Realtors, Builders: is a 36" Sub-Zero too small for a higher-end home?
Dave Wilt
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
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Sub Zero BI-36u vs Miele
Comments (8)Can't speak for the SZ models but we purchased the Miele units (fridge and freezer) and are THRILLED with them. Ours have custom panels and do not look at all like appliances. In fact most newcomers to our kitchen ask where the fridge is and when they open it is is a definite WOW! Here's a previous post I made on the Miele units: We initially installed GE monogram all fridge freezer units. Needless to say (and if you need to know details you can find them on the forums or email me for details) these units needed to be replaced within a very short space of time. Our only choices as the kitchen was custom built to fit the specs of the GE units, were to go with new GE models (no way no how), Miele or Sub Zero. Our experience with Miele had been fantastic so we went with those. The fridge and freezer are everything we anticipated. We had one installation issue. Both the fridge and freezer were shown in the specs with a 90 degree door. While this is true for the fridge, it is NOT true for the freezer due to the extra insulation in the door. We could not open the door far enough to allow the draws to open unhindered. Miele was great and authorized a replacement freezer for one with the hinges on the oppposite side. I believe they have changed their spec sheets on the freezer as well - or at least I hope they have. The original misleading photograph is still on their website. Some things I have discovered as we live with these models They really are shallow BUT you can get a LOT in them. If you have a large platter too big for the shelves, it will probably fit in the drawer. (I've stacked them in the draw using glasses between "layers" and it's worked fine.) The blessing of a shallow fridge and freezer is that it is impossible to lose food in the back. We also switched to glass storage so we can easily see what's in the fridge. Where we used to throw out lots of food that we had no idea what it was, we are now finding that there is often "nothing to eat" or at least that's what my kids tell me :) As previously mentioned, the door shelves are shallow. You can fit a half gallon in the door but not a gallon. Because the compressor is at the bottom, the top shelf can be rather high. We're all tall so it doesn't matter so much but if you're short... Another advantage of the bottom compressor is that if you plan to panel the fridge, it is one panel. Ours is so integrated most people think it's a pantry and not a fridge at all. The freezer in the butlers pantry is the same sleek and streamlined look. Also as mentioned, the ice maker is TINY. We haven't had the freezer over a summer so not sure how that will pan out but we have needed to purchase ice for parties. Both the fridge and freezer have full extension drawers. This makes it so easy to sort and store produce and to find them. We've dedicated one draw for fruit, another for veggies and the smaller drawer in the fridge is for deli. Our freezer is now organized with each section in the drawers holding different frozen goods. I also found some Rubbermaid plastic containers that fit on the shelves with no wasted space and improve the "holding" capacity. I can fit a lot in those open containers and it doesn't fall out when you open the door. If I was organized enough, I could plan it out and put ice into one to collect for parties :) Food lasts longer without a doubt. I have some rhubarb that I just used today to make cupcakes. It was still crisp and fresh and had been in the drawer for at least two weeks. I notice celery lasts longer too. Both the fridge and the freezer hook up to your computer network through wireless technology. Ha you might say but last week when I was out of town, dh grabbed something from the freezer on his way out the door and it didn't close properly. He was on the train when he got an email saying the temp in the freezer had dropped and the alarm had gone off. He called a neighbor who came into our house and closed the freezer properly for him. That probably saved us a $1000 right there! I am not sure how long they will last but past experience with Miele has been positive. We reinstalled our Miele DW from our old kitchen that is almost 10 yrs old. Our previous Miele DW was 20 yrs old and could have been fixed and gone another 5 years but we chose to replace it. Our second Dw is also Miele as are our DO. Wasn't planned that way but that's what we ended up with. After going with cheaper (and never let anyone tell you GE is cheap) and having products not last a year, we're hoping these are our forever fridge and freezer. They're pretty expensive but we hope they are worth it. So far so good....See More"Value" of sub zero
Comments (22)SubZero still has the cachet, but there are competitors now. Fifty years ago, they were about it for built-in, and it was much more recently that they got competition for the dual compressors. If you don't have that, you'll really notice the difference in the freezer. A LOT. They also have the freshness filters, which some of the higher end European ones do, as well, but they all work differently. A big part of the price difference, however, besides what the market will bear, which is at the bottom of all pricing, is reliability. Icemakers are the weakest part of any refrigerator, and call for the most repairs, but they are reparable. If you maintain a SubZero (e.g., vacuum the grille), if today's units are anything like the past ones, and I haven't heard that they were slipping, the fridge will last decades. A 2002 SZ isn't even through half its projected life! My mother is on her second one in fifty years. :) The earlier ones were only good for twenty years... OTOH, since you're in a less high house in a transitional neighborhood, you could just as easily frame in a standard fridge and make it look elegant and unassuming. I got Miele columns because I couldn't make the sizes for SubZero work for me, and I wanted all fridge and all freezer anyway. And, yes, my old Kenmore fridge from grad school days also kept food cold. It's the little details that make the difference. The lighting. The quality of the shelves that don't chip or crack, and supports that don't break. The drawers that actually do something rather than just saying "crisper". The smells that aren't there. The corners and back wall where the lettuce doesn't freeze. Lots of little things like that. And the fact that, given the possibility of a few repairs along the way, the thing will last 30+ years, with on the mark customer service, and you have why people will pay more for the SZ. But it's only a must where it's a must. In those kinds of places, if you don't go all out on your remodel, you'll be better off keeping the kitchen as is, except for what you need for your immediate comfort, because it's going to be ripped out anyway, and they'll pay less for thinking they need to remodel, not more because you already did it....See MoreSub Zero or GE Monogram?
Comments (29)Refrigerators must be a personal thing! When I was looking (at sxs and columns), I really disliked the SZ..... the lighting, the drawers, almost everything. I did like the Thermador and I did like the Miele. My ideal was a Thermador fridge and a Miele freezer because of a combination of price and interior. In the end I decided on the Miele because I much preferred the freezer, the lighting and the door configuration of the Miele. It probably also helped that Miele offered a 10 year bumper to bumper warranty offer when I ordered. :)...See MoreBuilding a house...looking for complete higher end appliance kit.
Comments (36)I agree with a lot of what DrB said, but not about the ovens. A "convection microwave" and a "speed oven" are two separate things, though some makers of speed ovens do it kind of badly so it's little better than a convection microwave. Regular ovens nowadays are very problematic things. That's cooking/baking/roasting/broiling cavities--not ranges including burners (but including the ovens in the ranges). Too much of the engineering goes into energy saving, cost saving, and inventory control, and too little goes into performance. The oven is the kitchen appliance with the strongest correlation between amount spent and quality of performance. It's also the one that's most likely to have problems with performance. There are some notable high end fails, but even for the previous Wolf that had troubles with chipping of the interior, causing shards to be blown into the food--which was a critical fail--the performance of the cooking works of the oven, when not chipped, was exemplary. The chipping issue seems to be fixed with the new model, and it's the last thing I'd consider downgrading. Microwaves, OTOH, are another story. Built-in 240V MWs have a performance edge on the countertop 110V units, but if, like most of us, the MW is mostly used for heating a bowl of cereal, a sandwich or a cup of coffee, melting butter, making popcorn, or defrosting soup, a $100 countertop unit will suffice for most people. All microwaves are made by about three makers, most notably Sharp and Panasonic. The special features (sensors, programed buttons, etc.) and looks may differ according the requirements of the company whose badge is on it, but the works are all the same. Microwaves never seem to get complaints. They work as expected and are generally all of the same high quality....See MoreSabrina Alfin Interiors
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