Need a woodworking solution: ideas?

We needed a new refrigerator, so I took measurements and my wife went off the to the bigbox to make the selection. For the record, measurements were accurate and my wife was armed with a tape measure- but she relied on the sign above the fridge in the store and did not measure the machine itself. Sign was wrong, as it turns out, so now the fridge is 1/8" too tall for the space we have.

My idea for the solution is to trim the cabinet above the fridge: if we could trim that 1/8" off (plus a touch more for variations is floor height) that would do the trick. My question is, what's the right way to do it? A very fine blade on a table saw (fine blade to preserve the finish / aesthetics of the visible surface)? The cabinet is solid wood, not veneer.

Any ideas, tips, or tricks to share? Thanks in advance!

A number of solutions come to mind, modify the refrigerator base , there is usually some adjustment on them, cut the cabinet more than 1/8 , say 1 inch and use a trim strip to dress it off, that way you know it will fit. A trim strip can cover saw marks etc and still give a good appearance. Trying to squeeze it into a tight spot with no room for leveling etc just makes it more difficult to remove for cleaning etc. That's why I suggest the 1 inch of cabinet trim with a trim moulding.

Is it too late to take the fridge back?

We're in a bit of a time-bind, unfortunately, and we jumped through some hoops just getting the fridge into the room (had to remove moulding on a door so I'll have to reinstall and repaint that too). I thought about telling the delivery guys to just take it back, but I figured trimming the cabinet to size would be less hassle overall.

I haven't looked at the manual, but I'm guessing the wheels at the base of the fridge don't adjust or else the delivery guys would have done it right away. So far Geezer's table saw / trim strip idea is the front runner. I was thinking about a router with a straight bit, too- I'm concerned about scarring up the finish on the front surface.

Hey Dave-O’

I had the same problem, a couple of times.

Shorting the cabinet is going to be way more hassle than it seems. Trust me.

But I went there once and consider myself reasonably good with wood. And it was a total can of worms.

But in most all cases the small cabinet above the fridge is a separate piece. Screwed to the wall from the inside. Just unscrew it and move it up ½”. Then in the future you can move it back for the next fridge.

Depending on your (wife’s) tolerance level you probably won’t notice the difference at the top, of course unless it’s up against the celling,in which case you may just want to remove it and paint the wall behind it.

Hey DaveO

If it helps you are definitely not the first or last person who will have this problem. Depending on the design of your fridge you may need more room to allow spent heat to escape. (first thing I would check) If your kitchen is the modern box style I agree with Ray. Remove the box above your fridge. You can order a new box with matching doors to fill it back in. Crown molding can be be a problem but if your careful that can be left in place.

If your kitchen is like mine and it was built on site with plywood, well you have your work cut out for you. (NO pun intended!) I had to do top and bottom cabinets to get my appliances to fit!

There is NO easy way to do it fast without making a very unattractive mess. This type of building method can use a full 8 foot length of plywood for a shelf. But that would be very, very rare.Typically each cabinet is one full and completed set of plywood shelves with plywood with stiles and rails added for the doors to attach to. Each adjoining cabinet will share the neighboring gable end. This is the key difference. The shelves are typically mortised into each gable end a little bit so be prepared for that. To make room for your fridge you are going to have to remove the cabinet doors and remove one whole shelf. From gable to gable. If you only need to remove half of the cabinet for the fridge. You have no choice but to build the other half back in later. This may sound like a lot of extra work. But it is by far the best method for a clean un-renovated looking finish when your done.

Hey, Canada- thanks for your note. I took this cabinet down this morning and I don't think this will be as involved as your note suggests. It is a modular box with doors; 3 of the boards that make up the outside walls of the box are particle board, and the outside visible wall (with doors) is solid wood, not veneer. There is about an inch of "lip" from the bottom of these boards to the underside of the first shelf. The left side of the cabinet mounts to the wall, and the right side mounts to a vertical solid wood board. This board is as wide as the countertop is deep and defines the space the fridge fits into.

So it doesn't sound like the same design that Canada describes. I'm thinking a straight cut on a table saw would do it- thanks for the tip on heat dissipation, I'll cut enough off to accommodate. My table saw is a small one and the cabinet is large enough that I won't be able to attach the fence. If I had a fence I'd be less concerned with cutting the solid wood surface.

There's a local community center with a wood shop, and they may have a table saw large enough that I could set up a fence and get a very clean cut.

Thanks all for your replies- I was able to trim the edges down with no problems other than some minor chipping that occurred on the front surface. I went to the community center and got some time on their big table saw.

With that done I was able to re-install the cabinet. Then installed the new fridge, and de- and re-installed a dishwasher. Cut two lawns, fixed a bike, it's noon on Sunday and still more chores. When does the relaxing part of the weekend start!

Thanks again~

Hey DaveO

Glad to hear (1) it was box construction and (2) a simple and doable fix. (their always the best!) From your chore list, in answer to your last question, Monday.