Refrigerator under the window

People have long had a need to keep food fresh and prevent spoilage. Actually, this led to the creation of such a necessary in the home appliance as a refrigerator. Long before the appearance of the modern “rumbling” cabinet of the usual type, all sorts of ways of preserving products were used.

In Russia, the appearance of the refrigerator itself under the window can be attributed to the XIX century. Nobles in the heyday of apartment houses rented such apartments (prototypes of today's apartments). Representatives of this class, who owned, as a rule, country estates, but who wished to live in Moscow, had such kind of refrigeration units under the window in the “master's” kitchens.In the future, these buildings were altered as communal apartments, and the presence of space under the window sill compensated residents for food storage inaccessible during the Soviet pre-war years.

In the houses of the so-called "Khrushchev's" layout (as well as in many "Stalin") builders left a niche under the windowsill in the kitchen for the purpose of further installation of batteries (radiators). However, many intelligent people used this space to install a winter refrigerator, and the battery was moved slightly to the side.

It should be noted a significant difference between the "Khrushchev" and Stalinist houses (in fact, the houses of the pre-revolutionary time). In thin-walled buildings of the Khrushchev planning, constructed of cheap building material, condensate accumulation and the formation of fungus were possible. If we talk about refrigerators in the "Stalin", then there is not formed so much frost and frost there can be formed only when the frost down to minus 20-30 °. The pre-revolutionary houses were made of very high-quality brick, which still serves faithfully and there, and there the fridge only shows through slightly in cold weather or in windy weather.

The undoubted advantage of a refrigerator under the window sill is a significant saving in storage space, which is most important for apartments with a small area. Here you can also keep home canned food, and in winter use this space as a freezer.

The disadvantage of such an improvised construction can be attributed to the fact that offset radiator (which is a prerequisite for the installation of the refrigerator) may break the air flow isolation (cold wind will be felt).

Another disadvantage of the home refrigerator under the window is the formation of frost and condensate on the inner walls, which is due to the significant difference in temperature inside the apartment and on the street. This, in turn, can lead to the appearance of mold, so it is necessary to carry out dry cleaning as often as possible.

The thickness of the walls of brick houses according to GOST is 2-2.5 standard bricks (from 0.5 m to 0.65 m). In the "Khrushchev" used the so-called well masonry (slag was used as insulation, which was poured into gaps). To deepen the window sill and expand the volume of the domestic refrigerator, you can knock down the plaster coating, as well as remove one row of bricks.

The thickness of the outer wall can be increased to 0.25 m and leave a ventilation hole with a flap (it helps to regulate the temperature in the niche).

A small internal partition can be plastered with a standard mortar and sand mortar. In order to avoid problems with the freezing of the wall, it is not recommended to apply the putty material directly on the brickwork itself. It can form cracks and microscopic cracks, through which moisture can penetrate during the autumn months, and in the winter, during severe frosts, masonry can freeze and possible delamination of the putty.

The best way to handle the inside walls of the window sill cooler is to finish it with ceramic tiles.which can be laid directly on the plaster. In this process, it is recommended to use a universal tile frost-resistant adhesive. It does not need to use expensive tiles for cladding: the main thing that the tile was smooth. For these purposes, you can purchase substandard goods or use construction scrap and tile residues after repairing other areas of the apartment (for example, a bathroom or kitchen).

In order to properly hang the doors on the subwindow cooler, it is necessary to make smooth edges of the recess with angles of 90 degrees. These dimensions are achieved using the ceramic tile mentioned above or by inserting a wooden frame to fasten the front enclosure.

In order to keep the temperature in an improvised refrigerator, it is necessary that the doors closely adjoin each other. The preservation of tightness is possible only with the correct fastening of the front block, therefore, this issue should be approached as responsibly as possible.

Alternatively, you can consider the door of the PVC profile (close the deaf sandwich panels or double-glazed) and aluminum sliding structure. Again, you can ask for help in this matter to organizations that produce and install windows made of metal and plastic.

It is worth noting the advantages of this type of finish:

• simplicity and comfortable use;
• high degree of sealing;
• full functionality and large capacity;
• beautiful appearance.

You can calculate the right number of doors. This feature is usually provided by the manufacturer. Provided that if the refrigerator has small dimensions, one door can be dispensed with, in the case of larger parameters two doors are required. If you want to choose a more economical option, you can make a design with a deaf smaller part, provided that the large one will open. Despite some inconvenience, this will save money.

The cost will vary depending on the overall configuration - you can only order doors,In this case, the price of the order will be much cheaper. Under the option of complete interior decoration, you will have to pay much more expensive.

Let us turn to the technical details for those who still decide to install the structure with their own hands.

The loopback groove must be centered 2 cm from the front edge at an angle (this can be achieved by adjusting to the thickness of the door).

From the edge of the facade from the end to the central installation of the hinge, a distance of 7-12 cm is needed to suit your needs and the size of the door. In the event that the products are heavy in weight, a third loop in the center can be added to secure the structure. This should be done by calculating the gap between the buildings so that they do not touch the shelves of the refrigeration unit.

To install the loops, it is recommended to use the so-called “end mill” for woodworking (this is a special device for punching holes; it can be a regular nozzle for a household electric drill or a perforator). For the main socket, the diameter of the cutter must be at least 35 mm, becauseA typical furniture panel has a thickness of 16 -18 mm, and the groove depth should be from 12 to 13 mm, you must be extremely careful and careful when drilling, so as not to "perforate" this wall. To avoid this, it is necessary to sharpen the drill well, preferably with a professional tool. You will not need to pressure the panel when working with force; the depth adjustment process will be much easier and more convenient.

The remaining loop door is attached directly to the tile with screws and dowels. It is necessary to carefully measure the distance between future holes and make the most accurate markings of the fixing points with a marker or pencil. Provided that if you are working with a conventional or hammer electric drill, it is recommended to make a test hole with a drill of a smaller diameter (3 mm will do). When working with a perforator (which is undoubtedly more convenient and efficient), the tool must first be switched to the drill mode (without the rebound function), and only after that it should be done accurately in a similar operation.

For such actions, the standard drill size, as well as, respectively, and dowels, is 6 mm. It is logical that the screws used for fixing the doors should be of a smaller diameter, but not less than 4 mm.

There are a large number of ways to finish the sill fridge, which will give this unit the most appropriate appearance. From an aesthetic and practical point of view the most suitable option when installing the doors will be the one in which the refrigerator door will match the kitchen design.

When choosing such a solution, you can contact the company for the manufacture and installation of kitchen sets where you ordered your furniture (as a rule, it is possible to purchase some parts of the headset separately from manufacturers). In this case, you can ask for installation assistance from the same specialists, but it will cost money. We also have another task - to make everything by our own efforts, absolutely free of charge, without resorting to the help of professionals.

By installing a kitchen structure, its design can be varied in various ways.If you do not stylize the refrigerator under the kitchen set (as mentioned above), you can show your author's imagination. Here, different options are possible at the discretion of the master: this is also the wrapping of plastic doors with wallpaper (as an option, 3d photo wallpapers), and the processing of doors along the edges with beautiful patterned planks (plastic or wooden).

For especially creative individuals, artistic painting of doors and many other alternatives can be interesting. To taste the master of the kitchen, you can choose an acceptable style of design. This design, again with careful study of the issue is able to easily and harmoniously fit into any interior of the room, giving it an interesting touch.

As a result, we can conclude that with the right approach, a refrigerator under the window in buildings where it is possible to use such a construction would be an excellent solution for any kitchen.

How to make a refrigerator under the window with your own hands, see the following video.