms for all kinds of applications. A 2x4 box which four 2x4 are attached simply with wallboard screws on the outside edge of a 3/4 inch plywood square or rectangle measured to the dimension of what is being raised. In the case of cabinets, the platform box dimensions would be the exact bottom dimension of the individual cabinet. The 2x4 gives a 4" higher surface. 2x6 or 2x8 pieces would raise the box platform higher. I wouldn't recommend any higher than 2x4 for older kitchens. 2x4s and plywood are very inexpensive in most home improvement stores.
Raising the surfaces of cabinets and sinks in a kitchen is an idea that is simple, CHEAP and is appreciated even by 5'6" regular people.

My suggestion is about a new…

2010-02-19T17:39:07.247Z

My suggestion is about a new kitchen that I helped put in in 1997. Since we were putting in NEW cabinets, I remembered a cheap trick that one of our TALL carpenters, Drew, had showed me to help one of our TALL members through his cancer. The man with cancer had a favorite reclining chair that he was now having difficulties getting out of. Drew just said make a 2X4 box and put it underneath the chair. For the next 2 months until he died, he had no more problems getting out of the raised chair.
Measure the outside dimensions of what you are lifting. Cut a 4 corner plywood of 1/2" or better to those dimensions according to the total weight to be held up. Cut 4 2x4s to give the height and structure to the box. Fasten with wallboard screws. Voila. A 5-6" raised surface that took an extra 15 minutes per cabinet. 15 years later, the kitchen is still the talk of new people in the kitchen..

or lesson. don't bring an umb…

2010-02-19T05:15:33.194Z

or lesson. don't bring an umbrella to a gun or knife fight!

In any case, its good to hear you are doing much better and without having ventured too far off topic, the rolling chair around the kitchen, while not ideal is still a brilliant adaptation to being so big in such a little world.

yea. Well the whole story is…

2010-02-18T22:14:55.651Z

yea. Well the whole story is Mar 31 2009 I was crossing the street at the University of WI - Milwaukee between the biosci and business buildings with painted controlled crossing, southbound cars stopped but I could tell this northbound car was going to be trouble. After foot crossed centerline I jumped back to not get hit, and startled with umbrella in hand tossed it to the back of his car. He got out, not big at all. I remember telling him we could talk about this as I walked away but woke up in an ambulance with my supervisor and a cop, 1 block from the hospital. He apparently jumped on me after I passed out from a sucker punch. I remember none of this. broken right ankle,. small bones in left foot, 15 stitches above right eye. No witnesses, but the police did get his license and arrested him later in a repeated cocaine incident and I think he's still in jail. I was lucky he didn;t have a knife or gun. Lesson: do not throw umbrellas at drivers.

Dave - that is horrible. Are…

2010-02-18T22:06:25.811Z

Dave - that is horrible. Are you ok now?

I plan to order an AWP choppi…

2010-02-18T20:54:15.079Z

I plan to order an AWP chopping block, but to date I have used an armless office chair to wheel around my kitchen, useful not just for using low counters but reaching low shelves in cabinets, oven and refrigerator. Last year when I was beat up by a cocaine addict and he broke both my feet when passed out, I was self sufficient (after hospital) to cook and feed myself upon returning home, thanks to using this chair technique.

There are a lot of solutions.…

2010-02-13T23:31:15.660Z

There are a lot of solutions. Some of us live in apartments and others are couples with two cooks of very different heights. The raised cutting boards work well for us. Raising the cabinets will be the right solution for others.

You can use the notes notes on her measurement page to figure out the right height and build your own or use it to raise your full countertop if you are in a position to do so. Or you can buy a commercial product. The important issue is that you don't need to have bad posture when you are preparing food.

I don't want to step on anyon…

2010-02-13T23:02:52.582Z

I don't want to step on anyone's parade, but Drew, a professional carpenter of the San Diego TALL Singles, showed us how to make 2x4 boxes many years ago for redoing kitchen lower cabinets. Everyone, including regular sized people, loved the new height.

OK I have word that the compa…

2010-01-11T20:23:20.179Z

OK I have word that the company that is doing the colleenified countertops is ready for orders. Go to Colleen's colleenify blog and read through the measuring instructions. They are in inches, so some of us have to convert to metric. There is a link that goes to AWP, who is making them.

They can cover a lot of different heights and they come in different lengths and widths too. The two people I know who have them rave about them. I am in Europe and it will be expensive to get one here, but I will probably do it anyway. You could make one yourself from the measurements, but this kind of wood is very expensive, so it is probably better to buy something nice.

Our friend Steve is helping i…

2010-01-08T21:51:38.106Z

Our friend Steve is helping in this. He is just 6'1 but it helps him a lot too, so many of the women here might be interested. I can't hear him because I'm partly deaf, but here is his link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBP35_w01Jc

The important piece is they say these are custom made to match your height.