Paint the cabinet doors under the window in a Khrushchev building. Natural refrigerator under the kitchen window in Khrushchev: a niche is our everything. Glazing of unnecessary space

It is interesting that a refrigerator in the kitchen under the window can have very different definitions in the name, and this will depend not on its functionality, but on the region or area where it was installed.

So, in Kolyma it will be a Kolyma refrigerator, in Magadan - a Chukchi refrigerator, in Sverdlovsk - a Ural refrigerator, and those who managed to live under the unforgettable Nikita Sergeevich call it Khrushchev’s. However, such a device serves the same purposes regardless of the region in which it was made.

What can you do with a refrigerator under the window?

In houses built under the housing program of N. S. Khrushchev and some others, less popular projects, under the windows there is a niche for radiators (obviously in order to save space).

But, as you know, the Soviet people were inventive, and in this place, having moved the heating radiator to the side, some installed a winter refrigerator, the cooling principle of which was a thinner wall and its cooling during the cold season. Such a device has its positive and negative points, which we will look at below.

Pros and cons of a refrigerator under the window

A cabinet in a niche under the window, which serves as a refrigerator or cellar in winter, is useful for saving space in an apartment or pantry. The thickness of the wall of the house is on average 60 cm, and the design recess of the niche is 15 cm and therefore this part of the wall is much colder.
In houses of this type, well masonry is usually used, where slag is poured into the voids as insulation. Considering the characteristics of this masonry and the type of filler, the wall in this area can be made even thinner by knocking down the plaster and dismantling a number of bricks.
But radiators are specially installed under windows - this is required by the instructions, because in this case they are most effective. Warm air from the battery, rising upward, creates a kind of invisible insulation that blocks the path of cold flows from the window glass. Therefore, if you move the radiator to the side, it is as if you are removing a transparent blanket and opening the way for the cold.

How to deepen a niche under a window yourself

Let's try to make a refrigerator in a niche under the window with our own hands and to do this, first of all we need to knock down the plaster to get to the masonry. If we go deeper, don’t let the fact that this is a load-bearing wall scare you, because the part under the window has nothing to do with this - above the window there is a concrete lintel that maintains the integrity of the load-bearing element.

In the schematic drawing you see the principle of well masonry - this is approximately what the wall of your house looks like in cross-section, only the voids are filled with slag to insulate the house. If you wish, you can deepen the niche by dismantling part of the masonry that is inside the house, making the wall thinner by another 20-25 cm, then the rest you will get is only 25 cm, but it can be thinner.

To make it easier for you to navigate the thickness of the wall, take into account the parameters of the brick, for example, the length of the brick is always 250 mm, and the width (along the bed) is 120 mm. Only its thickness changes (height along the butt and spoon): a single brick has a thickness of 65 mm, a one-and-a-half brick has a thickness of 88 mm, and a double brick has a thickness of 138 mm. But, in this case, the width and length are important for you in order to understand what will remain of the wall thickness when dismantling part of the masonry.
Let's say you dismantled the inside of the masonry, knocking down parts of the bricks laid in a butt pattern (across the masonry), in this case you will only have the width of the brick left, but the remaining partition must be plastered with cement-sand mortar (not putty!). When dismantling the masonry from the outside, cracks and gaps may form through which moisture can penetrate, which will freeze in winter and tear off the putty on the inside of the wall. After cement you can putty the wall thin layer, and immediately using satengypsum (finishing putty).

But a device like our improvised outdoor refrigerator will have one significant drawback - condensation on the walls. This will happen due to the difference in temperature indoors and outdoors, because a thin partition with outside it will be cold. Therefore, to make it easier to care for our refrigerator, the inside of it can be lined with ceramic tiles.
It is best to install tiles on a plastered base using tile adhesive. If you live in the northern regions of Russia and in this closet it is possible subzero temperature, then for installation it is better to use universal frost-resistant glue. For example, the Ceresit CM 11 mixture has never caused any complaints from anyone.

Advice. You don’t need to rack your brains over which tile to choose for internal lining refrigerator - the most basic requirement for tiles in this case will be its smooth surface. Therefore, without any doubt, you can purchase the cheapest and even defective tiles, and also use waste, for example, leftovers from bathroom renovations.

Refrigerator doors

Of course, if the refrigerator doors are identical kitchen facades then it will be best option for the interior of the room and if you made the set to order, then it costs you nothing to order some of its parts separately. You can even negotiate with furniture makers to install the facades on the refrigerator - this, of course, has its own price, but the work will be done by professionals.

