Converting a fridge for fermenting beer

Step 4 The Door

The plastic door panel had molded shelves that stuck into the fridge area, and only allowed room for 2 fermenters.  I figured that if I were to replace the molded plastic with a flat panel, I would be able to fit at least 3 and maybe even 4 fermenters.  I wanted something flat and fairly thin so that I could re-use the same rubber door seal.  I considered using dry erase board which would allow me to keep notes about the beer fermenting, but the cheapest one I could find that was large enough was $25, and a sheet of 1/8" hardboard is only $6.  I ended up settling on hardboard coated in white melamine (about $8), thinking I might be able to use crayons to keep notes on it. 

The first step was to remove the door from the fridge.  This is usually pretty straight forward, and in my case just required removing a few screws from the hinge pin holders.  Then I lay the door face down on a flat work surface with the handle overhanging the edge.  This is important, because otherwise the door will warp from it's own weight after the panel is removed, and the new panel will hold the door in the warped contour.  If the workspace doesn't allow the door to lay flat, you may need to remove the handle.

The next step was to remove the molded panel.  It was held on by sheet metal screws hidden underneath the rubber seal.  I folded the rubber back, and removed the screws, making sure to save them.  The screws actually held down metal strips, which in turn held the rubber in place.  I took note of the orientation of these strips, as they wanted to fall out as I moved the seal away from the door.

Next I measured the outside dimensions of the panel, and cut the hardboard to size.  I placed the shelf panel on top of the flat panel, and used it as a template to mark the locations of the screw holes.