Khrushchev refrigerator. How to make a refrigerator under the window

The generation of the 90s does not even remember such a phenomenon as a Khrushchev refrigerator, and meanwhile, in due time it was very worn out of our moms and grandmothers. The original design, created specifically for "Khrushchev", replaced full, although seasonal, refrigerator. But time goes, houses built in the 50s are still worth it, but the built-in refrigerators in the apartments have long been demanding if not dismantling, then overhaul. How to make a refrigerator under the window and upgrade the already existing design, read in our article.

Characteristics of construction

We are simply impossible to imagine modern life in the apartment without a refrigerator, but in the 50s and 60s few people can boast your own refrigerator, so Soviet architects invented a truly unique device - the Khrushchev refrigerator.

This design is a niche located under the windowsill in the kitchen. The outer side of the niche is much thinner than the bearing walls of the building and has through holes. Through them, in winter, cold air enters, which provides an acceptable low temperature for storing products in winter.

The dimensions of the refrigerator allowed the residents of "Khrushchev" to significantly save the kitchen space and store products longer, let it only 5-6 months a year. Plus, a very wide windowsill was located above the fridge, which could be used as a full-fledged shelf or a small table for cooking. In summer, in such a ventilated refrigerator, it was possible to store cereals, vegetables, fruits, sunflower oil, flour and other non-resistant products that are usually placed in kitchen cabinets.

The inventors of the Khrushchev refrigerator made special dampers that helped adjust the temperature inside. Over time, this innovation is so popular that it has found an application not only in Khrushchev, but also in more modern residential high-rise buildings - "Brezhnevka" and even some nine-storey houses.

Advantages of construction:

1. Significant savings in small-sized kitchen.
2. The possibility of re-equipment and improving the utility of the area.
3. Saving electricity - in winter, you can turn off the usual refrigerator and store all products in the winter refrigerator under the window.
4. An ideal place to store home conservation.

Khrushchev refrigerator do it yourself

If you urgently need to increase the useful area of \u200b\u200byour small kitchen, the construction of the Khrushchev refrigerator will be the optimal solution. Make it with your own hands is not so hard, especially if it comes to old brick houses.

Deepening a niche under the window

First of all, it is necessary to create a niche under the window in which the refrigerator will be located. To do this, run the plaster from the wall to get to the brickwork. If you are frightened by what you work with a bearing wall and you can disrupt the integrity of the building, the experiences are completely in vain - a part located under the window does not affect the fortress of the wall. Under the window frame installed a strong concrete beam, which is responsible for the integrity of the carrier wall.

The image above is demonstrated by the principle of well brickwork, which is used to build residential buildings. The voids are filled with thermal insulating material (slag). Based on preferences, deepen a niche by dismantling part of the masonry inside the house. Thus, the wall will become thinner by about 25 cm.

To better understand the principle of operation, the features of brick parameters should be taken into account. Its length is 25 cm, width - 12 cm, the thickness can change (the height of the post and spoon). Thus, the thickness of the single brick is 6.5 cm, one-time - 8.8 cm, double - 13.8 cm. Specifically, in our case, it is necessary to navigate the width and length to control the thickness of the wall in the process of dismantling the masonry.

When you dismantled the inner part of the masonry and shot down part of the bricks across the masonry (tych), the wall will remain in the width of the brick. This partition should be mandatory to shock the cement mortar. It is impossible to use the putty, since it does not have waterproof and other operational characteristics of the cement-sand mixture. Consider that when disassembling masonry from the outside of the wall, gaps and cracks may appear through which the moisture will definitely penetrate the first rain. In winter, water will freeze, ice, as you know, will increase in volume, create pressure on plaster and tear it. Therefore, the only permissible solution is to smear the wall with cement, and already on top of it you can apply a finishing putty or other finish, for example, to bind the refrigerator with ceramic tiles.