Conclusion

It is unlikely that you will see such a device as the one described above in any photo or video presentation of an apartment. refrigerator. But don’t forget that we make presentations in a European way, but we still live in a Soviet way, using a variety of opportunities for home improvement. Whether this is good or bad is up to you to decide for yourself!

It’s hard to imagine modern life without the conveniences that have become commonplace and familiar. This includes a refrigerator. It is convenient to store food in it, it allows you not to prepare food for one day, but it has one drawback - the space it takes up. In Khrushchev's houses the kitchens are very small and every square centimeter count, which is why many choose to build a refrigerator under the window.

Benefits of a winter refrigerator

The design of a refrigerator under a window has its advantages and disadvantages. Before constructing or modernizing it, it is worth weighing them carefully. Among the advantages it is worth noting:

possibility of using a smaller refrigerator;
additional storage space for twists;
energy saving;
ease of maintenance;
no complicated repairs.

The disadvantage of this solution is the possibility of mold appearing due to temperature changes. Also, when organizing such a refrigerator, you will need to move the heating radiator away from the window. The consequence of this may be a decrease in the temperature in the kitchen. This is due to the fact that warm air ceases to be a barrier to the penetration of cold. A refrigerator without electricity requires constant maintenance, which consists of removing moisture and frost from it. Not every product is suitable for storage in such a refrigerator, since some are not allowed to freeze.

DIY making

Decorating a winter refrigerator with your own hands can be quite interesting activity. You can implement interesting ideas for decoration or alternative use of a winter refrigerator. At the same time, you should be patient, because it will take not so much effort as time to use the space in the best possible way. The main task, which will stand, is to make the niche so that it is airtight and practical enough so that its use does not affect the heating bills.

Niche finishing

There is already a small niche under the window sill, but it will not be enough to make a winter refrigerator of this design. Therefore, steps will have to be taken to deepen it. The first step is to remove any wallpaper that may be there. The next step is dismantling finishing materials, which are represented by plaster and putty. The easiest way to knock them down is to use a hammer drill or chisel. The latter option will take a long time and require significant expenditure of force. It is better to rent a power tool. You don’t have to worry that the strength of the wall will be compromised, because there is a concrete crossbar under the window that holds the weight. In most cases, well masonry was used in Khrushchev-era buildings, which involves filling insulation between two rows of bricks. Only the first one needs to be deleted.

The insulation is also removed along with it. At the same time, the temperature under the window will drop significantly, which is what is required for a winter refrigerator. In order not to overdo it with the recess, you need to be guided by the size of the brick. Its length is 25 cm, which is exactly how much is required to reach the insulation layer. External brick wall must be finished so that it does not collapse. For these purposes, bricks are coated with an antiseptic and plastered. If you want to achieve perfect result, then it is better to use beacons, which will allow you to apply the same layer of plaster over the entire plane.

Advice! Before plastering, you must carefully inspect the wall for cracks. It is important to seal them so that moisture from rainwater does not get inside. When it freezes, further destruction will occur.

Do not think that dampness will not appear in the winter refrigerator. It is important to anticipate this and do everything to eliminate it. After the plaster has cured, you can proceed to laying the vapor-permeable membrane. It will allow air exchange in the winter refrigerator, which will reduce the unpleasant effect. Further finishing of the winter refrigerator from the inside can be done using plastic panels. If you want to lay ceramic or other tiles, then after plastering they can be glued with glue that is resistant to low temperatures. Nice tile will provide additional waterproofing, it is also easy to clean and wash. Additional finishing ideas can be found in the video.

Doors

No winter refrigerator would be complete without doors. This is also true for Khrushchev’s winter refrigerator. The design of doors should be approached with all seriousness. They must have high tightness so that air from the room does not penetrate into the refrigerator, and from it into the room. If this is not observed, then the floor will always blow cold. A harmonious solution would be to use doors with the same finish as the entire kitchen. But such doors are unlikely to guarantee the required tightness for the refrigerator. One of the best options would be metal-plastic construction with double glazed windows. Due to the presence of chambers in double-glazed windows, thermal conductivity is minimal. In order to best mount the doors on winter construction, there are a few things to consider:

proper finishing of refrigerator slopes;
correct choice of refrigerator opening design.

