Refrigerator Wall Cabinet

Hello helper!

I am living in Ohio, USA. We are putting up wall cabinets over refrigerator. However, we found there is only 68" space between our kitchen floor to the underside of the wall cabinets over the refrigerator.

The wall cabinets measured 24" (H) x 24" (D) x 36" (W). We never thought the space could be an issue, else we would have bought a shorter cabinet of 15" (H).

The 68" clearance is good fit for all Top-Bottom refrigerator, but it's only good for small side-by-side refrigerator of only 21 cubic feet (typically 68" height). If future home buyer would need a typical side-by-side refrigerator which is 24 cubic feet (about 69" height), the 68" space will not fit!

Any idea about any rules or building codes about minimum space required between kitchen floor and the underside of the wall cabinets over the refrigerator ?

Thanks!

Shawn

Reply to
sftong2000
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Hello queryer.

There are not codes or rules governing kitchen cabinetry opening dimensions for refrigerators. There are a number of sizes and the cabinets are usually planned around the appliance.

It's not clear from your post whether you find the smaller space to be a problem for you or are wondering if it will be a potential problem when you go to sell the house (assuming you're the owner - also not clear). If you're just putting up the cabinets for yourself and find the largest size refrigerator that will fit the space to be too small, I'd bite the bullet and buy a smaller cabinet. Refrigerator space is far more valuable than over refrigerator storage. You can use the other cabinet in a laundry room or basement so it won't be a total loss.

If you're concerned about resale, then it's still probably something you should fix now. I'm not sure how much it would actually affect the sale price, but It's extremely unlikely that you'd lose money if you fixed it.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

Hello RicodJour,

Currently, the 68" space is not a problem to me as my refrigerator is 67" height with over 22 cubic capacity.

I am just concerned about if I were to resell my house 5 years later, would any home inspector bring up this space issue, or would future home owner notice that and the deal will fall through.

Thanks Tong

Reply to
sftong2000

I pretty much second what he said- around here, more often than not, the fridge is sold with the house. (unless you are only moving a mile or two, they are an expensive PITA to ship.) So I doubt the new buyer would even notice. But if it bothers you, return the 18" if you can, and get a 15". If you can't return it, put it up over the washer. A cabinet over the laundry is always nice.

I have seen some real hack jobs on old un-matchable cabinets, to get a tall fridge to fit. If I ever build a house, at most there will be an adjustable shlf there.

aem sends...

Reply to
ameijers

I've also had to hack at existing cabinets to get another half inch. As for the storage, I have no idea what is in the cabinet above our fridge. I have no idea how to even get to it in under an hour to clear off the top of the fridge.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

No. It's not a deal breaker unless someone really doesn't want to do the deal in the first place. Don't worry about it.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

I would like it if it fit that close, almost like built in, especially if I were convinced you'd had the fridge for years w/o it hurting the fridge.

Have you ever tried to put a big pizza in a side by side freezer? (I guess that is one reason they now make zigzag freezers, but they look scary.)

Reply to
mm

Yep, I guess you bought the wrong size upper cabinet. Do it right and get a shorter cabinet. Use the 24" one somewhere else or return it if you can. If as you say, the 69" fridge has only 68" clearance..why would you think you need a 15" high cabinet instead of the 24"? Go with a 21".

The height to cabinetry over the fridge is dependent on what the fridge manufacturer says it should be. Some fridges can be installed with no space above-probably not yours.

Reply to
Rudy

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