fridge integrated kitchen

[lib8899]

Hi

We have a fridge freezer which is integrated the ktichen so it look like a cupboard.

Its not big enough,

Above the fridge is a cupboard and above freezer is a cupboard and then there is 2 more cupboards then the boiler is in a cupboard.

The cupboards are modern style and go nearly to kitchen ceiling

We want a large american style fridge with ice and water if possible,the only thing is theres no other space in kitchen .

Firstly does the fridge need to be next to a tap ,we still want it integrated with cup boards over it,but im struggling to see how we go about doing this.

So would the builder take all the cupboards out to fit the fridge and freezer then try and put doors over it?I dont know really anything about this

as the american fridge we had before was huge and just sat in the kitchen,it wasnt built in.

Thanks

Lib

 

[Ferdinand]

Welcome.

 

I think we need some photos, and ideally a sketch plan.

 

Ferdinand

 

[ProDave]

The American style FF's are not usually "built in" in the sense that they don't have cupboard dooors stuck to them to pretend to be cupboards.  They merely slide into a recess.

 

The water supply is often via a small 6mm diameter nylon hose so the tap can be some distance away as long as there is a route e.g under the units behind the kickboard to get to say the sink unit and the plumbing.

 

We found the freezer capacity disappoionting in ours, so much space was taken up by the ice making gubbins and cold water dispensing mechanism. So much so that we kept a separate old under unit freezer in the utility room.

 

It sounds like you need to take out some units to make space, slot in an American FF and fill in the resulting gaps with bridging units above and some form of side infill. How hard that is depends how old your kitchen is and whether you can get more units to match.

 

Agree a picture and dimensions of what you have in mind would help..

 

Not the best picture, but this is the FF we had in the last house.

 

 

[wozza]

The biggest issue you will find with American style FFs is the way that the doors open.

 

The FF needs to stick out further into the room to allow the doors to open.

[Dan F]

Amercican style are deeper than standard built-in cupboards.  You can get a "built-in" kit for some FF's, but it won't be truely built in and will stick out.

 

If you really want a more american style largish built-in FF then one of the few options avaiable is Fisher & Paykel which are 900mm wide, 610mm deep and have american style double doors + water/ice while still being built-in flush.   At their prices though, you might be best to buy two standard FF's next to each other though!

 

800mm built in:

https://www.fisherpaykel.com/uk/kitchen/fridge-freezers/french-door/integrated-french-door-ice-water-refrigerator-800mm.RS80AU1.html

 

900mm built in:

https://www.fisherpaykel.com/uk/kitchen/fridge-freezers/french-door/activesmart-fridge-900mm-french-door-built-in-with-ice-water.RS90AU1.html

 

900mm (build in kit available, but sticks out 100mm and needs more than 900 width.)

https://www.fisherpaykel.com/uk/kitchen/fridge-freezers/french-door/activesmart-fridge-900mm-french-door-with-ice-water-541l.RF540ADUX4.html

Edited April 21, 2020 by Dan Feist

[ProDave]

As above, the reason "American" FF's are so much better than a fully integrated one, is they are much deeper.  But beware never trust the dimensions given.  Look again at my picture. That FF was advertised as "fits standard 600mm deep units"  That turned out to be untrue.  The FF we had was about 700mm deep PLUS the doors.  To make it work, we had to bring the cupboards either side of it and the bridging cupboards out further, adding two large gable end panels to do so. 

[lib8899]

i have attached a picture of the kitchen im talking about

the 2 bottom cupboards 1,bottom left is fridge ,next to it is freezer

the end cupboard has boiler in it and below a cupboard.

Thank you 

 

 

[Russell griffiths]

57 minutes ago, lib8899 said:

i have attached a picture of the kitchen im talking about

the 2 bottom cupboards 1,bottom left is fridge ,next to it is freezer

the end cupboard has boiler in it and below a cupboard.

Thank you 

 

 

If you want to put it in there I think 99% of what you have will need  throwing away, it will be far easier for the guys to install the fridge and you will need to buy some bridging units to go over the top of the fridge with a couple of new decor end panels. 

Trying to hack that lot about will cost more in labour than it is worth. 

[wozza]

I doubt if you would get a full size free standing American FF in that space and be able to open the left door fully (Assuming the boiler will be staying)

 

You may get a 700mm wide one (or slightly bigger) in if you had a 400mm cupboard on the left (assuming the current cupboards are 600 wide and the boiler needs to stay)

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by wozza

[PeterW]

2 hours ago, lib8899 said:

i have attached a picture of the kitchen im talking about

the 2 bottom cupboards 1,bottom left is fridge ,next to it is freezer

the end cupboard has boiler in it and below a cupboard.

