Essential Tips for Installing Built-in Appliances

Built-in appliances are becoming increasingly popular due to their aesthetic appeal, simplicity, and high space utilization.

Fully integrated designs can blend seamlessly with cabinets.

Fully integrated refrigerators

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Image Source: Daogrs Flagship Store

However, currently, the market’s fully integrated appliances are 3-5 times more expensive than regular appliances, leading many to choose pre-made built-in appliances instead.

Appliance retailers have launched the zero-integration concept (altering the thickness and panel style of appliances to align their surfaces with custom cabinets, minimizing gaps).

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Regardless of whether it’s fully integrated or zero-integration, there are no significant technical challenges, but installation can be fraught with pitfalls.

Today, I will summarize some common pitfalls in the details of installing built-in appliances.

The reason for discussing refrigerators separately is that their role and usage scenarios in our homes are quite special.

We need to ensure the refrigerator’s capacity; even for singles or couples, a large-capacity refrigerator is often purchased.

Fully integrated refrigerators can compress the volume, and they are expensive, so fully integrated refrigerators are not yet mainstream.

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Unlike other appliances, ensuring capacity while integrating requires custom cabinets, which necessitates compromises in volume and dimensions.

If you want the refrigerator to not protrude beyond the cabinet surface, you may need to make thicker cabinets, which clearly adds to the cost and must be considered in the budget.

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Regular refrigerators require more space to open their doors, leaving too much space on the sides collects dust and looks bad; if too little space is left, the refrigerator door may not open fully, making it difficult to clean the drawers and shelves inside.

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On the contrary, if the door panel protrudes slightly, it won’t affect the refrigerator door opening, and for better usability, a slight protrusion of the refrigerator is acceptable.

Alternatively, you can directly choose a zero-integration refrigerator; the technology is becoming increasingly mature, achieving almost “zero gap”.

Image Source: Haier Flagship Store

For built-in appliances, the biggest challenge is achieving perfect alignment, and numerous factors affect this, often involving gaps of less than 1cm.

For appliances built into cabinets, it is essential to note that the countertop width and cabinet width are two different dimensions.

The dishwasher is based on cabinet width, while the washing machine is based on countertop width.

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The thickness of appliance door panels is often overlooked, especially for washing machines and dishwashers; the shape and size of the door significantly affect the embedded effect.

For washing machines, include the thickness of the door panel; otherwise, a protruding door looks unattractive.

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For dishwashers, adjust the height of the dishwasher’s kickboard and the cabinet’s kickboard; otherwise, it looks bad, and installation may require cutting the door panel.

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For appliances like robotic vacuums and small appliances that are entirely placed inside cabinets, consider the hardware on the cabinet door, as hinges and dampers are on the cabinet surface, limiting the internal space; this is often overlooked, leading to appliances not fitting.

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This is a very detailed issue, primarily related to adjacent cabinets and drawers.

Aligning the refrigerator door with custom cabinet doors looks better visually; this applies to steam ovens, dishwashers, and drawers as well.

Alignment can be achieved by adding drawers and cover strips; if not overly concerned, it can be ignored.

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For built-in appliances, the upper cabinet doors can extend down or the side cabinet doors can be widened to cover the gaps left by the embedded appliances.

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If the cabinet side panels and the front panels are different colors, you can buy wallpaper in the same color scheme online for a few bucks to beautify it.

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Appliances require power, and those involving water need inlet and outlet pipes; it’s best to install in adjacent cabinets (above or beside), as conventional installations behind the appliances can lead to plug thickness affecting the embedded fit, causing it to protrude from the cabinet surface.

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If you accidentally install incorrectly, you can switch to embedded sockets to salvage the situation.

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When purchasing, consult the salesperson; some built-in steam ovens do not require sockets, connecting directly with wires. Clarify this and communicate with the electrician in advance to leave room for the connection.

Moreover, when stacking or placing washing machines and dryers side by side, consider whether the power cord length is sufficient. When stacking, leave an extra socket in the cabinet above the dryer.

For more convenience, consider installing a single control socket or smart switch to control the power of built-in appliances.

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For appliances embedded in the middle of cabinets, concerns about cabinet load-bearing are common; generally, the materials available on the market can support the weight.

For integrated steam oven units over 70L, weighing around 40kg, use 18mm solid wood particle board or solid wood plywood.

Additionally, embedded steam ovens are reinforced on the side cabinet panels, so strict width requirements apply to the custom cabinet openings; if too wide, they cannot be secured.

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Built-in dishwashers are also reinforced on the sides, requiring side sealing panels for hanging the dishwasher.

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For ordinary direct drinking machines, you can create a reinforced hanging rack to prevent the machine from shifting and misaligning with the cabinet doors.

For washing machines raised for embedding, use 18mm solid wood plywood for double-layer reinforcement, and the vertical cabinet panels in the bottom cabinet should also be supported with double layers. If still concerned, you can install a steel frame for added support.

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First, determine where the appliance’s heat dissipation holes are located; fully integrated refrigerators typically have their heat dissipation holes at the bottom for air intake, with the dissipation holes at the top of the cabinet or directly connected to the ceiling.

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Regular refrigerators and dishwashers do not require back panels, leaving 40-50mm of space at the back or top for heat dissipation.

Embedded steam ovens, etc., use front circulation for heat dissipation and do not require reserved heat dissipation space; regular steam ovens only need 50mm for heat dissipation when embedded above.

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For example, the faucet for the washing machine, the three-way for the dishwasher, and the inlet and outlet angle valves must be prepared by yourself; otherwise, you will have to spend extra money on the installer to purchase them, affecting the installation progress.

Check the installation requirements of the product when ordering, noting what is provided for free and what requires additional payment.

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Custom cabinets often have high rework rates, and the integration of appliances requires more communication.

When making built-in appliances, always determine the appliances first before making the cabinets; even if the appliances have not been delivered, the dimensions must be confirmed in advance to the custom manufacturer, and the locations for drilling holes in the materials can be processed in advance at the factory.

The best way to ensure accurate dimensions is to measure the actual machine in the store, including the product’s net dimensions and the space occupied by installation and usage.

During installation, provide intuitive images and drawings to the installer as much as possible and ensure that dimensions are checked during the custom cabinet installation to prevent errors.

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During user research, several details regarding post-installation usage were mentioned.

For example, in an L-shaped kitchen, the dishwasher and sink cabinet doors conflict, making it impossible to open the dishwasher when standing at the sink.

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Some have also reported that the distance between the steam oven and refrigerator is too close, causing steam to blow onto the refrigerator and leading to frosting.

Additionally, for kitchens with gypsum ceilings, it is recommended to paint waterproof paint above the steam oven to prevent moisture.

To avoid such issues, consider rehearsing the scenarios by demonstrating the post-move layout and usage habits, identifying conflicts in time for adjustments.

Zhu Fan’er fans have created storage drawers under the dishwasher based on their habits.

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Image Source: Zhu Fan’er Self-shot

What are your thoughts on built-in appliances? What troubles did you encounter during installation? Feel free to share in the comments.

Regarding the selection of built-in appliances, I could write a separate article. Let me know how many people would like to read it; please give this article a thumbs up + a look. If there are enough likes (no limit), I will arrange it immediately.