[Latitude 28]

Simon,
Here is a "buckle latch" Forest mentioned that we used on a freezer in our home's basement after the umpteenth time I left the door ajar.  Once I installed it, never had a problem leaving the door open as the latch became the standard operating procedure for getting inside.  I am sure there are some nicer ones, in the marine world, out there to go with you nicely done interior.   I'd be real interested in your laminate install on the fridge when you get to doing it.....I am highly confident it will be Newell worthy install:-)

[BusNit]

Thanks Steve! I was looking for something discreet. I'll figure it out... For the laminate, I am not going to laminate over the new fridge but rather the new filler piece to the side of the fridge since new one is 4.5" narrower but still a counter depth unit. I'll use the laminate formica removed from the old fridge!. it's a perfect color match since the new formica batches are a slight hue of salmon. It's really not that discernible but I can tell colors apart very easily. (For now...Started to wear reading glasses, oh the pity on me!)

[BusNit]

I got the coach back from Leo. He replaced a leaking oil pan gasket due to a small tear from someone over tightening the bolts. Original gasket was 1/4" rubber and was still soft and pliable as if it were new. There were two tears around two bolts which allowed oil to seep through and down the heads of the bolts. That's what made a mess everywhere. No drips or leaks. Leo went as far as sandblasting the oil pan and painting the underside of the engine silver! What an amazing guy!!

So I removed the old Amana fridge on my own by removing as much weight and letting it topple down the steps. No damage was done to coach or old fridge surprisingly! I had to modify the cabinet by making two small filler pieces and raising the floor 1.5". I capped off the exposed edges of the floor with aluminum angle to give it not only a clean look, but to prevent the wood from getting dented with install. I used color matched cabinet paint instead of laminating since the pieces were so small. Three coats with a mini roller followed by sanding and finished off with a clear matte overlay spray. This gives it a super smooth texture and matches the sheen with the surrounding laminate. I installed vertical 2x4's on edge to keep the fridge aligned, added a back board to keep fridge from going too far into hole (27" total depth) and put in a top "Squish" brace to keep the fridge compressed from teetering in the enclosure. It is well ventilated since there is more airspace than there had been with the Amana and this uses 3 amps compared to 12 on the old one. I had my guys stop by the house today to help me lift the new one in. I had removed the doors on new fridge to make it lighter even though it would have fit in fine. Very happy with how it came out!

[Richard]

I really like the handle design for this application. Nothing protruding into the galley hallway is a good thing.

Nicely done.

[Jack Houpe]

That looks beautiful, nice job! We got our new refrigerator in on Wednesday and got it installed, its smaller than yours so I have some space on the left and right to fill in, the right is big enough to put a 7" wide door, this might be a good place for the vacuum hose stuff. We stripped the old unit down just like you did and let it slide out the door the same way. You got to do what you got to do! 

That new refrigerator will draw a fraction of what the old one did.

[folivier]

Hey Tom, why didn't we think to just shove your fridge out the door?

[BusNit]

That looks beautiful, nice job! We got our new refrigerator in on Wednesday and got it installed, its smaller than yours so I have some space on the left and right to fill in, the right is big enough to put a 7" wide door, this might be a good place for the vacuum hose stuff. We stripped the old unit down just like you did and let it slide out the door the same way. You got to do what you got to do! 

That new refrigerator will draw a fraction of what the old one did.



I was going to go with a smaller one and make a side cabinet for more storage, but with just my wife and I, we have plenty of space for stuff. You can get away with using matte black side fillers as it would make it easy to blend not only the fridge, but blend in with the floor. Good idea for vacuum hoses. We have a Dyson vacuum in the closet hung on the wall.

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I really like the handle design for this application. Nothing protruding into the galley hallway is a good thing.

Nicely done.


Thanks Richard! I was on my own figuring out how to accomplish this. My cabinet guy has been out of town with no date of arrival so I had no choice but to go with a larger fridge to avoid cabinet construction. I originally was going to go with a side space of bottle racks but I am not that talented to go beyond a simple filler! Yes, no handles was a requirement which made it more limited on fridges along with no more than 68" height. Tough to find something that looked modern and square shaped which was also a requirement. No curves for us as I didn't want anything to compete with the curved lines of the existing cabinets yet provide a more contemporary feel for our budget.