I was so excited about finding a Kitchenaid Counterdepth SS frig for $1,200 that fit into the width of the opening I have. What I didn't consider was the door swing (this is the first frig I've ever purchased). I have a fixed wall right next to where the frig will go and it will only allow the frig door to open a little more than 90 degrees, which is way less than the 150 degrees stated in the manual. The only drawback I see is that the pull out bins will not open all the way. However, they will open enough to get food in and out. Fortunately, the wall is only a little bit deeper than the frig, so if necessary, I could always pull the frig out a few inches if I had to remove the sliding bins for any reason. I'm thinking I could just leave four of those plastic furniture mover discs under each corner of the frig, so I can pull it out with ease. Unfortunately, the wall is load bearing and there are stairs on the other side of it, otherwise, I could probably have it cut back to the same depth as the frig.
What would really be great is if there were pivoting hinges that allowed the door to be pushed back when open instead of having to swing open. I'm probably not describing that right, but if the side of hinge that attaches to the frig moved instead of the side of the hinge that attaches to the door, then the door could open and then pivot back a bit into the open space between the frig and the wall. But alas, that's not how it works, so.......I'm hoping my work around is feasible.
Is there anything I haven't considered that would prevent the "just pull it out as needed" approach from working?
I can't see your photo, however, in the kitchen I just ripped out, my refrigerator was blocked from opening entirely- I could get it past 90 degrees, but not much, and I could access everything just fine.
Other options include:
thinning down the load bearing wall. Frequently walls have more deadspace than required, and you can take the drywall off and without messing with the structural elements, have the drywall notch in where you need it, since you probably need only a few inches.
Good luck- I'm sure you can come up with something to make this great fridge at a great price work wonderfully!!
No ideas on whether it will be enough room or not, but what you described with the hinges is pretty much what the blum door hinges do, right? Blum for appliances! That'd be awesome.
just beware if you go the way of the furniture mover pads, if they have foam it will flatten (if you leave it under the furniture for an extended time) and the mover becomes virtually useless
I am not sure what model you have - but can you change the direction that the doors open? I know on my old Bottom Freezer fridge, you could open the door left OR right and swap it out pretty easy.
It may seem weird at first - but if you can end up opening it up all the way - it may make up for it.
Nope, you're right you can't change the doors on a side-by-side!
For some reason one of my original suggestions didn't make it into the post...user error, I'm sure. I hope this isn't a silly comment, but, can you just pull the fridge out a little and leave it there??
It's a counterdepth fridge, so pulling it out will defeat that. However, I've tested it and it will open wide enough to get the food in and out of the sliding bins without a problem. The only time I'd need to pull the fridge out is if I needed to take the bins out completely, i.e., if there was a spill that a wipe up wouldn't resolve and I've learned my lesson about leaving potatos in the bins until they liquify.......so, I should be all set. I think I just panicked a bit when I read the manual and saw the 150 degree clearance notation. This is my first time buying appliances and remodeling a kitchen, so I've been doing a lot of panicking lately!
Lynda, if you don't mind me asking, where did you see the kitchen aid counter-depth fridge for $1,200? We're looking for an affordable counter-depth SS fridge ourselves but the cheapest we've come across is a kenmore fridge at sears. I like the kitchen aid brand so if there's one out there for 1200, would love to buy it.
The model I bought, KSCS25INSS, is discontinued. I just happened to luck up on it a while back during the model changeover. Best Buy's website showed the discontinued model on clearance for $1,234.99 and even though they were sold out, the product still came up on their website and ABC Warehouse beat the price and sold it to me for $1,200.
I just did a browser search on the model number and it came up under Best Buy for $1,099 ($100 less than I paid) under the following link.
However, I'm pretty sure their stock is gone because they were sold out when I got mine and if you go directly to BestBuy.com and enter the model number, it says no product found. But, what you can do is click on the link above, print the page and then if there's an ABC Warehouse or another "we'll match the price" store in your area, contact them and see if they still have any available.
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I think I just panicked a bit when I read the manual and saw the 150 degree clearance notation. This is my first time buying appliances and remodeling a kitchen, so I've been doing a lot of panicking lately!
