Buyers will expect the built ins. You should never downgrade the home by not replacing like with like.

Check out having it repaired. You can get good added life.

How old is it? Why do you want to replace it? If it’s in need of it, have you already looked into having it repaired (like dan1888 suggested)?

FWIW, I have an “old” (18-1/2 years) 48” SubZero.

Mine is also 18 years old,
- every time I open it I want to shut it off and never open again.

Technology is moving pretty fast, and there is no justification to have an old appliance that just does not inspire or wow me in any way. I want to easily replace my fridge without tearing apart half of the kitchen and trying to find a perfect fridge that fit into the space and paying $12,000 or paying more than make sense for repair.
I like free standing ,spacious,airy, nicely lit, deep, modern,new, refrigerators, with wide door shelves at a fraction of cost of built in with no headache replacing or fixing them. I want to fit a custom made cake and don’t worry.

hope it helps, but all I want to here if anyone ever seen/ experience the replacement like that. That’s all.

Ok, so everyone is told that built in is awesome and everyone should have it. What if I don’t get the concept nor like it?

That's like saying you hate the SLC 350 you inherited and want to trade it in for a Chevy Cruze because you want a car with wifi. I have nothing against Chevrolet. But some of us here just won't understand.

If you want a freestanding, then sell the built-ins and get one. Love your screen name, btw!

We had a built-in fridge die. It wasn't repairable. We weren't ready to do a full kitchen remodel at the time, so we replaced it with a freestanding. It was only 36", so finding a fridge the right width was not a problem. Removing it left a big gap at the top. Our kitchen doors were old, so I could not get new matching doors to cover the gap above the refrigerator. So I waited until I saw someone in my subdivision redoing their kitchen and asked if I could buy the doors from above their fridge. They were happy to give them to me. Once those were hung, the kitchen looked just fine and no one ever knew there had been a built-in before. It was tough to get the fridge out of its spot because it was sitting on concrete and the hardwood in the kitchen was higher, but once we got it out, there were no problems behind it. I think we may have had to move the plug and water line to accommodate the new refrigerator.

dmpsd,

Thanks for the details- I will talk to our contractor about adding the floor under the fridge, water pipes etc and see what can be done with the kitchen cabinets to reduce the gaps.

A free standing fridge will be just fine. It can be traumatic to live one's life for ultimate resale, (unless you plan on selling in the immediate short-term). As Annie said: Tomorrow You're always a day away.

One thing to be aware of is the difference in fridge depths and clearances.

The overall depth of the opening for the SZ is probably 24", if it has the same installation specs as the current models. A freestanding counter depth model will have a case depth of 24", need an inch or so clearance at the back (check the installation manual), and the doors will need clearance on either side in order to open fully. You will see some of the side of the case of a freestanding fridge if you don't modify the opening and you will want to check for hinge/door swing clearances on either side.

A standard depth fridge will have a case depth even greater.

there's no 48" freestanding fridge, I think 36" is as big as they get. Getting it to look half decent will be a challenge. You'll have a gap above and pretty big gap at the side(s). You may or may not have floor under your fridge, so there's that too. The electrical and waterline will probably easy to adapt if they need moved.

What do your cabinets look like? You may find it easier to just take down the area of the ref - the upper piece ( and moldings - carefully ) and the 2 side panels and replace with a 12" wide pullout pantry or broom closet and a new side panel that can be any depth along with a deeper and taller cabinet above.

If you put up a picture of your ref space - we might be able to help a little better.

It can def. be done - it is just a matter of what level of "patchwork" you are willing to live with...

And I don't like built in ref. either..... :)

I think to really appreciate built ins you have to get the larger individual columns. The kitchen we gutted had a 48" Kitchenaid built in. I never liked it because it still functioned like a side by side and the freezer side always felt cramped.

In the remodel I had 60" to work with so I went with Subzero integrated columns. The fridge is 36" with an upper single door and 2 drawers below. The freezer is 24" and has just one single door. Those extra inches for each unit makes a huge difference. I love that they are paneled and blend into the rest of the kitchen, specially important in an open floor plan.

Well said, Friedajune. It's a throwaway mentality of modern American society. Appliances are designed to fail and parts become obsolete forcing the purchase of a new appliance.

