Recessing a Refrigerator
I'm looking for information and ideas about an idea I have to recess a refrigerator. I have two refrigerators - one in my kitchen and one in my utility room. They are back to back with a wall between them, which I am pretty sure is load-bearing. My utility room is narrow and the max extension from the wall into the room is 35". My kitchen refrigerator is on a wall with cabinets and I would love to have a full-size refrigerator with the appearance of counter-depth. I have read a couple of discussions on here where people have cut into the wall behind the refrigerator and recessed it a few inches so that the refrigerator does not stick out so far into the kitchen. It seems like all of those threads are from quite a few years ago. Did it work? Do you love it? Did the house fall down? LOL!
I am planning for a kitchen remodel soon and plan to get all new cabinets, appliances, etc. I have an idea about bumping out just the section of wall between the refrigerators (not the whole wall) by a few inches to allow me to have the best of both worlds - a full-size refrigerator in the kitchen that looks counter-depth and a counter-depth refrigerator in the utility room that fits in the narrow room.
I put together two 'rough' drawings to help explain this a little better. The 'Current' drawing is the current layout and the 'New' drawing is what is in my head. :) I read somewhere on here (10+ years ago) that someone had recessed a refrigerator into a load-bearing wall by cut out a stud (or two) and then installed a small header in the space where the studs were removed. It sounds simple enough... Is that structurally sound? (I know... ask a contractor!) We are talking with a contractor but not signed any contract yet - COVID has slowed down our progress to try and move forward right now. I'm still planning stuff in my head though and curious about what others may have done...
Has anyone on here done something like this or have any information, guidance, warnings, etc? Thanks! I love Houzz and all the great ideas and information available here.
Comments (11)
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Comments (6)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....See MoreQuestions on how to recess a refrigerator
Comments (1)Generally speaking, load bearing walls are the ones that go perpendicular to the joists. Check in the attic to see which way your joists are going. We recessed our frig into the wall that separates the kitchen from the laundry also. It was a load bearing wall and we had to put in a header and some jack studs to take the load. To do that, we had to cut away much more of the wall than just the opening. This was done just after cabinet demo and before pulling electric. If yours is a load bearer, I would go in from the laundry room side to do the work and then just re-drywall the laundry. We placed the plug on the jack stud facing into the new recess. So the frig plugs in sideways....See MoreRefrigerator: cleaning/warranty/recessing
Comments (0)hi We have lots of questions about the refrigerator...first time we buy one! we are considering buying the Kenmore 19.7 cubic feet, bottom freezer,model 7809. I will also ask in the appliances forum. My questions are: does anybody have this model? Is it noisy? We were asked $279 for a 3 years warranty or $409.99 for 5 years warranty. The warranty will cover cleaning once a year which we were told we need to do. I never buy this kind of warranties because it already comes with one year warranty and I like paying with American Express which adds a second year. The cost of the refrigerator is about $700 so the warranty seems very expensive. Is it true that we need to clean (the filters or something?) once a year???? Have never done this before. How do you clean underneath the refrigerator? I saw once on the internet that there are models that you just pull out, the Kenmore is not so easy, but the salesperson said it is not so difficult either, as long as it is not connected to the water line. The size of the ref. is 29 1/2" wide and 27" deep without the door. It will back a wall that is being rebuilt,so we thought we would recess it into the wall as much as possible (3 or 4" ?). This is necessary so that it does not block a window. It comes with ice maker, no water filtration (no models in this size seem to have the water filtration). It does not seem worth it connecting the water just for ice, because of the inches that I will loose in the back... I think I will ask the contractor to leave the plumbing ready but not actually connect...The clearance required is 2" but they told me if I do not connect the water, then 1" should be OK. When recessing a refrigerator, should the carcass (not including the door) be flush with the countertops or the cabinets???? It seems if I want to be able to open the door it should be flush with the countertops, but everywhere I read the cabinets...Are there any suggestions about this? thanks so much, sorry for all the questions, your help will be appreciated!...See MoreShould I Keep This Refrigerator Cabinet or Ditch It?
Comments (6)It is kind of hard to reach and we never fill it up. My husband is the only one that drinks wine and when we have friends over it is usually for a beer or some margaritas. I need to rip it out anyway to recess the refrigerator and I probably won't feel that compelled to put it back up. I am still thinking about using IKEA and in the space next to the refrigerator, I could do a 24" upper microwave cabinet and a 9" cabinet with shelves that some people have used for wine. That would leave the base for some drawers. Alternatively, I was thinking about a microwave drawer but I will have too see where the budget lands. I probably need a little design help with that space so maybe I need to repost with that question....See Moreshelia07
3 years ago
erinsean
3 years ago
Marcia Gates
3 years ago
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