Thank you for the reply deedles, that's what I was thinking about. I only question if a second layer of drywall was sufficient to strengthen the wall. I was thinking of adding metal u-channels spaced about 15" apart from bottom to top, which would still allow for air flow and possbily be stronger then a second layer of 1/2" drywall.

Has anyone done this modification, if so please give me your thoughts.

This post was edited by Renosarefun on Sun, Feb 2, 14 at 20:50

Turn the studs.

I'm just in the process of telling my carpenter that I want to do this. My walls are completely open now so it's able to be done. Unfortunately, I can't tell you how he's going to do mine on strengthening the wall or anything else, but that article deedles sent looks informative. I may give it to my carpenter to look at, even tho I don't think he needs it. I'll ask him your question when I see him next time & see what he says.

Thanks for the article deedles.

illinigirl

I have to maintain a 1" gap for air flow between the fridge and wall, so I thought of adding 1/2" X 2" metal u-channel spaced approximately 15" apart horizontal to reinforce the open cavity wall. This will leave 1/2" between fridge and u-channel and still leave a 1" for the rest of the area. Turning the studs would reduce the allowable space by at least an 1" which is valuable space I don't want to give up. Trimming the studs down to ýâ greatly reduces its strength which is why I thought of using metal.

bicyclegirl

I'm curious as to how your carpenter will reinforce the open cavity wall, since adding another layer of drywall will reduce the inset by 1/2" which to me is valuable space. Albeit it would the lowest and easiest cost solution, but to me I'm willing to pay (a little) extra to obtain the most available space.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Counterpoint: I went to a counter-depth and absolutely love it. Nothing's getting lost in those last few inches and it feels like there's more space b/c we're on top of getting rid of stuff that's too old. I can't imagine going back to a full-depth fridge.

We do have a full size garage fridge but haven't even plugged it in in the 3w the kitchen has been back to operational.

They just reframed to recess mine. Wish I'd read that link a little sooner! My recessed opening does not leave any room for an air gap. Luckily, there is nothing on the other side of the wall for the lower 5 ft, so we will cut out the lower half of drywall (that they just installed) to give it an airspace. Still need to move water line and electric. Heck, maybe we'll remove the drywall behind altogether to get that extra half inch rcessed.

reno, I will certainly let you know what the carpenter says. It might not be until this weekend for him to come over tho. Maybe even next Monday.....darn! I'm w/ you on not wanting to waste one inch. Hopefully he has a good idea on how to maximize the wall.

Have you looked at the fridge you're going to buy in person? If so, did you open the doors w/ something next to the fridge box like a panel would be built up to it? Make sure the doors will be able to open more than 90 degrees w/out hitting into the side panels, or worse, cabinets. Some doors, when open 90 degrees, will be completely straight w/ the edge of the fridge box, others will be out of alignment, per se, w/ the fridge box about a couple of inches, making it hit the side panel. So, you might not be able to build the panel up to the edge of the fridge box. Does any of this make sense? I had to go to the stores to look at this & make sure the one I buy is ok. I have a link to an article from Houzz that shows pictures of freestanding fridges looking like built ins. I'll put the link at the bottom of the post. Take a look at all of the pictures & notice the 2nd one is not built up to the edge of the box like all of the others. That may be because on that fridge, the doors would hit the panel when fully open. That may not bother you & your wife, tho. I want mine to come up to the front edge of the fridge box. These pictures might be able to give you some other ideas on how to get the look w/ your surrounding cabinets.

Try this link: https://www.houzz.com/magazine/get-the-look-of-a-built-in-fridge-for-less-stsetivw-vs~12545103_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u428&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery21

Good luck. I'll get back to you after I talk further w/ my carpenter.

Two items in particular need consideration here. First, you have to determine whether or not the wall to be altered is load bearing or not. It isn't a big deal to alter a load bearing wall, it's just more work to install a header.

Secondly, what's on the other side of the fridge? Exterior siding or a dining room? If it's another room, why not remove the baseboard, remove the drywall from the refrigerator opening, add a layer of 5/8" drywall across the entire wall and spanning the refrigerator opening, tape, prime, and paint and reinstall the baseboard?

Now you've gained 1/2" on the kitchen side, 3 1/2" stud width, and 1/2" on the dining room side for a total gain of 4 1/2". You could even fur the wall and gain more space.

5/8" drywall should easily span a refrigerator opening with no additional support. I wouldn't hang any pictures there though.

This post was edited by Trebruchet on Tue, Feb 4, 14 at 8:18

OOTM_Mom:

Thanks for the photo, most fridges have the compressor at the rear, unless you have a Sub Zero where they're mounted at the top and use grills for air flow. Air flow is needed to keep the compressor cool and in my case they recommend 1" gap. When I remove the drywall and studs to give more room, I need to reinforce the open cavity so the drywall remaining has support in the next room.

bicyclegirl

I'm in no hurry as I've done my design stage, (should try for feedback on this forum) and just started the demo stage to get final dimensions. Then I would pick up the material and build the cabinets myself. Timeline I'm hoping to be finished by summer since the demo started yesterday.

The fridge box itself is 28 15/16 which means it will still stick out about 1" and the doors swing out so I'll be ok.

Thanks for the link, my fridge may look like the 2nd photo, but I'm only going to leave a 1/4" gap on each side as per the manual. I don't have much of a choice as my wife doesn't want the shallow counter depth fridges.

Trebruchet

It is a load bearing wall and I'm going to frame it out like I would for a door frame since it's only a 37" opening.

There is a dining room on the other side and I will need to relocate a fridge receptacle and a dining room light switch which is going to need some thought.

