Replies

1. 
   xmike | Jul 17, 2009 03:04am | #1

   "Pull down cabinet hardware to make a cabinet over a refrig more accessible"? This sounds like just the ticket for a remodel that I'm currently putting on paper. Can you give a link to examples?
   Mike D

1. 
   golfisher | Jul 17, 2009 03:30pm | #2

   http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10842Here is one that Rockler sells.Golfisher

2. 
   oldusty | Jul 17, 2009 05:25pm | #3

     Golfisher ,

              Personally I build most over the refer cabinets out to at least 24" depth , this puts the doors and face of the cabinet close to front of the refer where it is easy to reach .

        I don't think the pull down shelf hardware will actually work for a refer in most cases unless the cabinet sticks out further then the refer which would be awkward to say the least .

       Most refers are about 30-32" from the back wall to the handle in depth , the pull down would have to come in front of the refer and it does not look as though they are designed to do so.

     Another approach we often use is to set the refer cabinet up so it accepts vertical storage with tray dividers for baking sheets and such , this gives easy full access for average ht folks to efficiently utilize the space.

            regards         dusty , a boxmaker

1. 
   golfisher | Jul 17, 2009 05:29pm | #4

   Thanks!Golfisher

3. 
   Barrie2777 | Jul 18, 2009 12:30am | #5

   I agree fully with all of oldusty's points. Those "convienient" accessories often use up more space than they generate. The "WOW" factor is good but realistically they cost too much for what they accomplish.

1. 
   golfisher | Jul 18, 2009 01:23am | #6

   I was just hoping to make it usable space. I vaguely remember seeing a piece in a magazine that used some type of drawer slide on a shelf in bottom of cabinet that when fully extended the front dropped down providing full access to cabinet contents. There was also sides built on shelf. Of course I cannot put my hands on that now.

   Thanks.Golfisher

1. 
   Barrie2777 | Jul 18, 2009 04:35am | #7

   If a client really insists on having a special "accessory" in their kitchen I will do what is needed to make it work. What you describe may if fact be the shelf lowering mechanism on a pullout shelf to allow the lowering mechanism to clear the front of the refrigerator as "oldusty" pointed out. The whole aperatus would be a box on slides within the cabinet which has the lowering mechanism within itself. It still is a lot of "things" to go wrong or in need of constant adjustment.

   Edited 7/17/2009 9:36 pm ET by Barrie2777

2. 
   zolton | Jul 18, 2009 05:11pm | #12

   Golf,

   I recall seeing a similar type pull-out shelf, but it was located in the bottom of a base cabinet. You'd access it by pulling on a handle affixed to the toe kick. The toekick piece would slide out, dragging a shelf behind it. After it was fully extended, you could drop the hinged toekick down in order to more easily load things onto or remove them from the shelf.

   Another thing I've seen in ads were the sliding cookbook holding racks that mounted under an upper kitchen cabinet. They mount under the cabinet and pull out so you can load a cookbook onto the rack. They also can be angled downward a bit, after the rack is extended, so the cookbook is held at a better reading angle. Pretty slick idea.

   But I've not seen anything like either of these for a cabinet over a refrigerator. And I'd be leery of doing something like that. If you're holding something over your head in order to get it into the cabinet in the first place, you probably don't want to be dinking around with some complicated mechanism at the same time. Plus, as others have pointed out, mechanical systems fail over time...

   We have a 30-inch deep cabinet on top of our refrigerator, and it is used to store a turkey roasting pan, a hot-air popcorn popper, a blender and few other items that are not in everyday use. You need a place like that in every kitchen for storage of bulky stuff. It works for us, and is decidedly low-tech.

   ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon

3. 
   hammer1 | Jul 18, 2009 05:32pm | #13

   I built a 20" deep cabinet over the ref. It has double doors without a center stile and a full extension pull out shelf/tray with back and sides. It doesn't drop down but it's easy to get to the stuff. I use it for things I don't have to get to frequently. The wall cabinets in my kitchen aren't all the same depth or height. They bump up or out here and there which gives an interesting look instead of everything being the same.
   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

4. 
   KiddervilleAcres | Jul 18, 2009 04:55am | #8

   I would think that most folks are used to over the refer cabinets not being easily accessed and tend to store things in them that they don't use that often?  I generally don't have much problem reaching things in ours but the wife is quite a bit shorter that I am.

   How about a really nice stepstool?  That fella Samson made a really nice looking one.  Maybe he'll grace us with a pic or three.

   Regards, 

   Bob @ Kidderville Acres

   A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!

1. 
   golfisher | Jul 18, 2009 03:52pm | #9

   A stool sounds like the best option.

   Thanks.Golfisher

1. 
   RalphBarker | Jul 18, 2009 04:27pm | #10

   Yep, it's just that cupboard that prompted me to invent the step stool, way back when. (After inventing the ladder in my youth, when I was too short for step stools to do any good.) ;-)

5. 
   AZMO | Jul 18, 2009 05:00pm | #11

   I cut the wall behind my fridge so it will slide back further. It makes it as functional as the other cabinets I have that go the 8' ceiling height. Step Stool for the upper reaches. Now hard to reach cabinets were always the place your dad put the 'good stuff' anyway, why change tradition!

                     

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