Measuring for a New Appliance Before Black Friday

It’s easy to see an appliance you like and immediately start thinking about where it could go. But appliances aren’t one size fits all, and even products within the same category can vary considerably in size. A washing machine might be designed to fit a standard 60cm space, for example, but its depth can vary. American style fridge freezers differ significantly in width, depth and height, while integrated appliances have their own fitting requirements. Measuring your space first allows you to understand exactly how much space you have to play with, before setting your heart on an appliance that won’t fit within your kitchen.

You’ll know the maximum dimensions you can work with, which means you can concentrate on finding the best appliance for your space, rather than trying to make your space work around the appliance.

The first step is to measure the opening or space where your new appliance will be installed. You’ll need the width, depth and height measurements. We recommend taking each measurement in a couple of different places. Walls, floors and kitchen units aren’t always perfectly straight, so you may find that the available space isn’t exactly the same from top to bottom or front to back.

If you’re replacing an existing appliance, try not to assume that the new one needs to be exactly the same size. Measure the available space itself, then compare this with the manufacturer’s dimensions for the new appliance.

Don’t forget to leave room for the appliance to work properly. The space an appliance occupies isn’t always the only space it needs. Depending on the product, you’ll also need to think about ventilation, connections and how doors or drawers open. A fridge freezer, for example, needs enough room for the doors to open properly. A washing machine needs space for its connections, while a tumble dryer may have specific ventilation requirements depending on the type of appliance.

For built in appliances, the manufacturer’s fitting instructions are vital to the finished flush of the appliance.

There’s one final area to measure before you are ready to start Black Friday shopping. Ask yourself, how is the appliance going to reach its end destination?

Before ordering a large appliance, measure the route from outside your home to its final position. This could be your front door, internal doorways, hallways and stairs. If there are any tight corners or narrow sections, we highly recommend measuring these too. This becomes especially important when ordering a range cooker or an american fridge freezers, but it can also impact other appliances too. A fridge freezer might fit perfectly into the space you’ve allocated, but if the narrowest point on the route into your kitchen is smaller than the appliance, you’ll need to think about how it can be delivered.

In some cases, removing the appliance doors can help a large fridge freezer through a narrower entrance. If you think this might apply to you, speak to our sales experts over the phone or book Large Item Delivery at checkout to give our delivery team longer to deliver your items to a room of your choice where tight corners or narrow sections could become tricky. 

Our American Style Fridge Freezer Dimensions Guide here goes into more detail about measuring for these larger appliances.

It sounds obvious, but it’s surprisingly easy to take measurements and then forget one of them when you’re comparing appliances a few days later. Make a simple note on your phone or keep a piece of paper handy with the maximum dimensions available.

You can then use these figures whenever you’re looking at Black Friday offers and in a sale later down the line.

Bring your measurements to our Nottingham Showroom

This is where measuring before Black Friday can really help. Rather than spending hours browsing through hundreds of products and trying to work out which ones will fit, let us know your measurements and we’ll help you find the best appliance for you and your requirements within these parameters.

For example, you could say “I’ve got 60cm of width, 85cm of height and 65cm of depth available. Which washing machines in your Black Friday deals would fit?”

That gives our sales experts useful information and allows them to help narrow down your options. They may also be able to recommend models you hadn’t considered, including higher specification appliances that still fit your available space – which can be particularly useful during Black Friday, when there may be a wider selection of products and offers to choose from.

If you’re preparing for Black Friday appliance shopping, these are the key measurements to have ready:

• Available width – the maximum width of the space
• Available height – particularly important for built-in appliances and tall fridge freezers
• Available depth – remember that worktops and surrounding cabinets can affect this
• Doorway width – including your front door and internal doors
• Narrowest access point – useful for large appliances
• Stair and hallway measurements – especially if the appliance needs to go upstairs or through a tight turn
• Clearance – consider door opening, drawers and ventilation

You don’t necessarily need to measure every part of your home. Focus on the areas that the appliance will need to pass through and the space where it will ultimately be installed.

Getting your measurements ready doesn’t just prevent you from buying the wrong appliance. It can actually make finding the right deal easier. Once you know your maximum dimensions, you can focus on the appliances that genuinely work for your home. That means you can compare their capacities, features, energy ratings and prices without wasting time on products that are simply too big or too small. And if you’re speaking to our sales experts in store or on the phone, your measurements give the team something practical to work with. They’ll be able to point you towards a better model, additional features or a Black Friday offer that fits your space and your budget. 

A few minutes with a tape measure really can save a lot of hassle. Black Friday shopping can be exciting, but it’s much easier when you know exactly what you’re looking for. Measure your space, check your access, write the dimensions down and keep them to hand while you’re shopping.

Then, if you’re unsure, give us a call at Appliance City and we’ll guide you as best we can.

Your measurements could be the key to finding a great Black Friday appliance deal that fits your home as well as your budget.