How much height required for a new refrigerator????

[JohnN]

My DW is looking at a new fridge. Plenty of room on the width and depth, no problem.
However, the space is 69" high and the one she likes is 68-7/8".

I'm telling her that we cannot fit the fridge with only 1/8" clearance and no, I'm not cutting the cabinetry, so she's unhappy with me - again!

I know I'm old school, I know that. Has technology changed enough where plenty of side ventilation is enough? I know the grill is underneath now and not on the back, and maybe the airflow on the sides is enough.

Thoughts? Thanks.

[Velvet]

Just wondering about the opening for the fridge mine is 71” and I’m in a designer house. And some fridges are built in so no clearance at all.

[villagetinker]

Sorry to ear you are not cutting the cabinetry, you should be able to find a suitable carpenter to take off 1/2 inch. Other option, are you cabinets the full depth to the wall? You can call home warranty (or look inside all of your cabinets) to find the original installer, and you may be able to get a matching cabinet but not full depth, therefore the will be a space between the back of the cabinet and the wall for ventilation. Final solution, if the back wall is an INSIDE wall, you could cut a hole in each side of the wall for ventillation, and put nice grates over the holes.
Just some thoughts, hope these help.

[photo1902]

My DW is looking at a new fridge. Plenty of room on the width and depth, no problem.
However, the space is 69" high and the one she likes is 68-7/8".

I'm telling her that we cannot fit the fridge with only 1/8" clearance and no, I'm not cutting the cabinetry, so she's unhappy with me - again!

I know I'm old school, I know that. Has technology changed enough where plenty of side ventilation is enough? I know the grill is underneath now and not on the back, and maybe the airflow on the sides is enough.

Thoughts? Thanks.

I’ve done this plenty of times for customers. If you only need 1/4” or so of vertical clearance, you don’t need to remove the cabinet and cut it. Simply use a random orbit sander to remove enough material for the new fridge to slide in.

[TNGary]

Had the same issue, box would not adequately fit the opening. Removed and raised the cabinet, was not a big job. Less than one hour. 4 Screws. I removed the cabinet doors for easier access. Keep us posted!

[John_W]

When I bought this LG stainless steel refrigerator I had to cut about 1/2" off the bottom my cabinet, just used a handsaw. See you can even tell it's been done.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/p720x720/118472339_1715243395306852_6539842440282305701_o.j pg?_nc_cat=102&ccb=2&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=YL3UNFkEycgAX9ZySiW&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.xx&tp=6&oh=68b561a3790c9a3b16f79d6bcebf3ff3&oe=601376F5

[JoelJohnson]

When we designed our kitchen, I went online to see the tallest fridge that would work in the space I had between the wall and set of draws, then I designed a cabinet to fit over that height.

[J1ceasar]

Move the cabinet .

[AbnRanger76]

Another problem that could arise with the restricted height is, some refrigerators have a top hinge that is higher than refrigerators, this is included in the height specs for it. But this restricts the use of the cabinets doors from opening. If this is how yours is that would give you the extra room you need to get the fridge under the cabinet, mine is half an inch lower than the hinge. This is a Samsung I just bought when I moved in 3 months ago.

[GolfGirl122]

Had the same problem. You can cut off the difference - it will never show, or remove the cabinet and raise it a few inches. It looks great raised a bit, but more costly to do.

[photo1902]

Had the same problem. You can cut off the difference - it will never show, or remove the cabinet and raise it a few inches. It looks great raised a bit, but more costly to do.

Raising it is an option, however a lot of people have crown on their cabinets. Not to mention the aesthetics of having uneven cabinets, unless you have stacked

[nick demis]

Some of the companies have a 67-1/2" main compartment with a higher door. Go to an appliance store or box store (home depot) and measure the different makes and models.

[JohnN]

I do appreciate the feedback so far. I'm pondering! Thanks so very much.

[Lindaws]

Measure height near the back. Our refrigerator. has a hinge at the front top
that increases height. This part does not go under the cabinet.

[almondz]

We have had a similar issue but still least your width is ok. We had to move our cabinet up because we needed more space than could be achieved with cutting the cabinet off. We hired someone - not too expensive. The height difference is not unappealing - no one even notices. We had crown molding so it took a little ingenuity to get that esthetically correct. If you don't move the cabinet up you most likely will loose use of the cabinets above your frig. because of the hinges. Our problem was width and there was a wall on one side of the fridge and granite counter on the other side with no room to reduce the granite. We ordered a fridge that would fit but they quit producing it during COVID. We have now waited over 6 months for our fridge. We were told by manufacturers that they are producing them all with the same larger shell and changing the cu ft by the interior design. Hence, our "special" size production being delayed.������

[Hoosierb4]

As long as you have at least a couple inches behind it and an inch or two on each side, the refrigerator will work fine. But, you might want to double check the height dimension to be absolutely sure it will fit. (Ex refrigerator engineer here.)

