Data from 288 36-inch French doors
Zero-clearance refrigerators: how much room they really need next to a wall
What “zero clearance” means
A normal refrigerator door swings out past the side of the cabinet as it opens. Next to a wall, the door or its handle hits the wall before it reaches 90°. Zero-clearance hinges move the pivot so the door stays closer to the refrigerator’s own width. The door edge and handle still swing a little past the side, so the manufacturer still asks for a gap.
How little room beside the wall can you leave?
3 of 288 fridges (1%)
36-in French doors whose door opens to 90° with a ½ in gap on the hinge side, going by each maker’s installation guide.
Have your full measurements? Enter the width, height and depth of your space, and the wall beside it, to see which fridges fit and still open.
Check your whole opening →Every refrigerator sold as zero clearance, and what its maker asks for
Only models whose own documents use the words “zero clearance”. The gap is the room beside a wall for the door to open to 90°.
| Model | Type | Gap beside a wall | What the maker says | Opening it needs (W × H) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung RF70H25GERAAalso RF70H25KERAA | 36-in French door, standard depth | 1/8 in | “Allow 1/8" (4mm) of clearance on hinge side … next to a wall” | 36 1/4 × 71 in |
| Samsung RF70H25HERAA | 36-in French door, counter depth | about 3/16 in | Product page: “maintains a 0.16-inch clearance from the side wall” | 36 1/4 × 71 in |
| LG LF24Z6530S | 36-in French door, counter depth | 2 1/8 in | “Door Edge Clearance with Handle 2 1/8"” | 36 1/16 × 71 1/4 in |
| LG LF25Z6211S | 36-in French door, counter depth | 2 1/8 in | “Door Edge Clearance with Handle 2 1/8"” | 36 1/16 × 71 1/4 in |
| Samsung RF70H30GERAAalso RF70H30GEEAA, RF70H30HERAA, RF70H30KERAA, RF70H30KEEAA | 36-in French door, standard depth | 3 3/4 in | “Please allow 3 3/4" of clearance when installing along a wall” (a drawing on the same sheet shows 1 3/4 in) | 36 1/4 × 71 in |
Same name, very different numbers: Samsung sells both the RF70H25 and the RF70H30 as “Zero Clearance Fit”, but one asks for 1/8 in and the other for 3 3/4 in. Check the exact model number, not the feature name.
The French doors and side-by-sides that need the least room
Some refrigerators without the zero-clearance label need less room than LG’s zero-clearance models.
36-inch French door
| Model | Depth | Gap beside a wall |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung RF70H25GERAA | Standard | 1/8 in |
| Samsung RF70H25KERAA | Standard | 1/8 in |
| Samsung RF70H25HERAA | Counter | about 3/16 in |
| Midea MRF27I6BST | Counter | 1 1/2 in |
| Midea MRF32I6BST | Standard | 1 1/2 in |
33-inch French door
| Model | Depth | Gap beside a wall |
|---|---|---|
| Haier QHE16HYPFS | Counter | 1 7/16 in |
| Midea MRF23I5AST | Counter | 1 1/2 in |
| Frigidaire FRFG2033AV | Counter | about 2 1/8 in |
Side-by-side
| Model | Depth | Gap beside a wall |
|---|---|---|
| LG LRSXC2306S | Counter | 3/8 in |
| Kenmore 46-51805 | Counter | about 11/16 in |
| Beko BFSB3622SS | Counter | 13/16 in |
| Frigidaire FRSG2115AV | Counter | about 7/8 in |
Typical figures: 36-in French doors 3 3/4 in (288 of 311 publish it), 33-in French doors 3 7/8 in (24 of 25 publish it), side-by-sides 2 in (100 of 123 publish it).
90° isn’t always enough
On many French doors the crisper drawers only slide out with the door opened past 90°, and that needs much more room. The Samsung RF70F23DER asks for 3 3/4 in beside a wall at 90°, but 11 3/8 in for the door to open fully. If you’ll take the drawers out to clean them, check the “fully open” figure too.
Check your own space
Enter your opening in the calculator, open “Advanced options” and say where the wall is. It checks every model’s door against your wall.
Questions people ask
Does a zero-clearance refrigerator need any space beside a wall?
Usually yes. Of the zero-clearance models we track, only Samsung’s RF70H25 needs about 1/8 in for the door to open to 90°. LG’s Zero Clearance French doors need 2 1/8 in, and Samsung’s RF70H30 needs 3 3/4 in.
Does Samsung have a zero-clearance refrigerator?
Yes, several Bespoke French doors are sold as “Zero Clearance Fit”. The RF70H25 needs about 1/8 in beside a wall; the RF70H30, sold under the same name, needs 3 3/4 in.
Who makes zero-clearance refrigerators?
Among the models we track, LG (LF24Z6530S, LF25Z6211S) and Samsung (RF70H25, RF70H30) use the term in their own documents. Some models without the label need less room than LG’s, for example the Midea MRF27I6BST French door (1 1/2 in) and the LG LRSXC2306S side-by-side (3/8 in).
How much room does a normal French door refrigerator need beside a wall?
The median 36-in French door needs 3 3/4 in on the hinge side for the door to open to 90°, from 288 models whose documents give a figure.
How we checked
- Source documents: each figure comes from the maker’s spec sheet, installation guide or product page for that model, checked against the page it came from. Each model page links its source.
- Which models count as zero clearance: only those whose own documents or product page use the term.
- More than one figure: where a model’s documents give two figures, we use the larger one and say so.
- Built-ins are left out of the “least room” lists.
- Date: data as of October 2026.
Confirm current manufacturer specifications and installation requirements before purchase or installation. ExactFit does not evaluate every delivery-path, plumbing, electrical, trim, floor, or door-swing condition.