OT: all the fancy gadgets and gizmos on refrigerators these days is quite amusing to me; door-in-door, built-in keurigs and the big tablet screen. Why can't they just make an ice maker that actually works!

Seconding Friedajune's comments. We had a circa 1999 Monogram built in that was heads and tails above the 2006 model in the next house. Completely different fridge and much more reliable. Wish we'd known. We stuck with the 2006 piece of crap and paid for repairs every 18 or so months because we weren't able to replace it.

Of all the appliances in our new build, the fridge is the one we fretted over the most. In the end, we opted to design a recess for a standard depth 36" model so that we have the most options available when, not if, we have to replace the fridge. We still haven't settled on a model, either.

The "bells and whistles" on newer fridges are just more things to break.

Binomial Cube...I know this post is from several years ago, but we are now in the exact same position and don't know what to do with the space left above the fridge after replacing a built in with a free standing fridge. Did you come up with a good solution? Any photos?

Hi Pelosim,

Unfortunately we had to replace our fridge with same one. Shortly, after posting my question it stopped working. The certified repairmen tried to fix it, but it did not work. Since we had no plan what to do with our cabinets, and we needed a working fridge ASAP, we had to purchase the new subzero. I wish I could help with that.

This is not a fun scenario! We already purchased the free standing, so I reeeeally hope we can make this work. Thanks for getting back to me. Hope you like the subzero!

Well I, too, came across this post searching for information on replacing a built-in fridge with a free-standing one. The existing unit has looked great and until somewhat recently functioned well. Past couple of years it has required multiple repairs, and the service technicians (small town, not a lot of options) are saying they will no longer work on built-ins anyway. Two different repair companies have advised us that we are likely to continue to have frequent difficult repairs. I'm usually all for repairing rather than the throw-away but I'm not seeing that as a viable option. With local repair folks shying away from built-in repairs, I also don't see it being a good plan to replace with another built-in. We have beautiful custom cherry cabinets and the front fridge panels were made to match - it will be a very different look in the kitchen to replace with free-standing. I'll keep following this thread in case any more info pops up. Thanks binomial cube for posing the question; too bad you got forced into something you did not prefer! Good luck pelosim with the conversion!

I am in this same boat. Our fridge died tonight as we were putting away Thanksgiving dinner leftovers! We have a 20 year old builtin and have had it repaired twice. Both times we were told that it was going to die and we needed to begin shopping for a new one. We plan to renovate our kitchen at some point, but now we feel forced into it. We do not want another built in. I am so confused! Any advice I will gladly take. I need to know what is the best fridge out there. We are a family of 6. Any free standing fridge recs? I guess we will purchase the fridge first and remodel around it?

Be sure you are able to even get the built in! We ordered our kitchenAid built in back in Oct and they keep pushing out delivery due to covid:( we still don’t have one almost 4 months later! I would never buy a house with a built in fridge again.

https://www.houzz.com/user/rebecca-nidorf did you get a free standing fridge? We’re in the same situation now. Bought a house with a built in sub zero. 4200 to fix. Seems too much to shell out. we are not very handy so we will have to make do with the gaps. We would have 3“ gap on each side and atleast 1 foot on the top

The built in sub zero for us is a tall and thin one 27 by 80 and depth is 24. Seems to be a standard with except for the 80 length. Can we just find a freestanding 27 inch refrigerator to replace it?

Ritu Ganghi, we wound up getting a sub zero built in for nearly $12,000!!! the option was this or to rennovate kitchen to accomodate a free standing fridge. There would not have been room to walk in our kitchen due to cabinet and center island placement with a free standing fridge. We figured a kitchen reno would be triple the cost of the sub zero, so we went for it. i have to say, we really love it!

Has anyone above successfully replaced their built in fridge with a free standing? What was done with extra space? Pics?

We are having to replace our built-in with a free standing fridge. We are going to have a contractor rebuild the cabinitry to fit our new smaller free standing refrigerator. Has anyone done this successfully? If so,then please share your experience & provide advice.

It never ever looks right. It’s a pretty big downgrade signal for future buyers that the person couldnt afford to keep up the home to the level they bought into.

Where are the answers. I bought 72" high 36" and will try to keep grill on top

I’m in the same situation!

I have a panel that hat covers my dish washer, hoping to have contractor use that to fill the gap above fridge.