Will 30" appliances fit through the opening for a 32" door?

Question

Planning to add a new spice kitchen with 30" range and refrigerator. Will a 32" door be good enough to take those appliances in?

Answer 1

Most US standard appliances are 24" in one dimension - i.e., counter-depth. Sometimes plus a couple of inches for handles, though often the handles are removable specifically to make installation easier. So 32" should be more than enough for just about any oven, dishwasher, range, etc.

The big exception is refrigerators. Many US refrigerators - in fact, the default sizes - are not counter depth but rather much deeper than the standard 24" counter. However, assuming the width is actually 30" then there should not be a problem with a 32" door - 2" to spare - even if the other dimension is larger.

Note that with many appliances doors can be removed. That is not as easy (if possible at all) as it used to be with refrigerators, as it is no longer just "remove the screws from the hinges" because of various connections for water, ice maker, video displays, etc. The best thing to do is to check the dimensions of your specific model to make sure one of the dimensions is less than 32".

It is also quite common to remove a house door to move an appliance. That won't get you more than 32", but it might make the difference between only having 30" (due to the way the door swings) and a full 32".

Answer 2

30" appliances aren't necessarily exactly 30", but they are designed to fit into a 30" opening between cabinets, so they should fit through any opening that has at least 30" of clearance.

While a 30" doorway would be a problem because the stops on the door frame would make the actual opening less than 30", a 32" doorway shouldn't be a problem.

The real question though is whether the door itself will be a problem. If the door doesn't open widely enough the thickness of the door will extend into the opening and reduce its useful width. In that case you would need to remove the hinge pins so you can temporarily move the door out of the way.

There's also the obvious problem of obstacles, either within or without the room, that would require the appliance to be rotated while passing through the doorway. I don't know of any easy solution to that problem.