Can you look at the unit right after it is set in, before I plug it in?

Yes. A visit before power-on is a sensible choice if the unit was laid down for the trip or the move was rough. We check the level, the door, the grille and the sealed system for visible damage, then you switch it on with confidence.

Do you move or reinstall built-in wine units?

We repair Sub-Zero refrigeration; moving and cabinetry work belong to movers and installers. When the unit is in place, we are the ones to call if it does not behave.

My building only allows freight elevator use at set times. Does that affect the visit?

Tell us when you book. Mention the building's rules for service visits, which entrance to use, where the van can stop and which elevator goes up, and we plan the time around them.

If the ice maker is acting up too, is there a second $89?

No. One trip, one $89, however many Sub-Zero units we look at while we are there, and that charge is subtracted once you approve the work. If the ice maker stalled after a building water shutoff, our Century City ice maker page explains that side.

Should I restock all my bottles the moment the display reaches the setting?

Better to return them in batches. A full load of room-temperature glass makes the unit work hard at the exact moment you want to see whether it is healthy.

The unit cooled fine for a few days and then quit. Is that still the move?

It can be. A fan or connector loosened in transit sometimes holds for a while before giving up. Other times the cause is unrelated, such as a blocked condenser; our condenser cleaning page for Century City covers that.

What will the repair itself cost?

Nobody can say honestly before seeing the unit. The visit is $89, deducted once you go ahead; the repair figure depends on which part failed and how much of the cabinetry has to come apart, and you get it in plain numbers before any work. Our pricing page lists the factors.

Century City · wine storage

The wine unit made the elevator ride. Now what?

Name: Sub-Zero Wine Cooler Care in Century City
Brand: Brentwood Refrigeration Services
Rating: 4.8 (187 reviews)

A move between a house and a high-rise is hard on a built-in wine unit: it gets pulled from tight cabinetry, tipped onto a dolly, squeezed into a freight car and set into a new opening. Most units come through fine. The ones that don't usually show it in the first days, and knowing what to watch for keeps a small fault from costing a collection.

4.8 stars of 5 tallied over 187 client write-ups About the rating

Book a visit
(310) 878-0630
$89 per house call · visits 8–6 daily · phone 24/7

Getting the unit out of one kitchen and into the next

Whether the unit is leaving a tower apartment for a house in the canyons or coming the other way, the order below protects both the machine and the bottles.

Move the wine separately

Bottles travel in cases, never in the racks. A loaded unit is far heavier, the racks flex under the weight, and one sharp bump in the service corridor can crack glass and slides at the same time.
Switch off and let the inside dry

Unplug the unit ahead of moving day, prop the door slightly open and wipe away moisture. A damp interior sealed shut for the trip smells musty on arrival.
Have it released from the cabinetry properly

Built-in and panel-ready units are fastened into their openings, often with anti-tip hardware and trim. Forcing one out scratches panels and can bend the door hinge, and that bend later turns into a gasket gap nobody can see from the sofa.
Keep it upright whenever you can

Ask the movers to stand the unit on the dolly rather than lay it down. If the elevator cab is too short and it must be tilted, tilt it as little and as briefly as possible and tell us afterwards.
Book the building's route in advance

Towers usually control the loading dock and the freight elevator by reservation. Measure the cab door, the corridor turns and the kitchen doorway against the unit before the day, not on it.
Set it, level it, then wait

Slide the unit into the new opening, get it level in both directions, and leave it unplugged for the standing time stated in its installation guide.

Why a tower move is rougher than a house move

A move from one Brentwood house to another is mostly a straight roll from the kitchen to the truck. A high-rise adds a gauntlet: a loading dock, a service hallway with tight corners, a freight car with a fixed ceiling height, and often a second hallway at the other end. Tall wine columns and full-size wine units are the appliances most likely to be tipped somewhere along that route, simply because they are tall.

Tipping matters because of what is sealed inside. The compressor holds lubricating oil, and the refrigerant runs through thin tubing that is shaped and fixed in place at the factory. Lay the unit down and the oil can drift into tubing where it does not belong; jolt it hard and a line can rub, kink or crack at a bracket. Neither shows through the stainless or the panel, so a unit that looks untouched can arrive unable to make cold.

Then comes the new opening. Condo kitchens tend to be fitted precisely, with panels and toe-kicks cut to the millimeter. A unit set even slightly out of level in that opening can end up with a door that creeps ajar, or a gasket that kisses the frame along the hinge side and leaves a sliver open at the handle. Behind glass, that sliver becomes mist across the pane and a zone that wanders away from its number.

None of this calls for panic. It calls for patience at start-up and a few specific checks, laid out further down. The general workings of Sub-Zero wine units, and the faults they develop with age, sit on our wine storage repair page; how house calls among the towers are arranged is on the Century City overview.

Before the plug goes back in the wall

Run through this in the new kitchen. Each line takes a minute and each one catches a problem that otherwise looks like a refrigeration fault.

