Integrated vs built in appliances?

dellboy102

Hi All


Was after some advice, planning a kitchen and we're looking at integrated vs freestanding appliances, in your experiences which are the better option?


My current thoughts are:


Pros:
- Integrated appliances look good


Cons:
- Less choice of appliances and you also pay a premium
- When things go wrong they seem more difficult to service
- I've also heard that if you were to replace a broken appliance, the old door/fascia may not fit the new appliance?!


Doing some research online I can see you can buy special hinges to get a integrated look with freestanding appliances, the only downside is you have 2 doors to open, e.g. open the cupboard door to the dishwasher and then open the dishwasher door itself..


If you've had experience with both types of appliance setups I'd appreciate some advice

Dedekind

Look good is rather subjective, I don't like them so much myself!

JuzaMum

I have an integrated double oven and hob. I like these because no food or grease can get down the sides like they can on free standing cookers. It's quite grim when you pull out an old cooker and see what's down the side of it. The dishwasher is integrated but can be removed. My fridge freezer is a free standing American style one.

I was once told a true story of a lady who had a kitchen fire due to an integrated fridge freezer being fitted without any venting. It was sealed into a unit so the heat could not escape!

I think with hobs, ovens and dishwashers you can get a good choice on integrated. If you are looking for washing machines and dryers the choice is less.

Aylesbury_Duck

Had experience of both. I inherited all built-in appliances when I moved house so as they fail, I will replace like-for-like to keep the aesthetics but if I was starting from scratch I'd choose freestanding every time.

As you say, you pay a premium for built-in appliances, the ranges are often more limited (fewer models) and they can require some DIY work to get a decent fit with the vanity panels. If you don't mind the appearance it's definitely a better way forward in my view. On the aesthetic front, if you stick to the same style, e.g. white, flat-front, on all appliances, it looks neat enough anyway. It only starts to look odd if you have a silver washing machine with a convex fascia, a stainless steel fridge, a white dishwasher, etc.

RelievedSheff

We have integrated hob and double oven but our fridge freezer, dishwasher and washer dryer are all freestanding.

We choose freestanding as you get far more choice with the appliances making them easier to replace when they do inevitably break.

As has been said above if you choose the correct freestanding appliances to suit your kitchen they can look just as neat and tidy as inbuilt appliances.

jennifernil

dellboy102 wrote: »

Hi All


Was after some advice, planning a kitchen and we're looking at integrated vs freestanding appliances, in your experiences which are the better option?


My current thoughts are:


Pros:
- Integrated appliances look good


Cons:
- Less choice of appliances and you also pay a premium
- When things go wrong they seem more difficult to service
- I've also heard that if you were to replace a broken appliance, the old door/fascia may not fit the new appliance?!


Doing some research online I can see you can buy special hinges to get a integrated look with freestanding appliances, the only downside is you have 2 doors to open, e.g. open the cupboard door to the dishwasher and then open the dishwasher door itself..


If you've had experience with both types of appliance setups I'd appreciate some advice

Putting a freestanding appliance behind a separate door would only be possible if you have extra deep worktops as the freestanding appliances are usually deeper back to front than the integrated ones.

There is also the line of the plinth to consider. Integrated washers and dishwashers etc are designed to have the plinth line continued.

Take a look at the dimensions in the description of the appliances and you will see what I mean. Also, look at pictures of kitchens in houses for sale where the appliances are freestanding and you will see that, especially washing machines, the freestanding appliances stick out forward of the cupboards.

In the case of fridges and freezers, integrated ones will have a grille fitted in the plinth and often sit in a unit that has ventilation at the back too.

For the above reasons, trying to put a freestanding appliance behind a kitchen door just will not work unless the kitchen has been planned to do this from the start, which would mean setting all the units forward from the wall, working out how to deal with the plinth, and using an extra deep worktop.

In our son's first house, this had been done with the washer, in his second house it was the dishwasher, in both cases it was a pain having to deal with both cupboard doors and appliance doors!

If I was planning a new kitchen, I would have a built in double oven, possibly a built in microwave, space permitting, hob set into worktop, integrated dishwasher, and freestanding full height separate fridge and freezer.

Washing machine and tumble dryer would be in utility room whenever possible, otherwise at the end of a run, freestanding as the WM is the thing most likely to break down, or as a last resort, integrated if in a run of units.

Try to find space for a separate washer and dryer, the combined ones take forever to dry things, and seem to be twice as likely to break down. With a family, you want to be able to get the next load into the WM while the first load is drying.

Regarding doors not fitting replacement appliances, there is no problem with appliances that fit under the worktop, all ovens are also standardised sizes, the only problem may be fridge/freezers where the door split has to match the fridge/freezer split. However many of these are now also standard splits so it would be very unusual not to be able to find an appliance that fitted, though choice might be limited in some cases.

One last thought......even if you go integrated be sure to lay flooring into the spaces where the appliances will sit. Nothing worse than trying to get out an appliance where the flooring has been layed afterwards and you cannot manage to adjust the support feet enough to ease it up over the "step"!

RelievedSheff

A point to note. If you are having freestanding appliances make sure you leave a bit of room around them to get them in and out.

The developers of our house forgot that minor detail so our appliances are a real snug fit and a !!!!!! to get in and out of their holes!

EssexExile

RelievedSheff wrote: »

A point to note. If you are having freestanding appliances make sure you leave a bit of room around them to get them in and out.

The developers of our house forgot that minor detail so our appliances are a real snug fit and a !!!!!! to get in and out of their holes!

And if you have leak the wooden panels swell up making it even harder!

trailingspouse

Advantage of free standing units - you can take them with you when you move, it's a heck of a lot easier to replace them/maintain them, they tend to be cheaper. And in the case of fridges and freezers in particular, the free standing ones usually hold more than the integrated ones.
Advantage of integrated units - they look better aesthetically.

Paula_Smith

Free standing are easier and cheaper to replace. Also, built in items, particularly fridges and freezers are smaller internally than a free standing one taking up the same amount of space.

Aylesbury_Duck

RelievedSheff wrote: »

A point to note. If you are having freestanding appliances make sure you leave a bit of room around them to get them in and out.

The developers of our house forgot that minor detail so our appliances are a real snug fit and a !!!!!! to get in and out of their holes!

I have a loop of thin rope run around the back feet of my appliances, with ends I can access if I need to. That way, I can ease the removal of them if I need to.