[karensue78]

IF, per chance, you don’t need the storage space over the fridge—remove the cabinet & turn the space into a wine rack of desired height. We have this same problem in our house up north & this is our project for next summer so I can get the new (taller) refrigerator that I want.

[ts12755]

You're asking the wrong people, what do we buy a fridge once every 15 years. Go ask an expert that sells them every day.

[ron32162]

Measure from the back of the refrigerator which is under the cabinet the front is 1 1/2 inches taller because of the hinges on top

[Ornamentlady]

We had about 1/2 inch expertly shaved from the cabinet and it was so worth it to get the fridge I really wanted.

[Heytubes]

I had the same issue and just jacked up my cabinets half an inch.

[JoMar]

This doesn't seem to be a major issue that warrants p***ing off your wife. Pick your battles :)

[rmd2]

Sorry to ear you are not cutting the cabinetry, you should be able to find a suitable carpenter to take off 1/2 inch. Other option, are you cabinets the full depth to the wall? You can call home warranty (or look inside all of your cabinets) to find the original installer, and you may be able to get a matching cabinet but not full depth, therefore the will be a space between the back of the cabinet and the wall for ventilation. Final solution, if the back wall is an INSIDE wall, you could cut a hole in each side of the wall for ventillation, and put nice grates over the holes.
Just some thoughts, hope these help.

I agree, I had my cabinets cut for more height. It's not that big of a deal and now I have more choices on refrigerators.

[Nevermore]

My DW is looking at a new fridge. Plenty of room on the width and depth, no problem.
However, the space is 69" high and the one she likes is 68-7/8".

I'm telling her that we cannot fit the fridge with only 1/8" clearance and no, I'm not cutting the cabinetry, so she's unhappy with me - again!

I know I'm old school, I know that. Has technology changed enough where plenty of side ventilation is enough? I know the grill is underneath now and not on the back, and maybe the airflow on the sides is enough.

Thoughts? Thanks.

You can raise the cabinets over the fridge. That is what I did.

[pepfalcon]

Be sure to check the opening - our opening measured 35" but because there was a wall on one side, we had to get a 33" wide refrigerator so the door would open. Only the sales person at Best Buy warned us about that. That is a problem in the villas. As far as the top, just move the cabinet up 1/2 inch or cut the bottom of the cabinet off- a handy man can do it for you in 15 minutes.

[Topspinmo]

If the house has had tile installed after the build, you loose 3/4”. And yes 3/4” will make difference in older houses. It did in mine. I also had to trim the bottom trim of cabinets above the refrigerator hole. I also had to buy smaller cabinet between the refrigerator and the stove and trim cabinet table top/.

[Topspinmo]

You're asking the wrong people, what do we buy a fridge once every 15 years. Go ask an expert that sells them every day.

No refrigerator now days will last 15 years

[Topspinmo]

Be sure to check the opening - our opening measured 35" but because there was a wall on one side, we had to get a 33" wide refrigerator so the door would open. Only the sales person at Best Buy warned us about that. That is a problem in the villas. As far as the top, just move the cabinet up 1/2 inch or cut the bottom of the cabinet off- a handy man can do it for you in 15 minutes.

When refrigerator in corner I always get split door.

[tophcfa]

Am I missing something, why not just get one the same size as the one being replaced?

[Topspinmo]

My DW is looking at a new fridge. Plenty of room on the width and depth, no problem.
However, the space is 69" high and the one she likes is 68-7/8".

I'm telling her that we cannot fit the fridge with only 1/8" clearance and no, I'm not cutting the cabinetry, so she's unhappy with me - again!

I know I'm old school, I know that. Has technology changed enough where plenty of side ventilation is enough? I know the grill is underneath now and not on the back, and maybe the airflow on the sides is enough.

Thoughts? Thanks.

As long as you have ventilation on the side same size or larger than the intake area it will flow air across the coils. If you have pet you will have to clean intake coils and fan, plus vacuum out the bottom area. I do mine every 6 months.

For those that don’t do it and you’re refrigerator stop cooling normal or runs excessively that’s first thing I’d check?

[Topspinmo]

Am I missing something, why not just get one the same size as the one being replaced?

Upgrade! We all like to upgrade. :1rotfl: Well the ones that don’t have to make it fit anyway :icon_wink: