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I'm sure there are!
However, A little information would be nice. Some refrigerators have removable panels and some do not. If it has removable panels, any millshop worth it's salt will be able to supply you with a custom fitted panel for you to install.
Gabe
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My refrigerator does not have removable panels. I have already made the panels to match the rest of my cabinet doors. I was wondering if I could use construction adhesive, and if so, would I need to rough up the surface of the refrigerator door before glueing them up.
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Oh, this could be a disaster in waiting.
If you scuff up the finish and apply an adhesive that may have corrosive properties or even by scuffing up the surface of the door, you may cause premature rusting and subsequent failure.
Panels that are attached to refrigerator doors with the brackets designed for this allow the panel to shrink and expand. They are never glued.
Sorry, I can't help you with this one.
Gabe
*You need some kind of frame , maybe aluminium angle screwed into the edge of the door to capture the panel , like Gabe said the panel needs to " float " . Chuck
*Why has no one considered magnets?
*Rich,It's already been established by the University of Wisconsin, employing a million dollar USDA grant, that refrigerator magnets can hasten the spoilage rates of milk and other dairy products. I've never seen actual proof of this, of course, since a gallon of milk or a wedge of cheese has about a day's life span in my household. Nonetheless, I'd avoid introducing unnecessary electro-magnetic fields into the home. By the way, the rug rats in my home can slam a refrigerator door such that the floor is littered with magnets and scraps of paper, so it'd have to be pretty strong ones to hold panels securely.
*There are companies out there that make after-market mounting frames for refrigerator panels. An appliance dealer and a couple of kithen cabinet dealers mentioned them. Try them as sources. Apparently not cheap. Also did hear about an aftermarket adhesive backed panel, don't know how they deal with edges.
*I wonder how that double backed tape glazers use would stand up? - jb
*To add to what Jim said, how about that double sided pressure sensitive tape? It's that gray rubbery stuff. I believe it's what they use to stick exterior body moldings to cars. The stuff sticks like heck to smooth surfaces and can be removed if necessary.In the house I live in now, there was little to no wall space to mount towel racks in the master bath. I got some of that tape at an auto parts place and stuck a towel rack to the side of the glass shower. About 4 sq inches of tape has been holding that towel rack for 4 years! It's used daily. The tape has some flex but I'm not sure if it would have enough give to accommodate the expansion/contraction that Gabe and the others referred to. Perhaps the expansion/contraction thing would be a non issue if you mounted each panel with one large strip up the middle of the panel - parallel to the grain?I'd be interested to hear what solution you decide on.
*There's a 2 page article coming up in the new K&B issue of FHB due out in 2 months or so (I think).It'll cover an easy method to "attach' a panel to a refer door.Short version:Bend aluminum stock (colored if you please) into a 'J'. 2" leg screw to back of panel. Make Bottom of 'J' 1/16 to 1/8" wider than door is thick. Upturn of 'J' = distance from end of door to gasket - less a hair.Make 3 pieces - top and two sides. screw top to back of panel. Space side pieces a little further apart than door is wide so you don't get binding.Pull door off refer and install:Slip panel over door. You may have to leave a space in 'J' to accomedate the hinge pin. Gravity and friction holds panel in place. BTW - screw handle, pull... onto door before you slip it on. Otherwise you'll have to get it off - can be a pain.Nice system because you aren't putting holes or glue on refer.Now, Anyone got a system for outfitting a dishwasher door??? I have been looking for that myself.
*geez, as interchangable as those color panels are on dishwashers, you'd think you could slip a panel of just about anything in there. Or, for a thicker detail, you should be able to devise a way to fasten flat metal strips (say 1" wide) to the back of the wood to slide behind the existing trim on the dishwasher. - jb
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At the last house we lived in I made our standard refrigerator into a "built-in" by having knotty pine panels made to match the cabinet doors. I made a frame and vertical handle of walnut, milled to stick out like a Sub-0 handle, and used construction adhesive to glue the whole thing on. I may have hidden a few screws behind the walnut frame (it was sort of an outside corner detail) to hold it on. I didn't have any problem with movement, but I always wondered if the nylon bearings that most refrigerators use were going to wear like crazy because of the extra weight.