In order for the door frame to fall into place, care must be taken to ensure that the slope angles are maintained at 90 degrees. This applies to cases where installation is planned on a wooden or aluminum base. If we're talking about about the metal-plastic construction, then all the shortcomings can be easily hidden polyurethane foam, which is trimmed and covered with putty. Many people found it inconvenient to use sliding doors made of wood for a winter refrigerator. aluminum profile. This is due to the fact that it is impossible to place or place bulky products inside the winter refrigerator, since half of the opening always remains closed. Similar problems are observed when there is a central bar for fixing doors. You can do without it if a metal-plastic structure is used, since the doors will be fixed to the upper and lower strips.

If you want to install wooden doors yourself, then you will need to properly secure the hinges for the doors. From the corner of the facade it is necessary to make a gap of 20 mm to the groove in which the hinge will be placed. Depending on which facade was chosen, the size from the central part of the loop to its end can be from 75 mm. With significant weight of doors for a winter refrigerator, two hinges may not be enough, so an additional one is mounted in the middle. To make a groove for hinges in the doors of a winter refrigerator, you need to make a recess end mill. The latter will be needed with a diameter of 35 mm. It is better to mark in advance on the cutter the depth to which it needs to be immersed, so as not to spoil the facades.

The second part of the refrigerator door hinges is fixed to the wall plane. To do this correctly, you need to fix them on the refrigerator door, and then attach and apply the appropriate marks. After this, holes are drilled in the slopes with a hammer drill and plastic dowels are inserted. If the decision has been made to tile the interior space, then the first step is to drill without using a hammer to penetrate the thickness of the tile. The hinges are pressed against the wall plane with self-tapping screws and are adjusted by a built-in mechanism to achieve a minimum gap between the refrigerator doors.

Note! In case of use wooden doors You will definitely need a crossbar in the middle, which will increase the tightness.

Refinement of the existing structure

When moving into some apartments, you may be surprised to find that they already have a Khrushchev-style winter refrigerator, which requires improvement. In this case, it is important to decide whether it is really needed and how to improve it. If the decision has been made to keep the refrigerator and use it, then maintenance will be required. The first step is to dismantle all its internal components. There may be mold or mildew that needs to be removed. Finishing is carried out according to the principle described above. Often in finished designs of winter refrigerators you can find a through hole, which was used for the flow of cold air. There is no need to completely eliminate it; it will be enough to secure the grille from the outside and place mineral wool in the hole. It will limit the flow, but will allow you to maintain a good temperature inside the refrigerator.

If there is no particular desire to have such a design for a winter refrigerator, then it can be completely eliminated. To do this, the niche must be bricked and plastered, and then proceed to finishing. You cannot seal a finished refrigerator from the inside using drywall. It will collapse from constant exposure to moisture and fungus will develop. If the decision was made to leave small niche, then you can place a heating radiator in it. It can also be used for storage household utensils. In the opening where the refrigerator used to be, several shelves are installed on which jars of pickles can be placed.

There is another option for using a niche where the winter refrigerator used to be located. You don’t have to seal it up, but leave it as is. But you will additionally need to insulate it with extruded polystyrene foam. Thanks to this, it will be possible to shift the dew point outside the room. You can install it in a ready-made niche electric oven or microwave, which will save significant space. You can dismantle the window sill and place a gas stove in the resulting niche. This will provide excellent ventilation when cooking and also free up space for installation. full refrigerator. Interesting solution is the installation of a French window. Its height will be from floor to ceiling. But to install it you will need to remove the remaining brick partition. Thanks to this solution, the kitchen will visually look larger.

Summary

As you can see, the winter refrigerator can be an indispensable assistant V household. In addition, the niche it occupies can be easily and tastefully converted. Some people use the window sill as an extension of the table top, with drawers placed in the niche. If the winter refrigerator in Khrushchev is made with transparent double-glazed windows, then inside you can install lighting from a sealed LED strip. Instead of transparent glass, you can mount mirrors that will expand the kitchen space. Interesting ideas How you can use the space from the winter refrigerator can be left in the comments to the article.

In many Soviet-built houses, under kitchen window there is a special niche for storing food, the so-called "Khrushchev refrigerator". Despite the ability to use various household appliances today, a refrigerated cabinet under the window is still popular among residents of Khrushchev-era houses. Especially when these days there are many ways to give that winter refrigerator a beautiful and modern look.

Plastic refrigerator under the window. Rework price

The easiest way to remodel a closet is to contact a window installation company. You will be offered to install plastic doors, which are essentially similar to ordinary plastic windows. Another option would be to install sliding aluminum systems. The price for work and materials will be about 8-12 thousand rubles.

