I've never cleaned the coils on it either.You definitely should! At this point the accumulated dust/lint/debris probably will need to be blown out with compressed air. I did a repair (compressor start relay) on my grandmother's 27-year-old Whirlpool a few months ago. The condensor has been cleaned in the past but hadn't been done in a LONG time, and was clogged pretty bad. Simple vacuuming does not suffice, can't reach deep into the coils. A brush perhaps could, but I don't have one. I do have an air compressor. I also did a repair on my 6-year-old GE SxS recently. It has a "jellyroll" condensor that supposedly doesn't need cleaning under "normal usage conditions" (whatever that means), but I found it to be coated with a nice accumulation of dust/lint, so blew it clean accordingly.

My walls are drywall. Did you put anything across the back to support the wall where the studs were removed? Someone told me you needed to put 1/2 inch mdf or something else to prevent the remaining drywall side from damage. If I could do this, I could get the refrigerator I want instead of getting a refrigerator I don't like for $1200.00 more. I don't have too many choices as I want to get bisque. (Don't like stainless)

Kitchendreaming, My apologies to brining up the issue of code compliance. Let's forget the whole thing. This is in regards to the interior wall: There was someone else that said that they built their interior walls with 2x6 which allowed them to recess easily.... This is what I think. recessing into the interior wall that is framed with 2x4 will give you exactly 3 inches and no more. 2x4 are nominally 4 inches which is NOT quite 4 inches, about 1/4 inch short of 4 inches. Not sure why, but that is how they (2x4) come and that is how they throw the term about..... If you put both dry wall and plywood on the frig side to "stiffen" the wall, as many suggested, you need to take away 3/4 inch from the 3.75 inch space. This is the 3 inches left to recess into the wall that your contractor is talking about... If you frame the interior walls with 2x6 then you will have about 5 inches total to recess. You will also be losing 2 inches from the interior of the rooms versus using framing with 2x4. In my house, I NEED those 2 inches where ever I can get it. Your house and rooms may be bigger so that may not be an issue. You also have to order 2x6 framed door jams if you put doors on those walls. Standard door jams are for 2x4 frames. This can add up, even if a few $, if you are on a budget.... 2x6 also costs more than 2x4, so again increased $. We are strictly talking interior walls here... If the contractor has to make an extra trip to the hardware store to buy the 2x6, and you have to pay for his time, forget it, this is getting expensive! Exterior walls are generally framed with 2x6 to give you R value for the insulation. This is a relatively "new" code update. The houses from the "mid century" generally have 2x4 exterior framing. I don't know when they changed the code. Your existing house could have either 2x4 or 2x6 exterior framing depending on its age. Doing all this "extra" costs contractor time and money and you have to pay for that. They don't work for nothing, as you know. I think it is cheaper to buy a CD frig, IMHO, rather than losing the space to 2x6 framing AND/OR paying the contractor for recessing unless he is throwing in the work for free. IMHO, I would not want my kitchen (or the bedroom or the closet) to lose 2 inches to 2x6 framing (versus 2x4 framing) so I can have my frig recessed into the wall. I would just bite the bullet and buy a CD frig. Hope this clarifies a few issues for you.

Thanks for all the input. I've done and thought about most of the things suggested by everyone, including taking a template of a wall to the store for testing. The fridge will be in the walking path to the dining room so minimizing the amount sticking out was part of the goal. Sorting through all the dimension options left me unsatisfied. When my husband came up with this idea, I figured it was worth looking into. @ Live Wire...your drawing was very useful. Thank you for taking the time to produce it. If my GC can find me six more inches of width, I may revert to 42" built in, but otherwise, I'll just have to adjust to the downside of a standard depth. Sure wish they would make one you could built in. Murphy's Law says probably see one next year! :)