Granite worktop unsupported span

[RogerS]

We are having a granite worktop fitted and I've a couple of questions.

The current plan is for the fridge and freezer (each 600mm wide) to be fitted side by side. This means that the granite will span an unsupported distance of 1200mm. There is a batten at the back, the granite suppliers say it will be fine but what does the forum think? I could put an end panel in between the fridge and freezer but the end panel has a radius only on one edge and so it will look a bit naff, I reckon.

Second question - the fridge and freezer have 'plates' that screw up into a batten that fills the gap between top of fridge and underside of the worktop. I can fix the batten at either end to the two adjacent units but would people bother to fix it to the underside of the granite as well? gripfill?

Many thanks

Roger

 

[dedee]

Roger,
would the end panel you envisage between fridge and freezer need to come right to the front of the worktop. If it stopped 6" back from the front it would still provide additional support and I doubt would be noticed?.

NB. idea only never tried this myself.

Andy

 

[RogerS]

Hi Andy

I think that the gap would be noticeable. Good idea though!

Roger

 

[Steve Maskery]

Hi Roger
I take it the granite is supported at both ends and all along the back - have I got that right? Well, I'm no structuaral engineer, but I'd be astonished if that was coming even close to failure point of the worktop. Plenty of support, I'd say.

I do have a comment, however, about putting fridges and freezers underneath anything. We have fairly tall F & Fs, with a built-in cupboard above. The kitchen company wanted to put a very shallow cupboard above, one that didn't go right back to the wall. This was to let the heat escape. They reckoned that not doing so would shorten the life of the appliances considerably. I wanted max storage, so we compromised by leaving a 4" gap at the back - equivalent to the gap from the back of the F's themselves to the wall.

The first fridge lasted only 3 or 4 years, so I don't know if that's because we bought a lemon or if the professional kitchen fella really did know more than a hobby woodworker about fridges!

 

[Barry Burgess]

Roger the granite will not be a problem - I only had problems with a hob cut outs over a greater than 600mm span but ventilation of the below counter fridge and freezer are a bigger problem.They need more than you think else they don't work very well. The heat goes up the back of the appliances and cannot escape through the granite.
Barry

 

[Project88]

I have a ganite worktop (30mm thick) which I installed in my kitchen in exactly the same arrangement i.e. a 1200mm span over fridge and frezzer, supported along the back. No problems so far, its been there for almost 2 years.

I did have a bit of a panic some time ago when I came home to find my daughter sat on the granite exactly in the middle of the unsupported length. I kindly suggested that she might like to alight from her current seated location, well actually I said "aaaaagghh GET OFF NOW!!!" Which she did of course by springing off using all of her might, like a human jack in the box :shock:

There were no signs of distress, well not to the granite anyway

I was also worried about the performance of the units and the lack of airflow, my gap is only about 1". No detrimental signs so far and I have convinced myself that the granite is infact a giant heat sink; which is a good thing right?

Cheers,
John.

 

[Scrit]

Hi Roger

I have previously done exactly what you propose for a customer. The only thing I did was to give them a written nopte that they were not to stand or sit on the worktop. Four years down the line it's still in and unbroken.

Scrit

 

[RogerS]

Ok...thanks guys..that puts my mind at rest...

need to give some more thought to heat extraction though. The fridge and freezers have been running in the same configuration underneath a laminate worktop for 10 years+ with no ventilation slots in the top ..without any obvious signs of distress.

 

[stairman]

after 10 years how can you know if its a problem with
1 the change of work top
2 the moving the fridge and freezers they don't like being moved
3 the appliances were ready to die any way
4 if you have new ones now are they built to last as your old ones were

 

[RogerS]

Any hints regarding my second question re fixing to the underside of the granite?

 

[Barry Burgess]

Roger I use Gorilla glue to fix wood to stone or metal.
Barry