Chloe, I will be following your thread with interest. I have a thread on page 2 of the Kitchen Forum regarding this very same issue of whether to increase wall depth to allow for other mw models beside the GE JEM or PEM31.

Texasgal,

Can't believe the similarity in our situation.
I'll be interested in seeing what your guy says when he
comes out.
This is so frustrating.

Microwaves are mostly made in the same Asian factories where many brand names are slapped onto them. They are pretty much disposable and nearly identical mechanically and electrically, with few exceptions. Just buy what fits and call it a day.

This post was edited by hvtech42 on Wed, Jun 11, 14 at 16:50

Chloe45, my installer unzipped my wall and found worst case scenerio, water pipes and gas lines exactly where I was hoping to recess. So in my situation 18" will be the greatest depth. If the wall cabinet is bumped out further, the counter below will then be too shallow. It seems to me that some GWebbers have posted drilling air holes in the floor of the wall cabinet to recess the mw further back than the specs dictate. I would think that would shorten the life of the mw but would be an interesting question to post.
I will probably go will the PEM31. In my post on the Kitchen forum, the lady who had one seemed happy with hers, including the with the turntable off for large casseroles. However, I wonder if it was an older model that had the higher cfm and better construction than current models. I saw a 2.2 cu ft. GE 2014 built-in model at Pacific in Best Buy on Friday. The air vents at the top, above the door, were discrete and the frame looked nice, although at $250 was outrageously priced. GE execs should be run off for taking advantage of this market who have depth restrictions and still want a nice look. Reducing the watts to 800 is unbelievable. GE has new Spacemaker models coming out right now. The company seems to cheapen further with each generation.
As far as the interior paint peeling, I will resort to buying the mw interior paint. It seems to work according to some posters.

Thanks Texas gal. We might run into a water line too since the fridge is beside it. Our currant 21 yr old microwave is still working, but sometimes it won't start. If we open
the door and shut it, and reset it will usually start working. Kind of like rebooting a computer. But it is just a matter of time till it won't work at all. I'm going to wait until it completely dies with the hope that maybe something better will come along

I think my currant microwave is only 800 watts, so I
probably won't notice a difference.But, I do think the GE microwave is overpriced for what you get. They are taking advantage of those of us with space limitations.
agree, the frame is nice, but pretty pricey.
I could have one made for quite a bit less, but it would
have slats instead of being solid.

I don't know if my model is the exact same as you are asking about....but I do have a shallow depth ge mw. It is 12.5" deep. It works fine. It is slightly noisy. I have it on a shelf that is 11.5" deep.

Debrak2008, your feedback is greatly appreciated as a vote of confidence to move forward with my decision. I will purchase the GE PEM31SFSS and it's frame to build in the unit. If this mw lasts 3 yrs. I'll consider it a success. If the life span is shorter, I will probably try a small commercial mw on the shelf or remove the cabinet and install an otr mw over the counter.