Sizes and weights
Typical ranges for what we actually meet in Central London rather than one manufacturer's specification. Measure yours before you rely on them.
| Type | Size | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| American style, side by side | 90 to 95cm wide, 70 to 90cm deep, 175 to 180cm tall100 to 140kg | 100 to 140kg |
| French door, four door | 90 to 100cm wide, 70 to 90cm deep, 180 to 190cm tall120 to 160kg | 120 to 160kg |
| Standard UK fridge freezer | 55 to 60cm wide, 60cm deep, 170 to 200cm tall60 to 90kg | 60 to 90kg |
| Under counter fridge | 55 to 60cm wide, 85cm tall25 to 40kg | 25 to 40kg |
For reference, a standard UK internal door is 762mm. Older Central London stock is often narrower. Full door and van measurements.
Will it fit?
Will it go through a standard 762mm door?
Not as it stands. At 90 to 95cm wide against a 762mm opening you are 15 to 20cm short, and there is no angle that recovers that. This is the single most common cause of an appliance being sent back on the day, and it is entirely predictable from two measurements.
What does taking the fridge doors off gain?
Between 5 and 8cm, depending on the model, because you lose the door thickness on both sides. On most American fridges that takes 92cm down to about 85cm. Necessary and, on its own, usually not enough.
And taking the room door off its hinges?
About 45mm, taking a 762mm opening to roughly 807mm. Combine that with the fridge doors off and an 85cm appliance through an 807mm opening is still tight, which is why the honest answer on many Central London flats is that it goes in through a wider front door and never through an internal one.
So when does it actually work?
Where the route runs through the front door and the hallway to a kitchen with a wide opening or no door at all, which describes most purpose built flats and a good number of conversions. Measure every opening on the route, take the narrowest, and compare it to 85cm with the fridge doors off. If the narrowest is under 80cm, it is not going that way.
How we move an American fridge freezer
- We ask for every door width on the route before quoting, not just the front one
- The fridge doors come off first, which needs the hinge caps and often the water line disconnected
- The room door comes off its hinges where that is what makes the difference
- It travels upright on a heavy duty sack truck, strapped, never laid on its back
- Two crew minimum and three above the ground floor, because it is 100 to 140kg with a high centre of gravity
- The doors go back on and it is levelled in position at the other end
The measurement to take before you buy
Walk the route from the street to where the fridge is going to stand and measure every opening: the front door, the hallway at its narrowest, every internal door, and the kitchen entrance. Write down the smallest number.
Then compare it to the fridge width minus about 7cm for the doors coming off. If your narrowest opening is under 80cm, an American fridge freezer is not going into that kitchen without structural work, and it is far better to know that before it is on a delivery lorry.
Water lines and ice makers
Plumbed models have a water feed that has to be isolated and disconnected before the fridge moves, and reconnected afterwards. We disconnect and reconnect the push fit connector where there is an isolating valve fitted, which most installations have.
What we do not do is new plumbing. If there is no isolating valve, or the connection needs cutting into a supply, that is a plumber rather than us and we will say so rather than improvising with a fridge full of water behind it.
Before we arrive
- Empty it, defrost it and dry it out at least 24 hours before the move
- Measure every doorway on the route and tell us the narrowest
- Turn off and disconnect the water supply if it has an ice maker or a water dispenser
- Tape the doors shut and secure the shelves, or take the glass shelves out and wrap them
- Leave it standing for at least four hours after the move before switching it back on
What tends to go wrong
Laying it down to fit it in the van
Compressor oil runs into the cooling lines when a fridge is tipped, and switching it on before that oil drains back can destroy the compressor. If it does travel at an angle it needs to stand for a good many hours afterwards. Upright in the van and four hours before switching on is the safe version.
Not defrosting it
A freezer that has not been defrosted leaks meltwater across the van, the staircase and the new kitchen floor, and a full ice build up adds real weight. Twenty four hours with the doors open and towels underneath is the whole job.
Discovering the width on the day
The appliance arrives, the delivery driver leaves it in the hallway, and it does not go into the kitchen. It happens constantly with American fridges because the retailer measured the appliance and nobody measured the flat. Two measurements in advance prevent all of it.
American fridge freezer moving: common questions
Will an American fridge freezer fit through a standard door?
No. They are 90 to 95cm wide and a standard UK internal door is 762mm, so you are 15 to 20cm short. Taking the fridge doors off gains 5 to 8cm and taking the room door off its hinges gains about 45mm. Together that is often just enough, and where the narrowest opening on the route is under 80cm it is not going through at all.
How much does it cost to move an American fridge freezer?
Between £130 and £330 including VAT, most near £195. Ground floor or a lift at both ends with clear access is £130 to £180. Stairs, or a job needing the doors off and the room door removed, is £215 to £330. Two crew minimum and three above the ground floor.
Can it be laid down in the van?
We move them upright, strapped, on a heavy duty sack truck. Laying a fridge down lets compressor oil run into the cooling lines, and switching it on before that drains back can wreck the compressor. Where an appliance has travelled at an angle it needs to stand for several hours before being powered up.
How long before I can switch it back on?
At least four hours standing upright, and longer if it travelled at any angle. Most manufacturers say four to twenty four hours. It costs you nothing to wait and it can cost you a compressor not to.
Do you disconnect the water supply for the ice maker?
Where there is an isolating valve fitted, which most installations have, we disconnect the push fit connector and reconnect it at the other end. Where there is no valve or the pipework needs cutting into, that is a plumber rather than us and we will tell you before the day.
Do I need to defrost it first?
Yes, at least twenty four hours ahead with the doors open. An undefrosted freezer leaks meltwater across the van and the staircase, and the ice adds real weight to something already at 100 to 140kg.
Other single items
Moving more than one thing?
This page is about an American fridge freezer on its own. The single item and furniture delivery page covers the service generally, and what a move costs prices a whole flat or house.
Across Central London
We move an American fridge freezer anywhere in the 37 areas we cover. What changes between them is the parking and the staircase, which is what decides where in the band you land.