The unit stands fully upright and has done so for the time its installation guide asks for
A phone level app laid on a rack reads flat both across and front-to-back
The door swings closed on its own from part-open and the gasket meets the cabinet all the way around
Nothing sits in front of the vent at floor level: no leftover packing foam, rug corner or loose toe-kick strip
The cord runs free to the outlet instead of being trapped under a leveling foot or crushed against the wall
The outlet works: test it with a lamp before blaming the appliance
Every rack slides fully home and nothing presses against the rear wall
There is a photo on your phone of the serial tag inside the cabinet, ready to read out if you end up calling

How long should a wine fridge stand before you plug it in after a move?

The installation guide that came with your Sub-Zero names the standing time, and that figure is the one to follow. A unit kept upright the whole way needs less settling than one laid on its side, because the compressor oil has to drain back. If the guide is lost, call (310) 878-0630 before switching it on.

From loading dock to the first bottle back in the rack

A calm start-up looks like this. The stages matter more than the clock; your model's guide sets the actual waiting times.

Packing day

Collection boxed, unit unplugged and drying with the door ajar, racks either taped in place or packed separately.
The ride

Unit upright on the dolly where possible, blankets between it and the car walls, door strapped shut for the corridors.
Setting in

Slid into the opening without dragging across the floor, leveled, trim and toe-kick refitted with the grille left clear.
Standing

Unplugged and left alone for the period in the installation guide, longer if it travelled lying down.
Power on

Plugged in, settings checked against what you used before, door kept closed so the cabinet can pull down.
Settling in

Display watched for a steady approach to the set point; glass checked for fog; an ear out for clicks, buzzes or a fan that seems never to rest.
Restocking

Bottles returned in a few batches rather than all at once, so the unit is not fighting a full load of warm glass.

Why is my wine fridge not cooling after a move?

Often it was plugged in too soon or is still pulling down from room temperature. Check that it is level, the door seals and the base grille is clear. If it stays warm well beyond what the guide describes for start-up, or runs nonstop without cooling, transport may have damaged the sealed system or a fan.

Signs the move left a mark

These point to a likely cause, not a diagnosis. A single house call usually sorts out which one applies, and the first two are often owner fixes.

Mist or beads of water behind the glass: Likely cause Door out of alignment after the move, or a gasket pinched while the unit sat in its new opening
One zone holds its setting, the other drifts: Likely cause A zone fan or damper knocked during transport, or racks pushed against the rear wall blocking airflow Repair page
Compressor runs and runs, cabinet stays warm: Likely cause Refrigerant tubing stressed on the way, or a start-up made before the oil had settled
A rattle or tick that the old kitchen never heard: Likely cause A fan blade nicked, a loose bracket or panel, or tubing touching the cabinet wall
Display dark or showing a message after power-on: Likely cause A connector loosened by vibration, or a pinched cord; check the outlet first
Door will not stay shut: Likely cause Unit not level in the new opening, or a hinge bent when it was pulled from the old cabinetry

Who fixes Sub-Zero wine units in Century City high-rises?

Brentwood Refrigeration Services is an independent Westside team that comes to the towers around Avenue of the Stars for Sub-Zero wine columns, full-size wine units and undercounter wine drawers. You pay $89 for the visit, it is subtracted from the repair, and you hear the full repair figure once the fault is found and before anything is replaced.

Moving-week questions owners actually ask

Can you look at the unit right after it is set in, before I plug it in?: Yes. A visit before power-on is a sensible choice if the unit was laid down for the trip or the move was rough. We check the level, the door, the grille and the sealed system for visible damage, then you switch it on with confidence.
Do you move or reinstall built-in wine units?: We repair Sub-Zero refrigeration; moving and cabinetry work belong to movers and installers. When the unit is in place, we are the ones to call if it does not behave.
My building only allows freight elevator use at set times. Does that affect the visit?: Tell us when you book. Mention the building's rules for service visits, which entrance to use, where the van can stop and which elevator goes up, and we plan the time around them.
If the ice maker is acting up too, is there a second $89?: No. One trip, one $89, however many Sub-Zero units we look at while we are there, and that charge is subtracted once you approve the work. If the ice maker stalled after a building water shutoff, our Century City ice maker page explains that side.
Should I restock all my bottles the moment the display reaches the setting?: Better to return them in batches. A full load of room-temperature glass makes the unit work hard at the exact moment you want to see whether it is healthy.
The unit cooled fine for a few days and then quit. Is that still the move?: It can be. A fan or connector loosened in transit sometimes holds for a while before giving up. Other times the cause is unrelated, such as a blocked condenser; our condenser cleaning page for Century City covers that.
What will the repair itself cost?: Nobody can say honestly before seeing the unit. The visit is $89, deducted once you go ahead; the repair figure depends on which part failed and how much of the cabinetry has to come apart, and you get it in plain numbers before any work. Our pricing page lists the factors.

Just moved and the wine unit seems off?

Ring (310) 878-0630; the line is staffed 24/7 and technicians go out 8 AM until 6 PM daily. If you are moving to the flats south of here, our West Los Angeles wine storage page covers those homes, and the seasonal maintenance checklist helps once things settle.

Phone 24/7(310) 878-0630 Choose a visit slot

Trip charge $89, counted per driveway and never per unit; it is credited in full once you approve the repair.