Le frigo va-t-il rentrer ? Mesurer pour l'électroménager avant de commander

Major appliance retailers report 8-12% return rates on refrigerators, washing machines, and large ovens. The single most common reason: the customer measured the gap, ordered the unit, and the delivery driver discovered something didn't fit. Five measurements with an AR app before the order eliminates this entire category of regret.

The five appliance measurements you actually need

1. The opening (width × depth × height)

The cabinet gap or wall recess where the appliance will live. Measure each dimension at the front and at the back, these sometimes differ because of pipes, plinths, or wall irregularities. Use the smallest of each pair as your constraint.

2. The door / cabinet opening it has to come through

Same approach as the sofa article: door clear width and height, corridor turning radius, stairwell clearance. A fridge that fits the kitchen gap but won't come through your front door is a return waiting to happen.

3. Hinge swing clearance

Most fridges and ovens swing their doors past 90 degrees. Measure the clearance from the appliance's right edge to the nearest obstacle (wall, cabinet, island). A 90 cm fridge with a 70 cm door needs about 70 cm of clear swing space, if there's a wall 50 cm away, you'll only be able to open it partway.

4. Plumbing / power connection points

For fridges with water dispensers: water line position behind the cabinet. For ovens and dishwashers: power outlet height and gas/water connections. Measure the position of each from a fixed reference (corner of cabinet, edge of floor) so you can match it against the appliance's spec sheet.

5. Ventilation clearance

Most fridges need 25-50 mm of breathing space behind for heat dissipation. Built-in units have different requirements (look for "integrated installation" in the spec). The AR app's tape measurement in the gap behind the cabinet line, usually impossible with a physical tape, is easy: camera tilted into the gap, tap both edges.

Compare to the spec sheet

Every appliance manufacturer publishes installation dimensions in a downloadable spec PDF. The numbers there include:

• Product dimensions (width × depth × height)
• Packed dimensions (always larger, includes box)
• Minimum cabinet opening dimensions
• Door swing clearance
• Connection point positions

Your AR-measured gap must be larger than the minimum cabinet opening dimensions for the appliance to install. Door swing must be smaller than your clearance. Connection points must align.

The packed-dimension trap

A 60 cm wide fridge often ships in a 68 cm wide box (padding + packaging). If your front door is 65 cm, the box doesn't fit, even though the actual fridge would.

Delivery drivers in some regions will unpack at the truck if you ask in advance. Check the retailer's policy. Otherwise, your bottleneck is the packed dimension.

Saving the measurements

Capture all five measurements as a single Ruler AR project named "Kitchen appliance opening" (or wherever it's going). Export PDF. Reference it when ordering, paste the actual numbers into the retailer's chat or your purchase notes. If anything is wrong on delivery, you have date-stamped documentation that the issue is with the appliance, not your measurements.

What about built-in / panel-ready appliances?

These are extra-sensitive, the appliance integrates with cabinetry rather than sitting separately. Even 5 mm of cabinet misalignment causes visible gaps. For built-ins, also measure:

• Cabinet end-panel thickness on both sides
• Top trim depth (if any)
• Plinth (kickplate) height
• Adjacent worktop overhang into the opening

For high-stakes built-in installs (€3,000+ wine fridges, custom kitchens), having the installer measure on-site before order is worth €100-200 in measurement fees. Use the app's measurements as your initial sanity-check before you book that visit.

Bottom line

Five measurements, five minutes, one PDF, versus a delivery driver carrying the box back to the truck and an extra week of cooking without a fridge. The math is obvious. Always measure twice; never order once.