Refrigerator Surround “feet”?

[Diane Barker]

Hello. I am designing cabinets for my new kitchen and laundry. The kit has a refrigerator surround and the laundry will have a stacking W/D surround. Both have potential for leaks. Ice makers are notorious.

so I wondered if I should put those surrounds on adjust leveler feet to get them 1/4” off the floor. If a leak happens then the plywood edge is less likely to contact the water and thus no swelling.

if not that, can you all please tell me how you do the surround/ floor interface? Just let it sit on the floor? Or do you put quarter round or something like that along the edges?

thanks!

[Paul F Franklin]

My surrounds are fastened to the subfloor and the finish floor is fitted around them, with shoe molding to cover the expansion gap. (I undercut the first inch or two of the surrounds so a little flooring slides under just at the front edge so you don't have to have shoe molding on the front edges.) You can get drip trays to go under the fridge and washer (and dishwasher) to give you protection from small leaks and time to fix them hopefully before they become serious. I think the surrounds generally need to be fastened to the floor so they don't move when kicked or bumped, especially if they are end panels with no cabinets next to them.