This price includes: frame and plastic doors made of PVC profile with installed double glazed windows or sandwich panels, shelf, thermal insulation, finishing material and actual dismantling and installation work.

Wooden doors. Do it yourself

Another way to remake a Khrushchev refrigerator is to order doors from a furniture store.

Remove the old sashes and dismantle the frame. Measure the opening and go to the furniture makers. The ideal option would be to use the same facades that are present in your kitchen set. If you are not going to change the interior decoration of the Khrushchev refrigerator, just buy hinges, screws, dowels and install chipboard doors yourself.

You might be able to find it at a furniture store wall cabinet entirely with side and rear walls of suitable size. In this case, all that remains is to assemble and install the cabinet in the niche.

Interior decoration of a Khrushchev refrigerator

You can decorate your built-in refrigerator with any materials available in stores. In this case, you need to understand the design features of the cabinet. There is usually a hole inside for ventilation. And the outer wall is made of just one row of bricks. Therefore, in extreme cold, frost may form inside the structure.

As a result, if you plan to use the niche under the window as a regular furniture cabinet, you need to properly insulate the walls. To do this, seal the ventilation hole and other possible cracks. cement mortar. Install mineral wool slabs or polystyrene foam slabs and cover them with a vapor barrier.

After that, start finishing. It is possible to use such materials as: plasterboard, plywood, plastic panels, etc. If you wish, mount the cabinet lighting yourself, it’s not difficult.

If you need a refrigerator under the window, then insulation and vapor barrier, in this case, are not installed. Simply decorate the box with any moisture-resistant material of your choice.

Seal the niche under the window

As a result, you can simply remove the doors and seal the niche with brick or sheets of drywall over the insulation. If you decide to install a heating radiator in this place, leave a small recess of 10-15 centimeters. For normal heat exchange, it is recommended that the battery extend beyond the edge of the window sill by at least half.

Video

Remove the Khrushchev refrigerator
Video: example of work on arranging a niche under a window in a Khrushchev building

The Khrushchev refrigerator, or rather the refrigerated cabinet under the window sill in the kitchen, is an integral part of many houses left as a legacy from the 50-70s of the last century. In those days, not many people could afford to have a real refrigerator, and this was taken into account by the designers and builders. A fairly large box under an equally wide and immense window sill allowed people at least winter time store some perishable foods in a cool and easily accessible place for years. It is precisely how to remake a Khrushchev refrigerator with your own hands that will be discussed further.

Many will agree that in modern world such sophistications are no longer necessary, or at least require some modification to fit into modern interiors. Although they are called “Khrushchev’s”, they were also found in the so-called Stalinists.

Actually, in any such apartment the layout does not allow for ample space for everything you need in a small kitchen. And as an option, you can use the cabinet space under the window sill for more practical tasks. And most importantly, it is clearly necessary to do something with thermal insulation, because now everyone already understands that the better the house is insulated, the lower the cost of heating it will be. However, not everything is so simple with the possibility of remaking or improving the Khrushchev refrigerator. It is important to take into account a number of very important points that many DIYers often forget about.

For the sake of order, let’s consider modification options that can be applied to the Khrushchev refrigerator and explain especially important points in the implementation of the chosen method. It is quite reasonable to assume four options:

Completely or mostly seal the space under the window sill. This will ensure decent and high-quality thermal insulation. As a result, the wall will be leveled or a small recess will remain, sufficient for installing a heating radiator.
Modify and properly insulate the Khrushchev refrigerator in order to use it for its intended purpose and store food and pickles in it. Even with the fact that no significant alterations are required, a lot still needs to be done in order not to leave any chance for the cold to penetrate inside the apartment and not have a bunch of negative consequences.
This niche can be completely reoriented, for example, into a cabinet or as a place to install equipment that is unpretentious to low temperatures.
Dismantle the thin half-brick partition to the outside and glaze it like a French window. The most radical solution. Perfect for cases where the kitchen window faces either the north side, or is blocked from sunlight by buildings or trees, the amount of daylight entering through such a window will more than cover the disadvantage.

Remove the Khrushchev refrigerator

The simplest option is to completely seal the niche. This solves the problem of heat leakage through a wall half a brick thick and unreliable wooden doors. For residents of the northern regions this is actually very rational option. Because any other modifications of the Khrushchev refrigerator will require too much investment to do everything right.