Adding 5/8" of drywall spanning the whole wall on the dinning room side is an option, but I think it maybe more work then adding metal channels since I have cove moulding and a door frame opening to deal with. Cost would also be higher for material and labour time for me would be trippled, but it was a good thought.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

This post was edited by Renosarefun on Tue, Feb 4, 14 at 8:56

We did this about 20 years ago for a 36 inch wide fridge. DH put a header in and dry walled the other side of the wall. I primed and painted the side of the drywall behind the fridge to seal it and the other side is the living room, where you would never know anything is different. He cut a hole high up in the wall that is around 4 inches by 8 inches and put a white plastic grate facing the living room to cover it so that hot air can move. It looks just fine where it is on the living room wall. I think it is called a cold air return cover, but not being the builder, my description likely lacks! We just bought a new 36 inch fridge and again, it was so nice to have it recessed rather than sticking out about 3 more inches into the kitchen.

we just did this, it was simple for us. Renovation almost finished, need pendants, switchplates and back splash.

We built a new "faux" wall 4 inches out from the old wall, measured etc to ensure fridge doors open unhindered. Love it love it love it.

My GC had never seen it done before, and is suggesting to clients now. My wife had the idea, glad she's so damned smart.

FYI, and here is the before.....14 years we lived with the old. Put two through college etc., now its our time.

We built two houses recessing a regular size fridge this way. Of course it's easier to do it right from the start as the house is being built, and I highly recommend it. I am not crazy about sub zero fridges, I often use large pyrex dishes and deep trays/plates for fruit etc. when serving a large crowd, so i prefer my FD fridge.
The doors swing open fine, and the fridge does stick out about
2", plus the handles - but I prefer function over form. I cook a lot, and really need the bigger fridge.

cparlf, great kitchen! That's exactly what I want to do, as I'm sure renosarefun is thinking along the same lines. Can you send a closer picture of your fridge & maybe a side view? Also, I'd love to see a bunch more pics of the whole kitchen! Can you enlighten us how it was done?

Thanks!

Thanks bg, sure thing, I'll take a few tonight, and post tomorrow.

cparlf

Thanks for posting the photo's your kitchen looks great and look forward to the additional photos.

In conclusion I think I may go with my original plan to add metal u-channel strips. I'm not sure what gauge I'l go with but when the weather (snow) clears up a bit I'll drop by a store and check out what they have in stock as well as pricing.

This may be obvious, but the other alternative for some kitchens, instead of recessing the wall, would be to pull forward surrounding cabinets and counters to accommodate a full-depth refrigerator. That's what I did.

Swfr pulled her cabinets out (as suggested by calumin) & built a ledge to accomodate a full depth refrigerator.

Here is a link that might be useful: Swfr's kitchen reveal, full depth refrigerator accomodation

I was able to recess my fridge 6 inches when I renovated my kitchen. This is what the framing looks like.

And this is what it looks like with drywall. We didn't add any extra space for venting, but the fridge isn't flush against the wall anyway. It's a load-bearing wall and backs to the garage.

annkathryn.

Thanks for the info and photos, unfortunately I don't have that much space to work with. I'm dealing with a standard 2"x4" wall.

The information will be helpfull for others so I'm glad you posted it.

Again, thanks for the suggestions.

We get asked to do this all the time and I check code and specs first and adapt the plan to fit. I prefer to build out cabinets deeper around any fridge because it works better overall. My custom suppliers have deeper cabinets as stock line items. You won't find this with semi-custom or swing area cabinets. When only the 2X4 or 2X6 wall can be recessed, we generally cut back drywall, add a header and reinforce studs and add a sheet of 3/4inch G1S or furniture grade plywood to the back. I like to just paint the plywood where possible: You may be required to put drywall up (check code). The electrical is added to the back of a cabinet. Where possible, the water lines come through the floor. I prefer to add a second drain hole just in case the water line leaks in the future and a drip pan or line to a basement floor drain. Posting pictures of this reno soon.

We just framed it out with 2x4s, drywalled and primed/painted it. It was easier for us because the fridge goes against the back of a new closet that we built - we didn't have to open an existing wall.

If just backing the fridge into the space taken up by the framing for the wall behind it, where does one wire in the electrical? The backside of the space where the fridge will sit is a closet in the bedroom. Is it OK to attack an electrical box in the closet with exposed wiring running into it?

No exposed wiring. Put the electrical box on the side of the stud.

I am going to be doing this Recessing Of My Fridge/Creating An Alcove For My Fridge Project in the next few days, just received Today an Estimate from my Handyman for the Project.

Plan summing up everything I've read in this post is to Remove the Baseboard then cut into the wall & remove the Drywall on the Kitchen Side + Studs. Then Frame in a Header as it is a Load Bearing Wall. Cut a 4x8 Hole & install a Cold Air Vent in the Drywall on the Dining Room Side of the Alcove. Reinstall the Baseboard then Cut 3 ~1/2" Holes 12 Inches Apart along the Back of the Floor of the Alcove closest to the Wall. The left most hole will be for the Water Line running through the Crawlspace. The middle hole will be a Drain Hole with a Drip Pan below in the Crawlspace. The right hole will be for the Electrical Cord from the Fridge which will run to relocated Electrical which will be below in a Surface Mount Electrical Box on the nearest stud in the Crawlspace. Mud & Paint All then install Medal U-Channels Horizontally from Top to Bottom the Wall spaced 15" apart to add support & a ventilation gap.

I think that's everything. Let me know if I've missed anything or any further suggestions/comments.