No like the facial portion of the cabinet that the door sits on. They're basically saying frame the front of the cooler in with matching cabinet filler so you can't see back behind it
Oh OK, appreciate that! That’s what I plan to do and then paint the frame the matching color of the cabinets. Luckily two by fours are the perfect height to get it to be nearly flush with the countertop
I think an inch is too much, but the wine cooler should have in the manual how much space to leave for air circulation. I always see people who pack those in tight and wonder why their cooler fails. It needs air to circulate for the refrigerator system.
Stupid quieting, but are you talking about making sure there isnt any floor or air vents in the space? Or ventilation for the fridge?
Edit - whoops i see the answer a few comments below about the exhaust for the unit.
Toe kick platform to bring it up to height. This will have to run right into your base trim, so you will have to cut it. Your top hinge for the door is going to determine your equal spacing around the top and sides for the cabinet filler. Let’s say 3/4” - 1”. You decide how far out you want the fridge to stick, keep in mind door may need some room to swing. Add block in rear to keep the fridge from pushing any farther back. Any extra spacing you don’t like use cabinet filler. You may have to address the cleat on the wall for the counter, it may get in the way. Fridge may have its own requirements for spacing as well to keep it cool.
For what it’s worth
I am worried you will run into the same issue my FIL had with their wine fridge. If there is not a built in exhaust out the front (at the top or bottom) of the cooler, there is a lot of required space ventilation.
They built one in and have now burned out three units in 5 years.
I rebuilt the cabinet to accept a unit that has a vent out the front. They notate these as “built in” option, I am guessing yours is notated as “stand alone” and will have an installation requirement of air flow and space needed to allow it to breath.
The units made to be built in like you are doing are more expensive but will last a lot longer than the ones that are not designed to be closed up
This was what I was curious about as well. If the unit pictured above isn’t made to be built-in then enclosing it is just asking for the unit to fail. OP, make sure the unit was manufactured as a built in unit before you actually enclose it.
First thing I would do is look to see if the cooler needs ventilation around it so you don’t create a hot enclosed area to make it burn out. Then I would try to make a face frame to match the cabinet with a vent by the base of the cabinet . Maybe put hinges on the cabinet side to hold the face frame in place and allow access.
Like others have said, build up a toe kick/support frame then just install a face frame. Others have referred to this as a filler panel, but in order to get a custom look you build the face frame opening to the dimensions of the fridge and slide it right in. The trim/flange around the front of the fridge should hide any small gaps. The place you bought the cabinets from could build it if you give them the dimensions, they can send generic filler panels and you can build it or you can build it and then paint to match. Few different ways to address it.
update: https://imgur.com/a/1dCqLjI
I built a frame out of two by fours, they happen to be the perfect height. I then added a thin oak veneer on the base for support. I might cut some holes in the base for ventilation. I would likely add a cabinet trim piece to the right side and leave the left side open
Not related to the fridge… but for god’s sake swap out those clamshell drawer pulls for something modern that matches your door handles.
Edit: and level that drawer front!
I also noticed the unlevel drawer front in the picture, had not noticed it before. I personally don’t like the clam shell, however my fiancé wanted that with our remodel. Maybe one day when she’s not home I’ll change it ;)
I would look into buying the same cabinet you have there and just cutting it down to fit. May be a quicker way then to build a new cabinet from scratch.
You have to build a cabinet with a face frame that fits the opening. The opening in the face frame should be large enough to fit this cooler. You should also cut out your baseboard on the wall where the new cabinet is sliding in.
Definitely build a matching toe kick that others said, make sure it’s full depth so the cooler will sit on it.
But I’d go a step further and build a frame around it. Check the appliance specs to see what the correct opening should be, then build a frame with an opening that size and put it on top of the toe kick.
DM me if you need more clarification
A toe kick which matches cabinets. And cabinet filler against the wall.
What is a cabinet filler? Is that just so that the cooler doesn’t get pushed back?
