I bought a house (1961) that has had a nice make over. Everything looks nice, however there are a few things that I would have not done. case in point, there is a built in alcove for the refrigerator that is just wide enough for it. Well, this past weekend the existing fridge died so I bought a new one keeping in mind the very tight dimensions. Well when it came to being installed, I found that the new fridge does not fit as the old one did. Looking at the opening versus the fridge, something isn't quite aligned. No biggie, I fit the fridge in the alcove and push. Well, it goes in about 8" and stops. I take a piece of paper and slide it around the sides to find out where it's stuck.

That's the back story, now for the question. I'm looking for a quick fix before I can dedicate time and money to potentially widen the alcove properly, not to mention finish the floor tile that was stopped at the alcove. I'm wondering if there's a quick way to strip away fractions of an inch from the drywall just to get the fridge in. I thought about sanding, but I'm afraid that may take quite a bit of time.

Does anyone have a suggestion how I can make a quick fix to this? I appreciate it.

 

This will fix your problem...I think. Remove the drywall from the sides of the alcove. I suspect it is wraped with corner bead. You will have to remove this too. Then you can hang 1/4" drywall in its place. If the fridge is more than 1/4" off then you will have to do some major remodeling of the alcove, or return the fridge for a smaller one.