Another thing that didn't work out so well was the access to the fridge. I built the counter top above it to lift up and out of the way - but while loading it the first time, I banged the hell out of my elbow on the one support bracket on the rear wall - that pissed me off bad enough to buy a fridge slide. Well, ok, that plus the fact that it really was a pain in the butt to clear off the counter every time we wanted in the fridge. This was a concern from the start - but I though I would be able to get away with putting the hinge about the middle of the counter, which would let me leave anything on the back half of the counter in place when I lifted it. That didn't work - the hinge ended up being about 3" from the wall.
So - I bought a used ARB fridge slide (for about 1/2 MSRP). I like it - except that it is too long, so it sticks out from the fridge shelf a couple inches. Functionally, this isn't a problem. Aesthetically, it's ugly. I'll need to address it some time - but it works better. The only other problem is that it locks in both the extended and retracted position. So if you pull it all the way out, it will latch - and of course the latch is on the wrong side of the slide - so you have to reach under or over the fridge to release it. Not a huge problem - but kind of annoying, especially for my better half since the latch spring is pretty stiff & you have to grab it from a weird angle that makes it difficult to open.
So - I bought a used ARB fridge slide (for about 1/2 MSRP). I like it - except that it is too long, so it sticks out from the fridge shelf a couple inches. Functionally, this isn't a problem. Aesthetically, it's ugly. I'll need to address it some time - but it works better. The only other problem is that it locks in both the extended and retracted position. So if you pull it all the way out, it will latch - and of course the latch is on the wrong side of the slide - so you have to reach under or over the fridge to release it. Not a huge problem - but kind of annoying, especially for my better half since the latch spring is pretty stiff & you have to grab it from a weird angle that makes it difficult to open.