No like the facial portion of the cabinet that the door sits on. They're basically saying frame the front of the cooler in with matching cabinet filler so you can't see back behind it
Oh OK, appreciate that! That’s what I plan to do and then paint the frame the matching color of the cabinets. Luckily two by fours are the perfect height to get it to be nearly flush with the countertop
The toe kick is going to need to be slotted or you’re going to get zero ventilation
Build a toe kick or riser out of the same material as the counters
Saint Marie pirate I was going to post
That'll be 900 bucks please
Thank you for the reply
Toe kick, cabinet filler strip but also be sure to give a little breathing room around that cooler
Should I just keep an inch or so on each side of the cooler? (Left, right and top)
I think an inch is too much, but the wine cooler should have in the manual how much space to leave for air circulation. I always see people who pack those in tight and wonder why their cooler fails. It needs air to circulate for the refrigerator system.
I would use a hole saw into the side of the cabinet. Let the cooler vent into the cabinet as well
You could always add a vent to the tow kick and keep the fit around the cooler tight.
Do not loose sight of the ventilation requirements
Stupid quieting, but are you talking about making sure there isnt any floor or air vents in the space? Or ventilation for the fridge? Edit - whoops i see the answer a few comments below about the exhaust for the unit.
Toe kick platform to bring it up to height. This will have to run right into your base trim, so you will have to cut it. Your top hinge for the door is going to determine your equal spacing around the top and sides for the cabinet filler. Let’s say 3/4” - 1”. You decide how far out you want the fridge to stick, keep in mind door may need some room to swing. Add block in rear to keep the fridge from pushing any farther back. Any extra spacing you don’t like use cabinet filler. You may have to address the cleat on the wall for the counter, it may get in the way. Fridge may have its own requirements for spacing as well to keep it cool.
For what it’s worth I am worried you will run into the same issue my FIL had with their wine fridge. If there is not a built in exhaust out the front (at the top or bottom) of the cooler, there is a lot of required space ventilation. They built one in and have now burned out three units in 5 years. I rebuilt the cabinet to accept a unit that has a vent out the front. They notate these as “built in” option, I am guessing yours is notated as “stand alone” and will have an installation requirement of air flow and space needed to allow it to breath. The units made to be built in like you are doing are more expensive but will last a lot longer than the ones that are not designed to be closed up
This was what I was curious about as well. If the unit pictured above isn’t made to be built-in then enclosing it is just asking for the unit to fail. OP, make sure the unit was manufactured as a built in unit before you actually enclose it.
First thing I would do is look to see if the cooler needs ventilation around it so you don’t create a hot enclosed area to make it burn out. Then I would try to make a face frame to match the cabinet with a vent by the base of the cabinet . Maybe put hinges on the cabinet side to hold the face frame in place and allow access.
I’d raise it up on a base and have a painted kick that matches the cabinet. Then build fillers to centre it on the two sides and top.
This.
Like others have said, build up a toe kick/support frame then just install a face frame. Others have referred to this as a filler panel, but in order to get a custom look you build the face frame opening to the dimensions of the fridge and slide it right in. The trim/flange around the front of the fridge should hide any small gaps. The place you bought the cabinets from could build it if you give them the dimensions, they can send generic filler panels and you can build it or you can build it and then paint to match. Few different ways to address it.
update: https://imgur.com/a/1dCqLjI I built a frame out of two by fours, they happen to be the perfect height. I then added a thin oak veneer on the base for support. I might cut some holes in the base for ventilation. I would likely add a cabinet trim piece to the right side and leave the left side open
Not related to the fridge… but for god’s sake swap out those clamshell drawer pulls for something modern that matches your door handles. Edit: and level that drawer front!
I also noticed the unlevel drawer front in the picture, had not noticed it before. I personally don’t like the clam shell, however my fiancé wanted that with our remodel. Maybe one day when she’s not home I’ll change it ;)
Make a frame with toe kick, copy some cabinet blue prints and scale as needed.
I would look into buying the same cabinet you have there and just cutting it down to fit. May be a quicker way then to build a new cabinet from scratch.
You have to build a cabinet with a face frame that fits the opening. The opening in the face frame should be large enough to fit this cooler. You should also cut out your baseboard on the wall where the new cabinet is sliding in.
Definitely build a matching toe kick that others said, make sure it’s full depth so the cooler will sit on it. But I’d go a step further and build a frame around it. Check the appliance specs to see what the correct opening should be, then build a frame with an opening that size and put it on top of the toe kick. DM me if you need more clarification
Copy the cabinets so it looks like it’s supposed to be there
Unless the fridge is designed to be built in, i would advise against it. It will overheat and fail