Help with fridge next to wall

8 years ago

Our builder designed our kitchen so the fridge is next to a wall. (it's a side by side fridge) It was our first house so at the time we didn't even think about something like that and even if we did it wasn't nearly as noticeable in the model home, which was flipped in design, so the freezer opened on the wall side versus our house where the wall is on the fridge side. This has driven us crazy for years because we can't open the fridge door fully and it's impossible to pull shelves out to clean or to put in large things like pizza boxes.

Now our original fridge has died and we need to buy a new one. The width of the area is about 36.5 inches. I originally thought a french door fridge might solve the problem. However, after looking at them in the store I realized that with the way the hinges are designed on the fridge doors the doors actually swing out about 1-2 inches along the sides of the fridge. I'm concerned even a 33" fridge might have problems because of this. I don't want to end up only being able to open one door at something like a 45 degree angle. Does anybody have experience with this frustrating design flaw? Did french doors solve the issue or max it worse?

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Comments (5)

taranator N
8 years ago
I am not sure that I am visualizing the problem properly, but if you are saying that the regular fridge doors are unable to swing open because of walls on either side, then you are likely looking at having to get an intergrated (expensive), true built-in to solve the problem. They have the hinges that you need to clear the walls. Cheapest 36" one that I have come across is the Fischer-Paykel.
cpartist
8 years ago
What taranator said.
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huruta
8 years ago
Not sure I get your challenge, but I think I might get it so will tell you what we did in a similar situation. Our fridge is in an old mud room and has a door frame on each side of it. For the reasons you describe neither a side-by-side fridge or a french door fridge would work for us. We limited our search to fridges with a bottom freezer and a top refrigerator section with 1 door. We ended up with a 33" Fisher Paykel counterdepth with water dispenser in the door and ice in the bottom. Our other option was a Liebherr that was 36" wide but it was $5500 and would have required a cabinet remodel since the original fridge was 33" wide. The downside to the Fisher is it's only 17 cubic feet. The downside to the Liebherr was the cost. We are two and so are managing with the smaller fridge (we have an extra fridge in our basement). I think there were only ~27 fridges that meet our basic dimension criteria with a top single door. AJ Madison can help you narrow down your options. Good luck.
rockyroad
8 years ago
Matt - had this same problem earlier in the year replacing a fridge for a 36 1/2-inch space. Kinda went down the same path as huruta, but ultimately purchased a 33-inch Kitchenaid French door and sacrificed the extra cubic feet. I have counter on one side and wall on the other, and moved the fridge right up to the counter side to allow for a wider gap on the wall side. It allows enough hinge space to open the French door past 90 degrees, and of course the pull out bottom freezer is not a clearance problem.

You will see many posts regarding this issue, as appliance manufacturers are producing mammoth-size refrigerators that are deeper with thicker doors requiring additional door swing space. Very frustrating indeed...I feel your pain.
KD
8 years ago
Yup, had this exact problem. Solved it by getting a narrower counter depth fridge-only and putting a freezer-only elsewhere in the kitchen. :(