Kitchen dilemma sorted
A “GRR” MOMENT TURNS INTO A SHEDDIE’S OPPORTUNITY
We had a designer kitchen installed in 2007. I was impressed by the whole operation — a designer visited, discussed our requirements, and measured up. Then we got the plans and after some further discussion and amendment these were signed off and a substantial deposit paid. The installation was quick and efficient — a young chap who knew what he was doing, a screwdriver, and a pile of flat-pack modules. I thought at the time that a handyperson could just about do the installation themselves.
The fridge packed up, so...
Our kitchen is a galley layout, and the design included matching refrigerator and freezer units side by side, along with the oven and microwave in a wall of storage cupboards. The layout worked well but the refrigerator started playing up after a few years, and eventually we were obliged to replace it. Problem number one was that the particular model refrigerator is no longer manufactured, and in fact, there is nothing on the market that size. We had
to replace both refrigerator and freezer. Grr! The freezer is still working well, and fortunately there is space in the laundry for it.
We looked around and found a very nice refrigerator/freezer unit with French doors, so opening them in the confined space of the kitchen is easier than with full-width doors or drawers. The new fridge is 1000mmx2100mmx700mm.
What to do?
When the kitchen was installed there was a void space over the 2100mm high modules to the ceiling above. There is a structural beam which restricts the height in one place, but mostly it is wasted space. It was faced with MDF panels that matched the rest of the joinery, edging and all.
The refrigerator and freezer are side by side in two 600mm wide spaces separated by a full-height, laminated MDF panel. Above the refrigerator and freezer are two cupboard units 600mmx450mmx300mm in which we kept cookbooks (my wife, Rosaleen, likes cookbooks).
How to fit a 1000mmx1850mm refrigerator/freezer unit into a space 1200mmx1600mm? It will stick out more than the old fridge but that is not a problem. Width is also not a problem, but the cabinets above would need to be made shorter.
Then came the “Aha!” moment that makes DIY so rewarding. Why not slide the cupboards up into the void space? They are still accessible, and they free up enough space for the new refrigerator. Marvellous! And better still — a 200mmx1900mm space beside the new fridge enclosure is now available for use. It would make a good bookcase.
Easy as ...
So that was the project. Removing the two small cupboards was as simple as locating and unscrewing four screws on each side of each cabinet that secured them
“The refrigerator had been leaking and the particle board floor underneath was damp”
to the adjacent MDF panels, and sliding them out. That left the central MDF panel, which separated the refrigerator and freezer. Getting this out required removal of the floor panels on which the refrigerator and freezer sat.
The kitchen floor is a 12mm thick laminated composite material called Hydrawood glued to the particle board floor underneath. However, under the refrigerator and freezer the Hydrawood was replaced by 12mm thick plywood panels. These revealed problem number two. The refrigerator had been leaking and the particle board floor underneath was damp. It was marine-grade ply, and there was a lot of silicone sealant round the edges, but the water had still found a way. More grr!
I contemplated having to replace a section of the flooring, but closer inspection showed the damp patch was small and quite localized. So I set the dehumidifier going in the space and left it running for a week. The floor dried out pretty quickly but I left the dehumidifier going for another couple of weeks, just to be sure.
More storage space
With the cookbooks allowed for in the new narrow bookcase beside the new refrigerator, I proposed to use the high cupboards to store our slow cooker and electric fry pan, for which we had no space in the kitchen before. Problem number three — the cupboards are not deep enough. They are made shallow to provide air circulation space above the refrigerator and freezer, and that made them about 20mm too narrow to fit the fry pan and the slow cooker.
The cabinets consist of top, bottom, two sides, and a back; all 18mm white laminated MDF panels joined by dowels and screws. The back panel is held in place in a slot routed into the other panels.
I made the two cabinets deeper by adding a 40mm wide strip of MDF to the back. I had a half sheet of 21mm thick white melamine in the garage, so I cut four lengths 40mmx1220mm long using my hand-held circular saw, and then cut them to 18mm thick using my bench saw. Then I routed a slot along each 40mm wide strip to replicate the slot in the original panels.
Keeping the look consistent
These strips were then cut to length to match the top, bottom, and sides of the cabinets, and dowelled, screwed, and glued in place. The cabinets end up with a slot and a join visible near the rear of each cabinet, so I filled the slots with Polyfilla and sanded them smooth. The slots are at the back of what are now high cupboards, so they are not really visible. I could have made new cabinets, but I didn’t think that was justified. I’m the only one who will notice.
The gap between the two cupboards was filled using off-cuts from the MDF panels that previously covered the void space above the modules. These were the matching colour and had the same edging, so the appearance of the kitchen is unchanged.
The water leakage had damaged the bottom of the full-height MDF panel separating the refrigerator and freezer, but I was able to cut the damaged end out, and reuse the panel as the edge
“I could have made new cabinets, but I didn’t think that was justified. I’m the only one who will notice”
of the new refrigerator enclosure, separating it from the bookcase.
Future proofing
The only additional timber I needed for this job was the melamine strips to make the two top cabinets deeper.
I did worry about the floor, and vowed never to trust silicone again. I elected to make a stainless-steel tray for the floor for the refrigerator to sit on. When I (or someone else) has to remove it in 10 or 20 years, the floor should still be in sound condition.
To make the tray, I purchased a 1200mmx700mm off-cut of 0.55mm stainless sheet, and cut and folded it to fit neatly in the opening, held in place by four screws. The front edge of the tray where it meets the kitchen floor is folded down and sits in a milled slot that is filled with Sikaflex 291 marine sealant, which I am assured is the best available. It sits on a new plywood base.
Now the refrigerator is in place and the new layout is working really well — in fact, even better than the old one.
This is a particular solution to a specific problem, but the modular nature of kitchen cabinetry means that with a bit of inspiration, a perceived problem can be just a sheddie’s opportunity in disguise.
“I did worry about the floor, and vowed never to trust silicone again”