Counter depth Refrigerator question

14 years ago

We are so close to finishing our kitchen, hopefully few days away. We bought a Samsung 2 door counter depth refrigerator hoping to get a built-in look. After installing, it is outside the cabinets by an inch and the plastic (refrigerator body) shows up along with the beautiful stainless door. We checked the rear, and its due to the cable going into the power point on the wall. My husband thinks if the power point is pulled inside the drywall, maybe the fridge could be pushed behind little more.

Is it even possible? I checked with refrigerator user manual and it says 3/8" rear clearance is sufficient, but their tech support says 2" rear clearance recommended. So now do we need to leave that 1 inch clearance between the refrigerator and drywall? Do these counter depth refrigerators 100% looks built-in or they are okay to be outside a little?

With all the rework (due to GC's mistakes) our project have already getting delayed. GC keeps promising he's going to work everyday, but turns up only 2 half days per week and trying to talk us out of every fix. We are so tired of this. We so wanted to get it done.

Featured Answer

mmanjupriya
Original Author

14 years ago

Thanks Angie, thats a great idea, I will run it thru my GC.

Thanks badgergal for the pictures. You are right, it doesn't really look bad, but its my expectation for only the door to be projecting outside the cabinets. I see that you don't have any clearance on the top too. Mine have a 2" space, which I have to ask my GC about. Btwn, your kitchen is beautiful, unique design. May I ask where you bought your pendant lights?

Weissman, I understand counter depth refrigerators have their doors sticking out. I am concerned b'coz little part of the refrigerator body is sticking out too and thats not stainless steel. :(

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Comments (7)

mmanjupriya
Original Author
14 years ago
Picture showing the refrigerator rear
angie_diy
14 years ago
A recessed outlet may be your ticket:
{{!gwi}}
They are made by Leviton (and probably many others), and are sometimes called "clock outlets."

Ironically, I bought and installed one, and then the CD fridge I bought (Kitchenaid) came with a flat plug that cannot be plugged in to such a receptacle. Sigh.
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badgergal
14 years ago
I have a Samsung counter-depth refrigerator and I too wanted it to look as built in as possible. I had to pull mine out from the back wall because I had a wall on one side of the refrigerator and the right door could not swing open as far as needed to be able to remove the produce drawers from the fridg. So I do have about 1-1/2 inches of the grey side showing. It really doesn't look bad. No one will really notice it. Here are a couple pictures of mine so you can compare it your situation.
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}
weissman
14 years ago
Counter depth refrigerators are not really counter depth - the door always sticks out so it can open. Only built-in integrated fridges are truly flush and they are very expensive.
susan27
14 years ago
For a built-in look, the only part of a counter depth fridge that should stick out is the door, not the gray sides. That said, it is a bit of deception by appliance manufacturers that these fridges are billed as "counter depth" when in reality, they should be counter depth +1" or +2". As a KD, I always add 1" minimum to the side panels or depth of surrounding cabinets as I have learned that this install never works with 24" of depth. A built in will work, but a counter depth, no. The reason it will not push back all the way is there needs to be room for the small copper water line and in some cases the electrical hook up, depending on make and model of fridge as they are all different.

The Samsung quite clearly calls for 2" of room behind the fridge in the specifications, in addition to the 24" of depth the fridge takes up. It also calls for 3" of air space on the right side which if you are going for a built-in look, will not work. I'm pretty sure this is an error in the specs.

So, net, net, the specifications are unclear, it's always best to communicate your expectations prior to ordering cabinets & appliances, and to work with a contractor or kitchen designer who has lots of experience.

On the positive side, most counter depth fridges have black sides, so the gray at least blends in a bit better with the appliance if some of it does need to protrude. Good luck!
badgergal
14 years ago
I actually have about 1/2 inch space between the overhead cabinet and the refrigerator. I also have about a 1 inch space on the right side if the refrigerator. The space is not exactly the same width from top to bottom because the existing wall there was not perfectly plum. We didn't want to mess with making it perfectly straight. It bothered me a little at first but not any longer. If you have no space at all on the sides of your fridge, I think you should keep that 2 inches on top. It helps the energy effeciancy of the fridg to have air circulation around it.
My pendants were purchased at a local lighting store because Ii got a better deal from them than online sources. The light are Tech Lighting. They have lots of cool but more contemporary style lights. Check out the website

Here is a link that might be useful: Tech Lighting