Removing door/drawer front from integrated freezer?

[valve90210]

I'm in the process of freshening up my kitchen a bit and need to remove the draw/door fronts from my integrated freezer but I'm not quite sure on how to do so.

With the integrated fridge it was simple as there were just screws and brackets that needed to be unscrewed however on the freezer I have what looks like 4 slotted brackets with bolts (2 either side)?

I think I probably need to get them undone using a flat pressed type spanner like you get with bikes etc though I don't know quite what size it would need to be?

Also I have the issue that I can't get to the two brackets on one side as it's close to the wall, would I be right in thinking I'll need to take the door of the freezer right off?

edit, forgot to put up a pic of the bracket I have:

 

[Jobe]

There should be a couple of screws around the top fixing the door to the fascia of the appliance. Once undone the door should slide off. The bracket looks like it has a male/female part so it holds the door in place.

 

[valve90210]

I will have another look tomorrow but I'm fairly sure that there are no screws anywhere that I can get to.

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

On mine I removed the normal fridge hinges were replaced as part of the fixings for the cupboard front, you needed to undo them a bit so the doors could move to free up the fixings that were added to the hinges, then tighten the hinges back up so the doors functioned on the fridge

 

[valve90210]

I had a good look at this last night and am none the wiser as to how to remove these panels.

The top hinge for the freezer door is attached to the door using a bracket with two screws on the top edge of the door, however I can only get to one of those as the other one sits under the work top. I also can't get to the part of the bracket that goes onto the main body of the freezer as that attaches to the top of the freezer and is located in a channel that has been carved out of the bottom of the worktop.

The bottom hinge attaches to the door in the same way as at the top, with two screws into the bottom edge of the door. The bottom bracket itself is a plastic part which screws into the front of the freezer. I did try unscrewing this to see if I could drop the door down and off, however, in doing so, neither of the two screws came out fully, from the body of the freezer, they just loosened which made the door drop down to one side but was not removeable. They then didn't want to tighten back up again without a fight, I did eventually get one of them to retighten which meant I could close the door and it'd seal closed again but not I'm completely stumped as to how to remove these two panels (door front and drawer front).

The only thing I can think is if I can wind the legs right down (or up rather) to drop the height of the freezer it might drop enough that the top bracket is lower that the channel for it in the worktop and I might be able to move the freezer forward enough that I can get to the top of the bracket and might stand a chance of removing the door but even then I can't see how I can take the panels off. The only fixings I can see are the brackets in the pic above.

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Are the fridge /freezer actually attached to surround in any way.
I found with mine after disassembling the door etc that it was easier (or would have been) to remove the few screws that held the fridge freezer in place and pull it out/forwards enough to make access much much easier

Could be yours is the same, they go on and then slot back into place, maybe this is why you cannot get access to the screws you need?

 

[valve90210]

My fridge is attached in that way but I don't think the freezer actually is, from what I've seen it seems to just be stood in the gap on it's own legs. It I can get it lowered enough I might be able to pull it forward which could help.

I'll try to get some photos this evening if I get a chance.

 

[valve90210]

I think I may have found my answer...Seems I may need one of these...

 

[kitfit1]

I think I may have found my answer...Seems I may need one of these...

You are correct, you will need one of the above spanners. It's a fianal locking spanner, but it won't actually get the door off.
What you probably are not aware of though, if you peel back the rubber seal behind each of the 4 mounting brackets you will see 2 small holes with a slotted post in each. One is usually plastic, the other is metal. If you use a small electrical screwdriver and turn each of the metal posts clockwise, the attached kitchen door will then become loose.
Once it's loose, slide the complete door to the left and then gently pull the right hand side of the door away from the appliance door then just slide the kitchen door to the right and it will free from the appliance door. If that dosn't free the door, slide it to the right and gently pull on the left.
Leave the fittings attached to the kitchen door untill you are ready to fit a new door, when your ready carefully copy the screw positions over to your new door and re-fit doing the reverse of the above.

 

[valve90210]

I'm fairly certain there aren't any holes in the freezer door, or at least if there are I've not found them by looking under the squidgy bit of the rubber seal on the door, would these holes be located under the actual bit that's stuck onto the door rather than the squidy bit?

Any chance you might have a picture of what you mean?

 

[kitfit1]

You only need to peel the seal back behind where the mounting brackets are. With some doors you might have to peel the seal back a long way before you can see the holes, they will be there though. No pics i'm afraid, most appliance manufacturers stopped using this mounting method in the late 1980's early 1990's. The only time we come across it now is when ripping out an old kitchen to replace it.

 

[valve90210]

Cheers, I shall have a look this evening if I get chance. I figured the kitchen had been in rather a long time as most of the house looks like it was decorated in the 1990s.

Do you think it would be possible to remove these without having to buy the spanner thingy, maybe using some long nose pliers or something?

 

[kitfit1]

Cheers, I shall have a look this evening if I get chance. I figured the kitchen had been in rather a long time as most of the house looks like it was decorated in the 1990s.

Do you think it would be possible to remove these without having to buy the spanner thingy, maybe using some long nose pliers or something?

Yes it is possible to get it off without the spanner, but you will need it to be able to tighten it up again when you re-fit a new door. With or without a spanner though, the posts behind the seal need to be backed off first.
One thing to remember when it comes to fitting a new door, fit the handle first.

 

[valve90210]

Are there different types/sizes of those spanners for different manufacturers or are they all the same, I don't want to find I've ordered one and it's no use to me...

It was changing the handles which made me realise I couldn't strip the vinyl and repaint the cupboards in situ!

 

[kitfit1]

Are there different types/sizes of those spanners for different manufacturers or are they all the same, I don't want to find I've ordered one and it's no use to me...

It was changing the handles which made me realise I couldn't strip the vinyl and repaint the cupboards in situ!

No, they are all the same. The mounting system was made by one manufacturer, but was sold to nearly all the appliance manufactures of integrated fridges and freezers.

 

[valve90210]

Brilliant to know, thank you for your help! (assuming I can find the holes in the door...lol. If not I'll pick you brains some more with lots of pics!

 

[valve90210]

@kitfit1 I had a look at my freezer last night and unless I'm much mistaken I don't have any screw holes in the door where the bracket is...

Showing the bracket location



Seal pulled back as far as possible. All that is left a very narrow bit which is where it's actually stuck down but having tried to pull that off the door I still couldn't see anything there either:



Now I'm a little confused as to how to continue...

 

[kitfit1]

Mmmmm, the freezer must be even older than i thought. The only way forward then is to buy the spanner i think.

 

[valve90210]

Do you reckon they might just bolt on? I shall order up the spanner and see what I can do.

These are the last two that need stripping and painting! Lol.

 

[darael]

If the freezer is as old as others suspect - and judging by that seal, I am inclined to agree with them - I would be extremely tempted just to replace it.