How to remove side wall of fridge cavity?

[bee3bee]

Hi!

My parents recently moved into a new place and the fridge cavity is literally about half a cm too small to fit in, so at the moment it’s jutted out and they need to walk around it. 

Is this side panel a requirement for the cabinet sitting above? Is it possible to remove this without causing structural instability?

and if so, how much would a handyman charge for work like this? A ballpark amount. I’m conscious of the wall it’s currently connected to and the floor being an eyesore afterwards. 

Any assistance would be very helpful! 

 

 

  

[bee3bee]

 apologies I didn’t have photos of the opposite side, hopefully this gives a rounded picture of what we’re working with!

[Jason]

How frustrating to be so close but not fit @bee3bee! It looks like a beautiful kitchen so I would be selling the fridge and just chalking its (slightly smaller) replacement down to a cost of moving. That said, let me tag some kitchen experts in @EricL, @helsbren, @Acewoodhome and @diy_hausdesigns to see if they can make more helpful suggestions. 

Let me also extend a very warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We look forward to reading about your own projects and plans. Please don't hesitate to post anytime. 

Jason

[EricL]

Hello @bee3bee 

Thanks for sharing your question about the sidewall of your fridge cavity. It is difficult to tell how much the handy person will charge you for the effort. The general steps to moving that panel are the following: 

• The screws for the panel are located inside the fridge cabinet. The whole cabinet must be removed so that it does not damage the right-hand panel of the fridge cavity.
   
• The left side panel that must be removed is probably fixed with silicone along with an angle bracket supporting it either from the top or bottom. These must be removed as well.
   
• Once the panel has been removed an 18mm panel spacer will need to be placed on the side of the fridge cabinet. Once installed the fridge cabinet can be installed back into place.
   
• The left side panel will need to be fixed into its new place with silicone and angle brackets. Any damage to the wall will now need to be fixed at this point.    

Once everything is back into place, the fridge should now fit neatly into place. I suggest posting the job on either Airtasker or Hipages so that you can get a quote on how much the job will cost.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let me know.

Eric