The niche will have to be filled with bricks. This is the only way to create sufficient protection from external weather. You can use SNiP 23-02-2003 (SNiP II-3-79), which provides calculations to determine the required wall thickness. However, it is already clear that for reliable thermal protection it is enough to either simply level the niche with the rest of the wall or leave a smaller niche with a depth of no more than 12-15 cm.

Read and see how to lay bricks in apartment conditions here.

It should be noted that it is best to lay it with bricks. Options for plasterboard sheathing using various heat insulators can subsequently backfire. This is mainly due to the principles of building walls as such, vapor permeability, etc. Without going into details, if you simply sheathe it with plasterboard with insulation, then condensation and frost will certainly begin to form between the sheathing and the outer wall, and as a result, the wall will begin to bloom and collapse.

Remove the Khrushchev refrigerator

If a niche with a depth of 12-15 cm is left, then you can safely use it to install a heating radiator. Although the alternative would be to simply leave it unused, because the window sill, which is simply huge, is often used as an additional countertop in the kitchen and it is better to leave space under the window sill for the feet.

Improvement of the Khrushchev refrigerator

The very idea of a refrigerator under the window in a Khrushchev-era kitchen, albeit seasonal, is very practical; it is quite reasonable to try to leave a niche in the same quality. It is only necessary to bring it into proper condition so that its appearance matches the new renovation and functions better. Let us list the main points associated with the Khrushchev refrigerator:

The back wall is only half a brick, most often there is a ventilation hole for the entry of external cold air;
From the inside there are only wooden doors that separate the interior from the cold of the street;
Due to the ventilation holes, mostly outside air with low absolute humidity from outside gets inside the Khrushchev refrigerator, so this protects against the appearance of frost and condensation.

So, it becomes quite logical that the main alteration of the Khrushchev refrigerator may consist precisely in replacing the inner door. It should provide maximum thermal protection that is appropriate in a given location. Great solution For the task at hand, it will be to install a door with one leaf made of metal-plastic. It is better to make one leaf due to the fact that the profile selected will be the same as on the door or for windows, and it is quite wide. As a filler, you can insert either a single-chamber double-glazed window, for example 4x10x4, or a sandwich panel.

It is better to choose accessories that are simplest in functionality. There is no need to add a transom system, especially since general dimensions and so they won’t allow you to insert anything significant. The metal-plastic door will need to be secured with anchors to the side walls of the Khrushchev refrigerator. It is enough to seal the space from above and below with polyurethane foam. The resulting door will normally support the weight of the window sill on top.

Swing door option made of plastic profile

The second option could be a sliders system with sliding doors. Again, it is better to order them from glazing manufacturers. In this case, the sliding door system will reliably isolate the apartment from the coolness in the niche. In fact, the result is a plastic Khrushchev refrigerator.

By lining the inside with plastic, you get a well-maintained appearance, not far from the same as in a real refrigerator. The main thing is not to skimp on installing a normal sliding door locking system with fine-tuning. Because such a system is significantly inferior in thermal insulation to conventional swing systems plastic windows and doors. A not fully closed sash will result in a strong draft of cold air down your legs.

What about inside niches? It is better not to close the hole outward, if there is one, again because when low temperatures Let it be better for outside air to come in, rather than hot and humid inside air. This way you can be safe and prevent condensation from forming in the large quantities. Any hole that is vapor permeable is sufficient thermal insulation material, For example, mineral wool. Options such as foaming or plugging with foam plastic will not work. The internal walls can be sheathed with either moisture-resistant plasterboard or plastic, or completely plastered.

Advice: As an additional “bell”, you can bring lighting inside. Again, taking into account the characteristics of this niche, it is better to use lighting powered by low voltage (12V, 24V) using step-down converters.

Making a useful cabinet out of a Khrushchev refrigerator

A completely acceptable option would be to use the niche of the Khrushchev refrigerator as an additional kitchen cabinet. In this case, it is inappropriate to take advantage of its coolness in the winter, so you will have to insulate the wall and only then begin installing drawers or shelves behind the door.

The reasons why you should not insulate the wall of a niche from the inside and explanations on this topic may take a separate article. Everything is tied to the dew point and the detrimental consequences after condensation inevitably appears between the insulation and the outer wall, and subsequently mold. You can learn more about this in articles on the topic of insulating the walls of a house from the inside.

