Selecting a New Refrigerator

Basic Configurations

There are four basic refrigerator configurations that comprise the full-size home refrigerator category.

French Door - Counter Depth

1. Top Freezer style refrigerator/freezers are a bit of a dinosaur for most homes, but they are still found in apartments and in kitchens where space is really limited. They're at the bottom of the scale in price and features. Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center (UAKC) can provide quotes for apartment managers, builders, and other multi-family needs.
2. Bottom Freezer refrigerators, while not the most popular refrigerator configuration, are still preferred by some. A more modern version of the Bottom Freezer refrigerator is the French Door Refrigerator – a Bottom Freezer fridge with split doors above the freezer.
3. French Door refrigerators have become very popular over the last 20 years as customers have opted for the convenience of a freezer on the bottom and full width refrigerator space on the top accessible by split doors. Recent variations of the French Door refrigerator configuration include multiple compartments and doors.
4. Side-by-Side refrigerators have freezer space accessible through a door on the left side and refrigerator space on the other.

Refrigerator depths and height

Within the 4 refrigerator configurations, there are the different refrigerator depths that will affect how your refrigerator appears in the kitchen space.

Counter-Depth Refrigerator

1. Full-Depth refrigerators can have a depth of 30 or more inches causing them to stick out from standard 24 inch cabinets and adjacent 25 1/2 inch countertops.
2. Counter-Depth refrigerators while not flush with the cabinets have cabinet dimensions (not including doors) near the 24 inch wall cabinets. While they are near cabinet deep, their doors will protrude from the cabinet for opening and are not flush or built-in. Models could be as high as 72″.
3. Built-In refrigerators will mostly be flush with the cabinet dimensions. Some may have only trim and hinges protruding allowing the doors to swing open and close. Most Built-In refrigerators have the machine compartment located on top, giving them a height of approx. 84″.
4. Integrated refrigerators will fit entirely flush and their hinges are designed so that the doors will open within the enclosure with no extra space needed for the doors to swing out.

Built-In French-Door Refrigerator

There are accompanying increasing cost differences as you move up the scale towards built-in and integrated refrigerator types. As you can tell, this is a complicated matter. You will need to consult with an appliance specialist such as those at UAKC. There may be specific clearances, panel dimensions, electrical and water hookup locations, and etc. For many of these issues, you may need to co-ordinate with your builder or kitchen designer.For all these needs or other appliance and decorative plumbing fixtures call or visit the professionals at Universal Appliance and Kitchen Center today.