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still need panel around a build-in refri

| Posted in Construction Techniques on February 19, 2006 12:03pm

Thinking diy of installing kitchen cabinets, having a question regarding built-in refrig.
If I have tall cabinets on both side of built-in refrig like subzero, and cabinets have full overlay doors on them. do I still need panel on both sides of refrig? or just a narrow filler to keep the cab’s door from interference refrig’s door?
the space is tied on this wall, I can not afford the filler wider than a couple of inches.

2nd Q, how does the dish washer panel at end of run get to attach to wall, or I need to have a box at end of run? how do pros install refrig side panel at end of cab run?

Thank you.

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Replies

  1. ponytl | Feb 19, 2006 01:29am | #1

    chances are the door/doors on your refrig  are just past the cabinets  so it depends more on how your cabinets are made... ie...faceframe... ect... i think 1/2" wider opening than the refrig  and 3/8" foam on both edges will seal it up and keep things quite....  I see end panels that ae just fixed to the wall countertops and floor with nothing more than small metal brackets...  again I'd gasket  with foam weather stripping for noise control arounf the edges where your dishwasher meets anything...

    p 

  2. HeavyDuty | Feb 19, 2006 03:56am | #2

    Depends on how much clearance you need for the fridge door and the look you want to achieve. Couple of inches is more than enough for a sub-z.

    1. Piffin | Feb 19, 2006 04:51am | #4

      Good point. A lot of kitchen designers don't consider letting the fridge door open to swing far enough so that drawers and trys inside can be operated when near a corner, door, or end wall. 

       

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  3. Piffin | Feb 19, 2006 04:48am | #3

    You are probably fine, but I always doa detail drawing to work it out, Start by getting the manufacturers specs - always downloadable pdf files nowdays - easy to google up.

    Check the requiored depth. seems to me that one of these units requires 25" deep which stretches that 24" cabinet flank.

    We make most of our cabs and make the face frame flanking on an end to be same size as the other stiles - say 2-1/4" which rabbet fits on the panel, leaving a space about 1-1/2" inside to the unit. Then we can screw a mounting block that depth to the wall, cieling and floor to secure the end panel.

     

     

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    Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
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  4. zorrosdens | Feb 19, 2006 05:12am | #5

    It has been years since all the homes I worked in had Sub-zeros.  I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure they are deeper than your standard 24" deep cabinets/add doors.  This means that your panel would whatever is needed to the requirements of that unit depthwise.

    The Subz' cabinet enclosures were always: sides with a connecting rail at the top with a shelftop at least.

    The tall panels can be connected to a wall as follows:

    For the back edge, rip a 3/4"x3/4 to 1 1/2" piece of material to glue/nail/screw fasten to the back/inside edge.  This will probably not hit a stud so just put a fair # of nails thru the drywall.

    The top should have a back wall rail and a rail of somesort connecting the front to the other cabinets.....or SOMETHING....don't know your setup.

    On the bottom/inside make a 3/4"x3/4" cleat to attach to your sidepanel and then connect it to the floor.

    ALSO....Sub-Zeros are able to have cabinet grade door panels installed in the doors if you wish, I believe they did require a special hardware pac for this but it's a plush look. 

    Good Luck.......

  5. BryanSayer | Feb 19, 2006 06:51am | #6

    On our sub-zero, we had the wall oven cabinet on one side and a pantry on the other. No fill strip at all but our cabinets had face frames.

  6. steve | Feb 19, 2006 07:18pm | #7

    i usually fasten 5/8 panels to the wall at the bottom using an angle bracket screwed to the bottom plate inside the opening, if necessary, the bracket can be covered with the baseboard

    in the case of a large fridge panel, a 3/8 dowel can be drilled into the panel and finished floor, just be really accurate placing the hole in the floor!!

  7. 30ALL | Feb 19, 2006 07:29pm | #8

    Thank you all. the model I'm interested in is SZ 642. Accroding its spec, 23 7/8" deep behind frame of its doors, so it should fit in 24" tall cabinets.

    The refrig's door frame extents 3/8" to both sides. If I uses full overlay doors on cabs, they may butt against cab's doors so neither door can open freely. That is where the question was coming from.
    Of cause, I won't have this issue if I use inset doors with face frame exposed on cabinets.
    About the end panel, If I understand correctly, it's all about installing blocking cleats on wall and floor so panel can attach to?

    1. sully13 | Feb 19, 2006 11:03pm | #9

      For the end panel using some type of cleat, bracket, or pegging it to the floor would be the best way to do it.

      I have seen some guys just glue the panels in place, didn't make any sense to me.

      With the  SZ fridge don't forget about the top flange on the unit.  There will need to be at least a 3/8" reveal at the bottom of the cabinet to allow the unit to seat correctly.  2 of our cabinet suppliers make deep wall cabinets with shorter doors to address this issue.  That way there is no need to use a filler rail at the bottom of the cabinet.  They will also extend the sides of the cabinet down to create the entire cabinet box in one unit.  It comes shipped that way and it is just a matter of setting it in place and sliding the fridge in. 

      Watch out for ceiling height if you do decide to go this way though because 8 feet of cabinets doesn't tip up into a room with 8 foot ceilings.

      sully 

       

       

    2. HeavyDuty | Feb 20, 2006 12:19am | #10

      One thing you have to bear in mind is the thickness of the fridge door panel. If you use panels in the same style as cabinet door, then you have to allow room for the panel when the fridge door is opened. As I said before it boils down to the amount of clearance required.

      To give you an example, if you cab door comes out to 7/8" from the frame and you use a fridge door panel of 3/4" then the width of the filler from the fridge frame would be 7/8". You can then open the door fully to 135 degrees. If you have less room or for reasons that you have to limit the door opening there are door-stops of either 90 or 105 degrees you can install. but then you may not be able to fully open the drawers, and taking out the ice tray could be a challenge.

      For the side panel you need blockings at the back but you can screw right into the fridge frame in the front. You have to find a way to hide the screw heads though.

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