Making a useful cabinet out of a Khrushchev refrigerator

So what should you do? Most the best option this is if the apartment is already insulated on the outside of the building using polystyrene foam boards or mineral wool. Then the problem with insulating the Khrushchev refrigerator disappears by itself. It is enough to finish the Khrushchev refrigerator with plasterboard or tiles installed on the solution, and proceed to further installation of shelves or drawers.

Otherwise if not external insulation, then the most suitable would be to lay at least one more layer of brick. At the same time, the hole for cold air access is sealed over its entire length with a mortar with brick chips, or blown out with foam.

Important: If any through holes in a residential building or apartment are filled with polyurethane foam, then the protruding foam from the outside must be cut off and plastered with a layer of mortar of at least 3-4 cm.

On top of the casing, you can either install an insert cabinet, assembled separately, or mount shelves or drawer guides directly on the walls of the niche. In any case, the depth remaining after insulating the back wall is quite enough to subsequently add quite a lot of kitchen utensils to the resulting cabinet.

Making a useful cabinet out of a Khrushchev refrigerator

Using a Khrushchev-era refrigerator to store kitchen utensils and non-perishable foods

Alternatively, with any modifications to the Khrushchev refrigerator, do not forget that you can also transfer the height of the window sill itself. For the most part, this concerns the window replacement process. Along with these measures, you can move the height of the window sill and equalize it with the height of all other kitchen surfaces. It is often possible to combine the window sill as a single surface with a transition to the main cutting table. The result will be almost 1.5-2 square meters usable area, and this will appeal to any housewife. It is important to take into account changes in the sizes of ordered windows.

Glazing instead of the Khrushchev refrigerator

You can do something quite radical. Thin, which defines the outer wall of the refrigerator and, in fact, the side walls to the edge of the window opening do not bear any load. Accordingly, it is possible to completely dismantle these parts of the wall and glaze from the floor itself to the top of the window opening. The result will be something similar to french window. This will significantly increase the amount of daylight in the kitchen.

IN simple version Of course, there will be no room left for a wide and comfortable window sill. However, this can also be solved. It is enough to divide the window space into two parts and still mount the window sill. A significant advantage will be the increase in the usable area of the kitchen. However, such redevelopment may not fit into every design solution. So you should think carefully and weigh everything before starting work.

Obtaining permits can be a significant challenge for such alterations. Still, this is actually a redevelopment and, like any change in the apartment plan, this will require the design of the project and approval from the authorities. In addition, this will affect the overall appearance buildings and city authorities simply may not allow such extensive changes.

As can be seen from the proposed renovation ideas, you can make good use of such a gift from the past as the Khrushchev refrigerator. It is important to take into account those points that can affect the comfort in the apartment or the thermal insulation; for everything else, you just need to show a little imagination and equip your kitchen with another useful element.

Video: example of work on arranging a niche under a window in a Khrushchev building

Blog article Do useful things for your blog with our site.

The generation of the 90s does not even remember such a phenomenon as the Khrushchev refrigerator, and yet at one time it helped our mothers and grandmothers a lot. Original design, created specifically for “Khrushchev” buildings, replaced a full-fledged, albeit seasonal, refrigerator. But time passes, houses built in the 50s still stand, but built-in refrigerators in apartments have long required, if not dismantling, then overhaul. Read our article about how to make a refrigerator under a window and modernize an existing structure.

Imagine modern life It is simply impossible to live in an apartment without a refrigerator, but in the 50s and 60s few people could boast of their own refrigerator, so Soviet architects invented a truly unique device - the Khrushchev refrigerator.

This design is a niche located under the window sill in the kitchen. Outer side niches are much thinner than load-bearing walls buildings and has through holes. Through them it flows in winter cold air, which provides an acceptable low temperature for storing food in winter.

The dimensions of the refrigerator box allowed residents of Khrushchev-era apartments to save significantly kitchen space and store food longer, even if only 5-6 months a year. Plus, above the refrigerator there was a very wide window sill, which could be used as a full-fledged shelf or a small table for preparing food. In the summer, cereals, vegetables, fruits, etc. could be stored in such a ventilated refrigerator. sunflower oil, flour and other non-perishable foods that are usually placed in kitchen cabinets.

The inventors of the Khrushchev refrigerator made special dampers that helped regulate the temperature inside. Over time, this innovation became so popular that it found application not only in Khrushchev buildings, but also in more modern residential high-rise buildings - Brezhnevkas and even some nine-story buildings.