Thank you 

 

 

You couldn’t get an American fridge freezer in there but you could reuse the doors as they are, fit some steel joiners over the gaps and fit a side by side larder fridge and larder freezer. 
 

May potentially look better if you used the doors from the end unit, you’d have to rework a bit of the middle section for the boiler cupboard but it would be fine. 

[Ferdinand]

Really not sure what to suggest here. You are going to compromise on something here. It is an important one since a definition of house is "a group of rooms arranged around a fridge",

 

I think I would look into redoing the whole thing, and looking carefully at what the different elements cost. Cupboard doors and cupboards are not expensive. Fridges are, depending on the fridge.

 

My 'American Style Fridge" is actually German and 610mm deep, and the thickness of the doors need to stand proud, but they open to 170 degrees on stand-forward hinges - not sure if they are all like that. But a new one (actually a fridge freezer pair in a frame, so that only half of it loses power if a motor dies) is nearly as much as the one mentioned above.

 

Personally I went for a model without gadgets for low maintenance and long life, and my watercooler is a carafe in the door. But that is personal taste.

 

There is the option of choosing the ff your really want and building custom around it; but unlike slab doors, those cannot be butchered and look OK easily.

 

You also need to allow enough space to the wall in case your fridge doors do not open fully and you can't get your shelves out. That may argue freezer on left as they have thicker walls and narrower shelves and are more tolerant in this respect.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Carrerahill]

13 hours ago, lib8899 said:

Hi

We have a fridge freezer which is integrated the kitchen so it look like a cupboard.

Its not big enough,

Above the fridge is a cupboard and above freezer is a cupboard and then there is 2 more cupboards then the boiler is in a cupboard.

The cupboards are modern style and go nearly to kitchen ceiling

We want a large american style fridge with ice and water if possible,the only thing is there's no other space in kitchen .

Firstly does the fridge need to be next to a tap ,we still want it integrated with cup boards over it,but I'm struggling to see how we go about doing this.

So would the builder take all the cupboards out to fit the fridge and freezer then try and put doors over it?I don't know really anything about this

as the american fridge we had before was huge and just sat in the kitchen,it wasn't built in.

Thanks

Lib

 

Could you replace the freezer with another fridge (perhaps with freezer box) and have a freezer elsewhere? We have a fridge freezer in our kitchen which we would struggle with on its own but a chest freezer in the garage for bigger things, infrequently used things or bulk. 

 

 

[Dreadnaught]

Others I believe have contradicted the thought, but my view is that it is problematic to have freezer within a living space because of the noise of the compressor. My preferred arrangement is a larder fridge in the kitchen, much quieter, and for a full-size freezer to be relegated to a utility room.

Edited April 22, 2020 by Dreadnaught

[Ferdinand]

Further thought - do you have a particular problem with one half?

 

Can you go for one of those with a full width freezer drawer at the bottom, which would give you more than half freezer - or vice versa if such exist.

[dpmiller]

9 minutes ago, Dreadnaught said:

Others I believe have contradicted the thought, but my view is that it is problematic to have freezer within a living space because of the noise of the compressor. My preferred arrangement is a larder fridge in the kitchen, much quieter, and for a full-size freezer to be relegated to a utility room.

 

why would a freezer be noisier than a fridge?

[Dreadnaught]

11 minutes ago, dpmiller said:

why would a freezer be noisier than a fridge?

 

 Because the temperature difference it is required to achieve is much the greater.

[PeterW]

Just now, Dreadnaught said:

 

 Because the temperature difference it is required to achieve is much the greater.

But the insulation in freezers is thicker normally and once they are down to temperature they hold it well. Interestingly the under counter fridge here is noisier than the large upright freezer. 

[dpmiller]

how does that make it noisiertho? The same compressors are used in fridges and freezers...

[Dreadnaught]

I would expect them them to contain a larger compressors than a small under-counter larder fridge (which is what I have in mind). And as noise increases non-linearly with work, all else being equal I would assume that they would be noisier. Happy to be provided with enlightenment.

 

Are there American-style fridges that are inaudible now? My experience of them in general, and the one in my present home, is that they are unpleasantly noisy. Perhaps I am out of date and they are being fitted with quieter compressors, upgraded insulation, and inverter drives these days; although perhaps these are costly additions.

[SiBee]

49 minutes ago, dpmiller said:

how does that make it noisiertho? The same compressors are used in fridges and freezers...

Not always. I have under counter side by side zanussi fridge and freezer. They are old though, about ten years. Compressors are not the same  and the freezer makes a lot more noise. Fridge is quiet, freezer is not.

I am tarting the kitchen units up and cleaned the back of these appliances looking for any obvious problems so this is fresh in the memory. Only just put them back so not dragging them out to take pictures?