question for anyone that's made wooden cabinet face panels for Fridge/freezer

[bonesbr549]

I'm building my last house, and doing the cabinets myself.  I will be installing subzero fridge/freezers.  One upright, and one dual drawer fridge under the counter tops. 

I want to put matching wooden panels on the units to match my cabinets.  Anybody done these and can offer some tips / tricks of the trade or watch outs?

Thanks in advance.

 

[WastedP]

The only thing I have to offer is that you should very thoroughly read the specs that are relevant to your exact model of refrigerator(s) and installation.  Subzero and Viking both have recommendations for panel sizing that are dependent on whether your cabinets are frameless, overlay, or inset.  There can also be differences depending on whether the refer and freezer are split or ganged together.  I have seen different panel sizes on different models that were the same size from the same manufacturer (hinges were different).

Since you are building the panels yourself, would you be willing to wait to build and finish them until after you have the appliances installed?  It makes life a lot easier to check the measurements of what you think you should build against what's really, actually there.  I try to explain the benefits of this route to my clients, and a majority of them see the value in it.

 

[mastercabman]

Get the specs from the manufacturer and READ,READ,AND READ THEM!
All they are is doors that just mount to the front
Are the cabinets inset or overlay?
Some appliances are designed to be installed either way
But follow instructions. That is the biggest problem I come across with installation

 

[Cheese]

If you're talking side panels, here's a picture of a chalkboard panel I made for our Sub. I used Sub-Zero brackets and attaching arms that they sell in a kit. Also cut and bent some stainless at the bottom to match the stainless toe kick I made for the front. With the Sub-Zero parts it's pretty straight forward but a bit spendy.

[attachthumb=1]

 

[bonesbr549]

Thanks for the pics.  Thats cool.  I'm talking about panels for the doors so it looks like just part of the surrounding cabinets.

 

[tjbnwi]

Start on page 17. This may not be for your model but the same spec sheet will be available for your model.

http://www.subzero-wolf.com/~/media/files/product%20downloads/sub-zero%20wolf/design%20guides/subzero%20design%20guide.pdf

Tom

 

[phmade]

I've done several of these and it's always nice to have the actual units before you make the panels.  With that being said, I have found the Sub Zero specs to be very accurate. 

I've noticed the European cabinet manufacturers take a different approach and it seems to work well.  They make the cavity for the appliance slightly oversize so they KNOW that the appliance will fit.  Then they make their custom panels the appropriate size for the cavity rather than relying on the Fridge Manufacturer.  After all, maybe your reveals are smaller than what sub zero assumes? 

I should mention that when sizing the cavity oversized, it's usually a pretty small amount (~5mm).