Design advantages:

Significant space saving in a small kitchen.
Possibility of refurbishment and increasing the usefulness of the area.
Saving energy - in winter you can turn off your regular refrigerator and store all your food in a winter refrigerator under the window.
An ideal place to store homemade preserves.

DIY Khrushchev refrigerator

If you urgently need to increase the usable area of your small kitchen, the construction of a Khrushchev refrigerator will optimal solution. Making it with your own hands is not so difficult, especially if we are talking about old brick houses.

Recessed niche under the window

First of all, you need to create a niche under the window in which the refrigerator will be located. To do this, knock the plaster off the wall to get to the brickwork. If you are intimidated by what you are working with load-bearing wall and you can violate the integrity of the building, your worries are completely in vain - the part located under the window does not affect the strength of the wall. Under window frame A strong concrete beam was installed, which is responsible for the integrity of the load-bearing wall.

The image above demonstrates the principle of well brick masonry, which is used for construction residential buildings. The voids are filled with heat-insulating material (slag). Based on your preferences, deepen the 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, you should take into account the specific parameters of the brick. Its length is 25 cm, width - 12 cm, thickness can vary (height of the poke and spoon). Thus, the thickness of a single brick is 6.5 cm, a one-and-a-half brick is 8.8 cm, a double brick is 13.8 cm. Specifically, in our case, it is necessary to focus on the width and length in order to control the thickness of the wall during the process of dismantling the masonry.

When you have dismantled the inside of the masonry and knocked down some of the bricks across the masonry (with a poke), you will be left with a wall the width of a brick. This partition must be plastered with cement mortar. Putty cannot be used because it is not waterproof and other performance characteristics cement-sand mixture. Keep in mind that when dismantling the masonry, gaps and cracks may appear on the outer part of the wall, through which moisture will certainly penetrate during the first rain. In winter, the water will freeze, the ice, as you know, will increase in volume, create pressure on the plaster and tear it. Therefore, the only acceptable solution is to cover the wall with cement, and on top of it you can apply finishing putty or other finishing, for example, tiling the refrigerator with ceramic tiles.

The Khrushchev refrigerator has one significant drawback - condensation forms on the walls. Therefore, mold forms there very quickly, the wood rots, a musty smell appears, and the structure collapses. These sad consequences will help eliminate modern vapor-permeable materials. When insulating the chamber, it is enough to lay a vapor-permeable membrane around the entire perimeter and forget about dampness forever.

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

Khrushchev refrigerator doors

When the organization is finished internal space refrigerator, it is necessary to solve the second, but no less important task - replacing and installing doors. Doors in the design of a winter refrigerator play a decisive role, being responsible for maintaining cold inside the box and heat inside the apartment. Therefore, the requirements for them should be inflated.

The best option would be to install durable doors with exterior trim similar to the rest of the kitchen. Then the refrigerator will fit harmoniously into the interior and will not be noticeable. You can make the sashes yourself or go to a workshop.

Door installation features:

To hang the doors on the winter refrigerator and make them airtight, the niche must have perfectly smooth edges with angles strictly at 90 degrees. It is quite difficult to achieve such parameters manually, especially without professional construction skills, but there are a couple of tips to help hardworking owners - align the corners using ceramic tiles or make a separate framework in the form of a frame on which the facade will be supported. If the edges of the frame diverge from the walls of the niche, you can hide this defect with a baguette or plaster.
Place central part groove for singing 22 cm from the corner of the facade. A distance of 7-12 cm is left from the end of the door to the central part of the hinge, depending on the dimensions of the door and individual preferences. If you are using 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.
To cut the hinges, use a wood end mill with a 35mm socket diameter. You will need to make a groove 11-12 mm deep, so if you are working with a thin furniture panel of 16-18 mm, drill very carefully so that the cutter does not go through. To make it easier to control the penetration depth, sharpen the drill properly before work.
The second end of the loop can be fixed directly to the tile if you have made perfectly straight corners of the niche without a frame. To do this, use dowels (5-6 mm) and screws (at least 3-4 mm). To accurately make holes for the dowels, make preliminary markings on the tiles and use a 3 mm Pobedit drill bit.

Not only can they be used as doors furniture facade, but also double-glazed windows, wooden frames with glass, plastic or metal inserts. When creating a door for a winter refrigerator, it should be taken into account that wood is the best thermal insulation material. The plastic is too thin for this and will require additional insulation polystyrene foam or polystyrene foam.

