What does your contract say? If it says 3/4" cabinet grade, then that's what should be used. If it's not in writing, it should be. What's in writing cannot be questioned.

That said, you're painting it, so it's a waste of money IMHO to use cabinet grade plywood. If you were staining, then yes, I would want some nice Baltic Birch or other plywood. And it's just a surround so it doesn't need to be structural, so 3/4" is necessarily required either. What he brought will be sufficient for your needs. But, at the end of the day, you are the customer, and you asked for one thing, and he brought another which seems like the beginning of troubles ahead.

Local cabinet stores usually sell refridgerator panels that come with a dado filler attached. Attach to wall with metal L brackets. Should save with labor time.

Have him rip a 1/4" build up, attach it to the front and iron on wood tape to cover the joint. When you paint it, you'll have your 3/4".

Thank you guys!!

So the fridge itself needs 3/4 thick filler pens, that would allow the doors to open.

The fridge is 56 inches wide. The 1/2 panels that he is about to build would be attached to the wall and the filler panels.

There would be a small wine holder cabinet on top of the fridge for the remaining 12 inches. The fridge build in would go to the ceiling.

You still think it will not be flimsy and won't bent?

The 1/2" panel at my fridge has been there 5 years and hasn't budged.

Plywood is quite strong, even at 1/2 inch. Most kitchen cabinet drawer bottoms are made with 1/4" or thinner plywood. Some are nice looking than others, and some are glued together a little nicer, but all grades will handle your basic needs. Grades are typically more for appearance. Since you're painting, appearance isn't a need, and with your light loads, neither is strength. At this point, it's all about the look you want and that you're happy with the outcome. If you feel strongly on the 3/4", ask your contractor to use what you ordered, or scab on a piece as Joseph mentioned.

A fridge panel needs to be constructed with an attached filler in an L configuration in order to add stability and strength. Even 3/8” ply is more than sufficient when built that way and attached to a cleat at the wall at the rear. It turns the whole structure into a big C. That’s very stable and very strong. A panel doesn’t ever stand alone on edge. It has little resistance to forces other than edge compression like that. No resistance at all to lateral forces. One kick, and it’s down.

But you do need to take that filler+panel construction into account when planning the layout. It takes up more space to do properly.

Stunning in Somerville · More Info

Link how to

http://www.ana-white.com/2014/01/momplex/boxing-fridge-cabinetry-momplex-vanilla-kitchen

Although that looks good, the end result is not really very stable with just shoe mold holding the side in place at the bottom. Which is why 95% of cabinet makes make the panels with the fillers already attached.

drill to the floor or use metal L bracket to floor

Hi, Cooks Kitchen. I agree with you that the fridge panel with dado filler is ideal & best for structure support, but if there's not enough space the above is an alternative.

Oh, I’ve done it that way, and my installer yelled at me majorly. Getting yelled at by installers is how you learn what not to do!

Why did your installer yell at you? Was it on tile floor?

A panel standing alone without a filler is exactly the wrong way to do it. L brackets on the floor are another terrible kludge. The fridge catches on that every time you try to roll it in or out.

And those pics showcase a whole lot of other bad design as well. A cave corner is the absolute worst. That whole thing should be a warning of what NOT to do.

The Cooks Kitchen, thanks for answering my question.

The picture I posted above is to show the application of a 3/4" filler fridge side panel relevant to the question.

Not the overall design was suggested. A cavecorner is not recommended.

The 3/4 filler could have a very stout, stable wood (mahogany) 1x4 applied to the end to keep it straight, and if done well, you'd never know it was there, but it would keep a piece of baltic birch straight for eternity.

Casey

Hi! Sorry I hope I am not late.

I explained to the contractor what I want and what I wanted was in the pictures shown above..... hmm, I am glad I posted here.

I am just a starting woodworker. What is a cave corner?

Can I substitute dado fillers for pocket screws? Would that be strong enough?

As far as I understand the construction in the pictures is not good/stable enough because it is missing dado fillers (in the back - at the back of the fridge, the ones that you would screw to the wall) or which ones?

Thanks duo much for the advice, I really appreciate it!!

Avoid "cave corner".

It's the space of less deep cabinets that become less accessible "a cave" due to a deep fridge too close to corner.

Fridge panels usually come as

3" Dado attached front filler

1.5" Dado attached front filler

3/4" no Dado filler, just a finished in

And yes, dado's are plenty strong. Glue is a mad man when it comes to strength.

I would not pocket screw that dado front as to do it right, the screw pockets would need to be exposed so you're going away from the corner, not towards it.

:). Thank you! I got it now. We are going to do a dado filler. I do not have a cave corner, but I can see where people would use that corner less frequently as before.

Unless properly ventilated, these fridge enclosures will shorten the life of your fridge. The heat buildup will cause premature aging. If I am ever unfortunate enough to end up in a house where someone has done that, I'll just rip it out. Maximizing the lifetime of my fridge is more important than somebody's idea of what looks fashionable.

https://www.angieslist.com/articles/tips-avoid-refrigerator-repair.htm

#1 - you need to regularly clean the coils. Tough to do when the fridge is crammed back into an enclosure. I can't move one of these at all. I need to get hold of a back edge to haul it out and have the room to swing it around at some point. The length (or lack thereof) makes it even more problematic.

#3 - Adequate Air Flow Around Fridge

That OUGHT to say it all. I wouldn't even want cabinets over a fridge, for one I can't reach them anyway so USELESS and - that's where hot air rises and needs to be able to escape even if you HAVEN'T fully built it in.

There ARE ways to build these enclosure and properly vent them, but I've never seen one done properly. I imagine even if a contractor offered a proper design, the fashion-deluded home owner would reject it because - ugly noisy fans.

There are fridge units intended to be installed in an enclosure, but every time I've seen one of these, it's just a regular fridge stuck back in what amounts to a super tight closet.