Fridge Surround

13 years ago

I have my fridge picked out and I know what the cutout needs to be for the panels and the cabinet over top. However I'm now thinking about future proofing as I would expect we may need a new fridge before I would ever replace the cabinets. I was planning to leave 2" extra (in excess of the air clearance required) at the top and put a filler strip in to allow for a taller fridge in the future. However for the sides I'm wondering what do I do. The fridge cabinet is painted gray and not wrapped stainless, so I fear leaving extra space besides the 1/8" required for air circulation on each side of the fridge. The second model I keep using for comparison would suggest I leave an additional 5/8 of an inch beyond that. I will have white cabinets/panels surrounding the fridge and I just don't want that box exposed. Am I being too critical of the 5/8 of an inch extra? Have I future proofed enough?

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Comments (6)

jellytoast
13 years ago
Imsscs, the cabinet box that my refrigerator slides into has additional space for ventilation on the sides that you can't see when the fridge is in place. The side panels have a face frame attached that makes an L-shape, so there is about an inch of additional clearance on either side inside there that you can't see. I did the filler strip thing at the top, too, and it's fine.

How big is the fridge you have now? Is it counter depth?
calumin
13 years ago
If you want to future-proof, the dimension that has the most variability across models is the front-to-back depth (including air clearance), not including the door handle. I would make sure you have enough room there, and pull the refrigerator up to match the panel depth for the specific model you buy.

I don't think there is as much variation across models in width -- at least for ~36" refrigerators. If yours is 30-32" there may be more variability. I added a 1 inch spacer for my 36" refrigerator.
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Majra
13 years ago
I have three-inch fillers on either side of my fride cabinet. I like how it beefs up the look.
jellytoast
13 years ago
I like that, too, majra ... unfortunately, I was limited on space and had to go with the 1 1/2 inch fillers. Your picture is a good illustration of what I was talking about, though ... the filler pieces are not solid all the way back, so they allow for ventilation along the sides of the 'fridge.
lmsscs
Original Author
13 years ago
Maija, the picture is great. As I was talking it over last night with the GC he suggested a little more room on the side since he said many fridges belly on the sides. Maybe I'll consider a little extra room. I am about maxing out the fridge wall with the extra 3 inches for the micro and then the added 1-2 inches here, but I'll figure it out. Thanks for the input.

I'm going with a 36 inch fridge. Replacing our existing sxs since I hate it with a FD CD model. However I know fridges don't last forever so I want to make sure I have room to play.
jellytoast
13 years ago
How much extra room is the GC suggesting? While fridges may bellly on the sides, they aren't actually 36 inches wide, allowing them to fit into a 36 inch space. If I was going for extra room, I'd make it very little extra.

Are your cabinets custom? If not, the standard width of your over-the-fridge cabinet would dictate how wide your fridge space is (correct me if I'm wrong?) unless you put a little filler piece in there.

I have a 36-inch opening, and a KA counterdepth french door fridge. There is room to spare to get it into the spot ... at least 1/2 an inch, which is plenty.