As for dishwashers, Mike, the problem with adding panels (especially dimensional ones) is, again, weight. You will have to find out if your brand of dishwasher will supply heavier springs to offset the weight and keep the door from scraping your shins as it falls open. Some simple aluminum or stainless "L" metal would trim the sides of the door and cap the panel on the front.
Good luck,
-Ben Carnes
*I have done a couple of dishwasher panels. Make up door panels that are 1" - 1 1/2" smaller than the size of the existing panels. Mount them to 1/4" plywood of the same species as the doors and finish. Remove the little chrome strip on the side of the door, pull out the metal panel and replace with wooden one. If you do the door and the access panel below, be sure the door will clear the lower panel wh
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...the wife must have driven up mid word! - jb
*Ben, those little nylon washers will stand up to YEARS of teenage boys leaning on the door while peering into the always empty fridge. The grocery man, Joe
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The problem with putting wood panels on appliances is that the gap between the appliance door and the cabinet door is still much bigger than the 1/8 inch gap between the other cabinet door fronts. To "really intergrate" door fronts one must understand that the hinge point of an appliance is not the same as your cabinets. I went to Germany and found a solution. I placed a cabinet door in front of my refrigerator (made of lightweight Sintra, a foamed plastic, that I laminted with a finish material). This door had the typical zero clearance hinges. I took the handles of the fridge. The fridge door pivot point is now different than the cabinet front's hinge pivot point. Thus if both doors move together (one pressed against the other) the outer door actually moves in a lineal direction more than the refridge door.
In Germany they make plastic clips about 3 inches long x 2 inches wide. It consists of two pieces that slide in a track or channel. On side is screwed to the appliance door, the other side is attached to the back side of the wood cabinet door. This device compensates for the difference in hinge points. I used these clips on all my appliances and they look very integrated. I am surprized that no USA cabinet component distributors sell these slide clips - they are a great problem solver anytime one is trying to hide ugly doors by placing another door directly in front of it.
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Martin - do you know where you got them? Or the trade name for these clips? Could you post a close up picture of one? Thanks - jb
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I cannot answer your questions. I have relatives in Germany who sent them to me. They have no names attached.
These "clips" are very common in Europe. If one goes into a hotel with a "minibar" in the room many of the small refrigerators (with nice cabinet fronts) employ these clips to hide the appliance door. I am sure a German cabinet supply house would stock them.
Again I wish a USA supply distributor had enough "brains" to import such a useful clip - but I have found none that do.
*A follow up on "double sided tape". When it comes to bonding, lot of folks think they know a "solution". As a product development engineer I have been in many situations requiring "bonding solutions", and have found the best way to get an answer (bonding a wood panel to a metal door) is to talk to the glue chemists at the factories. Double sided tape comes in many forms, some designed for "retail markets" others for heavy duty industrial markets.Metal and plastic bus, truck, car panels are now bonded to frames employing such "industrial foram tapes". These tapes are excellent for such use because the absorb vibration. In my work I tested such tapes for "peel strength" (bonding two pieces of sheet metal)and I can tell you that you could not pull it apart. Wood may present a slight problem because it is porus but could be easily fixed by first coating the area to which would receive the tape with some thin epoxy coating. I would recommend you call 3M and talk to foam tape chemist, have them send you free samples of a few of their industrial tapes.Another "little known" fastening solution: Velcro is also made in many different forms, most folks being familiar with only "retail" forms, most often employed on textiles. Their are "industrial grade" velcros. The amount of "stick" is variable, and rated by how many "stick on/ pull off" cycles you want. They make some that is "premenant" (stick on once and can't get off - used to put refractory tiles on the walls of nuclear power plants)- again Velcro absorbs vibration.Hope some of this helps.
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