HELP - new frig panel - how deep should I go?

10 years ago

Hi, in addition to my crown issue (earlier thread), I'm stuck on how deep to make my new frig panel.

It's a long story, but basically the Viking D3 specs were wrong and the frig will not recess far enough for a 24" panel to cover the gray side (based on water tubing/etc.). So I'm having my cabinetmaker make me a new frig panel (note I'm getting the grille for the top as well - just waiting to sort everything else out).

I've included a picture. As you can see, there is an opening to the dining room to the left. I also left about a 5.5" filler to the left of the frig to allow the left door to open (filler piece will be installed later). I can access everything just fine, however I cannot get the drawer out to clean (which I rarely do). I would have to pull the frig forward maybe 4 inches (so maybe a 28" frig panel). I'd need to confirm this but am deathly afraid of scratching my new floors by pulling the frig out! This would pull the frig forward towards the dining room opening, but we never use the dining room (and there is a big entryway on the other side from the hall coming from the foyer), so I'm not overly concerned with how far the frig comes out, other than how it looks from a design perspective.

One other thing to note, the top left frig door does contact the door casing, so if someone were to open it too fast/hard, it could likely dent the door -- so far so good on that, but I've got 2 school-age kids -- so anything could happen.

I think these are my options:

Option 1 - Pull it out far enough to open the left door all the way (maybe 28" of depth for the frig panel). So the base of the frig would stick out 4" past the cabinets, 2.5" past the granite, and a bit further into the dining room opening (although itÃ¯Â¿Â½s not actually in the opening as that left wall is about 37" - the wall to edge of casing will be about 33.25" when the new casing is installed). The frig doors add 3" and the door handles another 2.75". So doing the math, that is 28" + 3" + 2.75" = 33.75" (entire frig including handles will be out this far).

Option 2 - The granite comes out 25.5", so I was thinking maybe just having the new frig panel be 25.5". I'd have to pull the frig out for that once in awhile cleaning of the left drawer, and probably deli drawer.

Option 3 Ã¯Â¿Â½ Just go with a round 26" for the new frig panel, so it would stick out just a 1/2" in front of the granite.

What is the best solution here?

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Comments (8)

cookncarpenter
10 years ago
I always prefer to see the countertop overhang die into something, so I would opt for a 26" side panel.
Ellen1234
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks - so nix the idea of pulling it out enough to open the door all the way???
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Gooster
10 years ago
Ellen1234: I have a Viking Pro with trim. With my fridge, the top grill piece along with the leveling feet makes it pretty much impossible to move without fully recessing the feet. (Mine is not at the end so it does not matter). My GC had to work hard (rerouting the water line) to make sure the 24" deep cabinet worked, btw.

Regarding the depth, I would go for B or C if you have issues getting enough depth.

For the door banging issue, BTW, Viking does make a hinge restrictor that changes the door swing from 180 to 110 degrees.
sjhockeyfan325
10 years ago
You need to be able to open the doors far enough to get drawers out for cleaning. Anything beyond that is gravy. In our new fridge, if the door is open 90 degrees, you can get the drawers out.
Ellen1234
Original Author
10 years ago
gooster -- thanks! I called and talked to Viking about the depth and they basically told me with the water tubing design (and some kind of structure which holds it), that 24" depth is not enough. And I don't really want to push it - the actual body is exactly 24" so the tubing definitely protrudes beyond that. Also, the hinges on the Viking D3 actually already restrict it to less than 180 degrees -- I'll have to get our protractor out to see whether it's 110 degrees! I got excited when I saw that, but then I realized we probably already have those restrictors -- but I will double check. BTW my husband was able to pull out the frig, but we did empty it first. BTW, are your levelers up a lot, or just a little? The installer put ours up quite a bit -- I didn't check the level though - maybe it needed to be up that much. Personally I would just prefer it be directly on the wheels and that's it. Oh well.

sjhockeyfan - thanks! I actually can pull the left drawer out far enough to clean it in place, but I cannot remove it w/o pulling the frig out. In fact I just checked and I can physically remove the deli drawer (yeah!). I can pull the left drawer all the way out so that the entire inside is visible, but cannot remove it. The good thing is I can remove the right drawer and then clean under the left drawer if needed.

Thanks!
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
10 years ago
Pull the fridge out far enough to get the door to allow drawer cleaning and build the new panel that depth. Pull the upper cabinet face flush with the panel edge along with the filler. Let the top die into the panel.
Ellen1234
Original Author
10 years ago
Trebruchet - thanks! When you say "drawer cleaning" -- you mean far enough to actually remove the door for cleaning? I can pull the drawer out all the way, I just can't remove it.
Gooster
10 years ago
Ellen1234: it sounds like your design is a bit different. Our floors are not exactly level on that side (old house), so the GC had to extend the levels a bit. He ended up routing the water line from the floor, even though we did have a regular water outlet and recessed plug installed. There is just enough depth on this Pro model to make it all fit (the body is 23 1/2"). My left door swings to 180 degrees while my right one is restricted to 110.