The Khrushchev refrigerator has one weighty drawback - condensate is formed on the walls. Therefore, the mold is very quickly formed there, the tree rotes, the shallow smell appears, the design collapses. These sad consequences will help eliminate modern vapor-permeable materials. During the insulation of the camera, it is enough to lay a vapor-permeable membrane around the perimeter and forget about dampness forever.

The trim of the winter refrigerator under the window of the ceramic tiles has its own characteristics. It is recommended to put it on the prepared plastered base using a special tile glue. If you live in the northern regions, it is preferable to use frost-resistant adhesive compositions, for example, Ceresit CM11. The tile can be used absolutely any, even tiled battle. In this case, only a smooth waterproof surface is important.

Doors Khrushchev Refrigerator

When it is finished with the organization of the indoor space of the refrigerator, it is necessary to solve the second on the account, but no less important task - replacement and installation of doors. Doors in the design of the winter refrigerator play a crucial role, responsible for saving the cold inside the box and heat - inside the apartment. Therefore, the requirements for them should be overestimated.

The optimal option will be the installation of durable doors with an external finish, like the rest of the kitchen. Then the refrigerator will harmoniously fit into the interior and will not be noticeable. Sashes can be made independently or contact the workshop.

Features Door installation:

1. To hang the doors to the winter fridge and make them hermetic, the niche should have perfectly smooth edges with corners strictly under 90 degrees. It is quite difficult to achieve such parameters, it is no longer having professional construction skills, but to help the hardworking owners there are a pair of tips - align the angles with a ceramic tile or make a separate frame in the form of a frame on which the facade will hold. If the edges of the frame diverge with the walls of the niche, hide this defect can be a baguette or plaster.
2. Position the central part of the groove for sang 22 cm from the corner of the facade. From the door of the door to the central part of the loop, the distance is 7-12 cm depending on the door dimensions and individual preferences. If you use very heavy panels, it makes sense to add another loop in the middle. In this case, it is necessary to calculate the distance between the canopies so that they do not come into contact with the shelves of the refrigerator.
3. To embed the loop, use the end cutter on the tree with the diameter of the landing socket 35 mm. You will need to make a groove with a depth of 11-12 mm, so if you work with a thin furniture panel at 16-18 mm, drill very carefully so that the cutter does not pass through. To make it easier to control the depth of passage, how to sharpen the drill before work.
4. The second end of the loop can be fixed directly on the tile if you made perfectly straight niche angles without a frame. To do this, use a dowel (5-6 mm) and screws (no less than 3-4 mm). To accurately make holes for the dowels, make pre-marking on the tiles and use the winning 3-mm drill.

As doors, not only the furniture facade can be used, but also double-glazed windows, wooden frames with glasses, plastic or metal inserts. When creating a door for the winter refrigerator, it should be borne in mind that the tree is the best thermal insulation material. Plastic for this is too thin and will require additional insulation with foam or expanded polystyrene.

If possible, make a door with a preliminary bar. This insignificant element at first sight performs an important function, increasing the tightness of the door and contributing to the best holding the cold inside the box. Even if you purchased or ordered the door, make a transverse bar, building it from an ordinary baguette.

Modifications of the Khrushchev refrigerator

If you already have an old Khrushchev refrigerator, it is impossible to disagree that its design requires substantial improvement to somehow fit into the modern interior. And even if you are not going to use it for a destination, this space can be organized for storing kitchen utensils and save space in the apartment. But the priority is the creation of a good thermal insulation of this zone, because through holes in the wall, even if the carriages are fenced down, carry colossal heat loss during the cold season.

There are several modifications applicable to the design of the winter refrigerator:

1. Fully fill the space under the windowsill, creating a dense heat insulating layer and tightly breaking the cold bridge. As a result, you will get a smooth wall or a small recess under the window in which you can install the heating radiator.
2. Redo the refrigerator, make the right insulation using modern building materials and use the design in direct intended.
3. Full reorientation of space with a subsequent installation in a niche of a gas stove, a dishwasher or washing machine. Alternatively, you can fill out a wardrobe with drawers, set the cooking surface or sink to the windowsill.
4. To completely remove the brick laying and install a French window. Such a cardinal solution will make a small kitchen brighter and visually increase its size. You can save on lighting, especially if the window comes to the north or closed from direct sunlight by other houses or trees.