If possible, make the door with a slat. This element, insignificant at first glance, fulfills important function, increasing the tightness of the door and promoting better retention of cold inside the box. Even if you purchased or ordered a door, attach a crossbar to it, constructing it from a regular baguette.

Modifications of the Khrushchev refrigerator

If you already have an old Khrushchev refrigerator, one cannot but agree that its design requires significant modification in order to somehow fit into modern interior. And even if you are not going to use it for its intended purpose, this space can be organized for storing kitchen utensils and saving space in the apartment. But the primary task is to create good thermal insulation of this zone, because through holes in the wall, even if fenced off by a door, carry enormous heat loss during the cold season.

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

Completely fill the space under the window sill, creating a dense thermal insulation layer and tightly blocking the cold bridges. As a result, you will get a flat wall or a small recess under the window into which you can install a heating radiator.
Remodel the refrigerator, make proper insulation using modern building materials and use the structure for its intended purpose.
Complete reorientation of space followed by installation in a niche gas stove, dishwasher or washing machine. Alternatively, you can fill the recess with a cabinet with drawers, install on the windowsill hob or a sink.
Remove completely brickwork and install a French window. Such a radical decision will make a small kitchen lighter and visually increase its size. You can save on lighting, especially if the window faces north or is blocked from direct sunlight by other houses or trees.

Seal the refrigerator niche

The simplest, cheapest and fastest option is to completely seal the niche of the winter refrigerator. This way you will immediately solve the problem of heat leakage through a thin wall, especially if you live in the northern regions of the country. Other types of modifications will require much more time, effort and money.

Points to pay attention to:

It is necessary to seal the space with bricks, since only this material can provide complete protection from the adverse effects of weather. To determine required thickness walls, use SNiP 02/23/2003, but even without any documentation it is obvious that to create high-quality thermal insulation you can simply fill a niche and make it flush with the rest of the walls. You can also leave a small recess of 15 cm - this will also be enough to retain heat in the apartment.
You should not use sheets of plasterboard for lining and sealing niches, since due to the temperature difference, condensation will very quickly appear on it, the material will become moldy and collapse.
If you decide to leave a small niche, we recommend installing heating radiator to keep the apartment 100% warm.

Modernization of the Khrushchev refrigerator

If you don't want to part with this convenient design, it can be “ennobled” and made more functional.

Key points to note:

Thin back wall refrigerator has through ventilation holes which need to be cleaned from dust and dirt.
The apartment is protected from cold air only by thin wooden doors that have not been changed since Soviet times. Take care of purchasing or building new doors.
The shelves should also be replaced. You can put glass, plastic, metal or wooden shelves.
Pay special attention to space ventilation and the question of its necessity. If you decide to leave the outlets open, be prepared for the fact that the inside of the refrigerator will be very low temperature, at which not all products can be stored. If the holes are sealed, then at a temperature of -10C -20C outside, the temperature in the refrigerator will remain up to +10C. You should not plug the holes tightly with mounting foam or cement mortar - give preference to mineral wool.
Refurbishment refrigeration chamber It takes not so much time as it takes money. From your preferences and design idea The cost of the work will depend.
Choose the simplest fittings - latches, fasteners, hinges, etc. It is not at all necessary to make a transom system for such small sizes; it is enough to install a regular one swing door. Alternatively, you can put sliding doors what will save free space in the kitchen. The sliders system reliably insulates the interior from the cold in the niche.
Think about how you will line the inside of the refrigerator - tiles, plastic, wood or plaster. If you do interior lining made of plastic, the refrigerator will always be neat, clean and well-maintained (easy to clean).
It is recommended to install a door locking system with fine-tuning to minimize the risk of the door not closing tightly and causing drafts.

Helpful Hint: Install internal LED lightening with 12V or 24V power supply and step-down converters.

As you can see, making a modern, functional and stylish refrigerator under the window with your own hands is not so difficult. The main thing is to put in a little effort and imagination, then the brilliant invention of Soviet architects will live a worthy second life and will delight its owners for many years.

Finally, we invite you to be inspired by the original solutions implemented by the hardworking owners of Khrushchev’s refrigerators with their own hands.

Make a door from a regular double-glazed window, and use LED strip as lighting:

If you do not want all the food in the refrigerator to be visible, install a double-glazed window with frosted glass:

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

A clear demonstration of how ordinary apartment in a “Khrushchev” can turn into stylish modern housing if you dismantle the refrigerator under the window and install a French-style window in its place: