Refrigerator - cd or box in?

10 years ago

Hi!
I'm planning a (DIY) mini kitchen facelift. The counters and floors will stay. I'll be staining and glazing the cabinets and possibly adding bigger crown (to the cabinets) along with other things.

We'll be replacing the appliances to ss. I wanted to purchase a counter depth refrigerator, replace and pull the new upper cabinet forward, and add wood panels to build it in.

Here's this area of the kitchen.
{{!gwi}}
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Our current refrigerator is 21.9 cu ft. and, being an expanding family, I just don't think it's practical for us to go below a 20 cu ft. It's 30" deep to the door and 32" deep to the handle.

The refrigerator opening is 36"W from cabinet to cabinet and 69 1/8" H. There's a little lip on the countertop edge in the slide in space the refrigerator goes. Cabinets are 24" D and counters are 25"D.

I can't find a refrigerator that fits the space (looks like I'd have to go to 17cu ft. for cd) AND leaves enough room for the panels.

I mentioned to DH about recessing a regular refrigerator into the wall (laundry room on other side) and he really isn't for that. Maybe it sounds like a bigger deal than what it actually is. I don't know, but I've crossed it off the list of options at this point.

What would you do?
Option 1:
Purchase a counter depth refrigerator that fits the current space and call it done.

Option 2:
Purchase a regular refrigerator and box it out anyhow. Now it's going to stick out from the panels.
kitchenaddict
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

I noticed most regular refrigerators stick out more than mine so I'd probably get the same one in stainless.

My cabinets are Merillat and the panels in the spec book are 1/2" wide. I'm assuming this is standard and you shouldn't go any smaller?

OT from the refrigerator, but would you add thicker crown to the cabinets? If so, what size? I ceiling crown will stay and I was thinking it wouldn't look right to crowd it.

Thanks!

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Comments (9)

eam44
10 years ago
Of the two options, I'd go for a counter depth refrigerator.
robo (z6a)
10 years ago
I have a monster fridge and got 30"deep panels for it. You may be able to get up to 36" deep panels. Doesn't solve your width problem though....my cavity is 37"w excluding the panels.
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I have this exact model that you are considering. (Frigidaire Professional, not Gallery.) It is an excellent fridge for the money, I think. The LED light that comes on when the door opens is very nice. It runs very quietly. The finish is indeed fingerproof-resistant. If only they could figure out how to make it dirt- and gunk-resistant! It keeps food extremely fresh, much better than the terrible old fridge we used to have that finally died. We haven't used the icemaker much because we have had trouble hooking up the existing water line (a problem with the house, not the fridge, and it will be addressed soon during the reno.) I find that there is plenty of storage space both in the fridge and the freezer, and we are a family of four that cooks avidly and hoards bizarre ingredients. If I had to complain about something, there are tiny little things: the right hand door has a flap that sometimes moves while the door is open so if the left door closes first and the flap has moved then the right door will bang against the left and not close. Happens every once in a while and doesn't do any damage. Also, buy the extended warranty. During the first year we had a control circuit problem that took three service calls for the techs to figure out what was going on. They replaced the part and no problems since then. The other complaint I have is about AJ Madison's delivery (but that's not the fridge's fault!) I find that as with all fridges (apart from the super high-end ones) if you stick too much stuff in front of the vents for the cold air, you will freeze whatever is there. So you don't want to stick too much on the top shelf on the right. The shelves and door shelves are configurable, too. All in all, very happy with it. I paid around $1850 for it -AJ Madison matched Goedeker's. I'd be happy to take pictures of the inside for you if you are still interested!
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Dunno. There are a lot of "it depends." And I'm not talking about diapers and senility, thank you. :>) [EDITED TO ADD THIS PARAGRAPH] First thought: is the whole cabinet 71 and 15/16ths or will your fridge be one of the current crop with the max height is for the doors but the rest of the fridge is not so tall? If so, you might be able to work that space with the fridge sticking out an inch or two into into the room. Some new fridges have doors that are a bit taller that the fridge-box. Almost like a false-front on an old-west building. For instance, on my new KA, the tops of the doors are almost exactly 70." The tops of the hinges are about 69 and 1/2" and the actual top of the rest of fridge is 68 and 3/8." If were trying to set it into cabinetry, I could fit it into a 70" tall space if the doors were about an inch proud of the cabinets. If your proposed SxS is similarly designed (and many seemed to be when I was looking last fall), you might well have enough clearance for venting, as discussed below. BUT, if the main box of the fridge is 70 and 15/16" tall, don't try this unless you can cut some venting slots in the surrounding cabinetry. That front vent on the CD unit is not the same as the louvered system on a built-in unit. At least on every fridge I've ever seen (other than a Sunfrost, that is), the front vents on freestanding fridges are only part of the venting system. It allows air flow for evaporation tray (for any moisture that drains down in there) while also providing make-up air for venting the machinery in the back. The main venting on freestanding fridges is almost always at the back of the fridge. Because of that, almost every manual will tell you that you need clearance at the back and the top. For my FD Kitchenaid, the manual specs a minimum back and top clearance of 1/2" FWIW. Read the manual for your proposed model to find out what the minimum clearances are. . If you can't put vent slots in the cabinetry, I've heard of people using small, quiet computer fans to route hot fridge air out of cabinets but I have no first hand knowledge of this. If you can figure out how to vent the unit, the top clearance is still very tight. Like the thickness of credit card tight. Even if your house is new and museum-quality furniture-grade perfect, it may not be so in a few years. It is not just the floor that needs to be (and stay) pefectly level. Your cabinets cannot buldge, swell, shift or move in any way. Never seen a house where that doesn't happen to some degree. Personally, I'd be thinking about some cabinet modifications. Your question about doors is probably covered in the manual, too. Different fridges spec different side clearance requirements. This post was edited by JWVideo on Fri, Apr 5, 13 at 13:43
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robo (z6a)
10 years ago
I just checked Samsung counter depth french door fridges and they're 23.5cu feet with 35.75 box and 70" height. So if you could get your new fridge cab smaller or mount it higher it should work? I agree 35.75 is tight in a 36" opening but I bet it's been done before. Especially. If you leave a bit more room at the top for venting.

You'd be giving up the panels though.
User
10 years ago
Move the fridge to the end of the run (towards the outside edge of the kitchen) and add a filler to the side of the cabinet above before you arrach a side panel, then do the same to the other side. Now you have better flow in the kitchen, and you have room for a 36'' fridge of whatever depth that you want.

Sorry for the crappy fingerpaint drawing but it's the best this tablet has for a graphic program.
User
10 years ago
I wouldn't want a full-depth fridge with the island so close. The simplest way I can think of to free up some space would be to remove the end cabinet and replace it with a narrower pantry cabinet. With the end panel on the other side and a CD fridge, you'll have a built-in look. You could replace the end cabinet with a smaller one, but then you'd have to deal with cutting down the countertop. You'd lose a wall outlet but gain lots of storage.
Karenseb
10 years ago
I think your cabinets look extra nice! Perhaps you can have the end cabinets on the right moved down a couple of inches, put in a large counter depth fridge with a new deeper and wider fridge cab overhead and side panels. By using a French door fridge, it should be okay where it sits now.
I also think if you wanted to leave everything, you could just install a CD fridge with no side panels, but I'm not sure how the fridge cab would work.
User
Original Author
10 years ago
EAM - That's what I'm leaning towards at this point.

Robot - Thanks for the info about the deeper panel availability.
I somehow missed that refrigerator, thanks! I was looking at the LG 20.7 counter depth. The LG would fit the space without doing anything to the upper cabinet (if I weren't going to use panels), but I'd like to see it IRL.

Holly - Thanks for the dwg. I really do wish the refrigerator was on the end. You mean to put the cabinets that are to the right of the refrigerator where fridge currently is, right?

May - I considered removing the countertop to the right, but we have a very large pantry with a door (not shown).

Karen - Thanks! I actually don't mind oak, but prefer dark cabinets. I like painted too, but even with the best prep work and supplies, I still find I have some chips in my other painted furniture.
That was a thought too, but I didn't know if everything could be bumped down because of the countertop and there's only a few inches of space (near the crown) before the edge of the wall.

I guess I really need to sit down and think about what's the most important thing to me and what we can accomplish now. Someday I'd like to gut or modifty the right way, but that's not going to happen for a long time. When it does, I'm not sure what we'll be able to do and what makes sense to do now.

If DH isn't excited to recess a fridge into the wall, heÃ¢ÂÂs probably not going to be for flipping cabinets and sliding things down.

To recess, weÃ¢ÂÂd need someone for the drywall, an electrician, and plumber, right?

Another side track note - Speaking of appliances, I'm surprised at some of the poor reviews and customer service stories from expensive appliances. Mine are cheap and work just fine. To say I'll be disappointed is an understatement if we buy new ones and they only last a year. I also am finding I don't care design/style of most of the slide in electric ranges. Would it kill them to make stainless knobs. What's with the abundance of black on the units? I considered getting a GE Cafe, but the cost didn't seem to match the poor ratings. I then thought I'd get a Samsung, based off looks, and that's iffy too.

This post was edited by sheesharee on Fri, Feb 21, 14 at 17:12
jellytoast
10 years ago
Sheesharee, regarding your sidenote, I'm not sure if premium price is an indicator of premium quality any more. Those prices don't always get you better customer service either as some of the posts will attest, but in some cases they do and that can go a long way towards making you satisfied with your purchase. I think, too, that people tend to get a bit angrier when their expensive appliances have problems. I know that I wasn't real happy when my expensive to me ($3,000+) fridge had issues and the customer service was lousy, but I didn't care at all when a cheap dishwasher broke after a year. I was just glad I hadn't spent more on it.
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Original Author
10 years ago
Jelly - Oh, exactly! $3,000 was around the budget we set for the fridge and I just feel the reivews for most of the appliances just aren't great enough to justify the cost that's, to me, expensive.
It also seems people take the time to write a negative review faster than a positive one. Makes me wonder how many good reviews are out there of different products.

Refrigerator - cd or box in?

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