Inserting a niche refrigerator

The simplest, inexpensive and rapid option is the complete sealing of the niche from the winter refrigerator. So you immediately solve the problem of heat leakage through a thin wall, especially if you live in the northern regions of the country. The remaining types of modifications will require much more time, forces and means.

Moments to pay attention to:

1. Close space is needed by bricks, since only this material can provide full-fledged protection against the adverse weather effects. To determine the necessary wall thickness, use SNiP 23-02-2003, but without any documentation, it is obvious that to create high-quality thermal insulation, you can simply fill in a niche and make it floss with the rest of the walls. You can also leave a small recess at 15 cm - this will also be enough to preserve heat in the apartment.
2. It is not necessary to use the sheet cabarton sheets for the skin and seal the niches, because due to the temperature difference, condensate will very quickly appear on it, the material will turn mold and collapsed.
3. If you decide to leave a small niche, we recommend installing a heating radiator in it to keep the heat in the apartment 100%.

Modernization of the Khrushchev refrigerator

If you do not want to part with such a comfortable design, it can be "refined" and make more functional.

The main points to be paid attention to:

1. The thin rear wall of the refrigerator has through the ventilation holes that need to be cleared of dust and dirt.
2. From cold air, the apartment is protected by only thin wooden doors that have not changed from Soviet times. Take care of the acquisition or construction of new doors.
3. Shelves should also be replaced. You can put glass, plastic, metal or wooden shelves.
4. Special attention is paid to the ventilation of space and the question of its need. If you decide to leave the opening openings open, prepare for the fact that inside the refrigerator in the winter there will be a very low temperature at which not all products can be stored. If the holes should be embedded, then at a temperature of -10С -20С on the street in the refrigerator there will be a temperature of up to + 10c. You should not clog the holes with tightly by mounting foam or cement mortar - give preference to mineral wool.
5. Re-equipment of the refrigeration chamber takes no so much time as a means. From your preferences and designer ideas will depend on the cost of work.
6. Choose the simplest accessories - latches, fastenings, loops, etc. It is not necessary to make a frame system for such small sizes, it suffices to install a conventional swing door. Alternatively, you can put sliding flaps that save free space in the kitchen. Slideshors system reliably isolates the interior of the cold in the niche.
7. Think than you will be facing the refrigerator from the inside - a tile, plastic, wood or plaster. If you make an internal plastic trim, the refrigerator will always be tidy, clean and well-kept (easy to wash).
8. It is recommended to install the locking system of flaps with the adjustment to minimize the risk of a loose closure of the door and the occurrence of drafts.

Useful Tip: Install the internal LED lighting with 12V or 24V power and down transducers.

As you can see, make a modern functional and stylish refrigerator under the window with your own hands is not so difficult. The main thing is to attach a little effort and fantasy, then the brilliant invention of Soviet architects will heal with a worthy of the second life and will delight its owners for more than one year.

Interesting ideas

Finally, we suggest you to inspire original solutions embodied by the hardworking owners of Khrushchev refrigerators with their own hands.

Make the door from the usual double glass package, and use LED tape as a backlight:

If you do not want all the products in the refrigerator in view, install the double-glazed glass with matte glass:

Great option for small kitchen - installation of a cabinet with drawers in a niche of the refrigerator:

A visual demonstration of how the ordinary apartment in Khrushchev can turn into stylish modern housing, if dismantling the refrigerator under the window and install the window in French style in its place:

Nowhere to put an oven or dishwasher - install it instead of the refrigerator:

Mirror inserts on the doors visually will increase the space: