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

wrote:
Hello helper!

Hello queryer.

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 ?

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

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

"RicodJour" wrote in message
oups.com...
wrote:
Hello helper!

Hello queryer.

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 ?

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.

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...

"ameijers" wrote in message
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.

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.

wrote:

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.

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

On 27 Jun 2006 14:09:49 -0700, wrote:

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.`

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.)

Thanks
Tong

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).

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.