Feature of kitchen drawers

One of the immutable requirements for a kitchen is its functionality, so the choice of a headset is very important for any housewife. Drawers or drawers allow you to use space ergonomically, especially with a small room or compact furniture.

What to base your choice on, and what pitfalls can there be during the installation of such boxes and operation?

What is a drawer

Modern pull-out shelves for the kitchen are special constructive systems for storing kitchen utensils and dishes, which save every centimeter of space, but make even the corners of deep cabinets accessible to viewing and use.

Thanks to these furniture designs, you don't have to rummage through the shelves in search of the right thing, all the contents of the drawers become as open as possible.

Types of designs of sliding elements

The types of rails used in shelves can vary in design, maximum load level and price. As a rule, in one kitchen set, several types of pull-out elements are used for drawers of different purposes and sizes.

• Roller guides are the most affordable, simple and popular. Not without drawbacks - they are noisy, quite often jam or fail, do not push out completely. Dynamic load - from 10 to 25 kg.
• Metal boxes, or metaboxes, are made on the basis of roller guides, supplemented with special side walls for the box. The height of the shelf, if necessary, is increased by rails or expanders. The disadvantages are the same as for simple roller guides. Advantages - ready-made drawer sides with front fasteners, which allow you to install the front strip without distortions and large gaps. Load - up to 25 kg.
• Ball, or telescopic guides work softer and quieter than roller guides. They can also be different in length, height, the degree of shelf extension and the presence of a closer. The disadvantages include only a higher price, and in operation they give only advantages over roller ones. Dynamic load - up to 35 kg.
• Modern boxes are created on the basis of telescopic guides, and are supplemented with special reinforcing structures of the pull-out elements that allow the shelves to be fully extended, making the extension quiet and smooth, without jamming, with silent finishing when closing. The height of the drawers can also be adjusted with extenders. Load up to 40 kg.
• Tandemboxes are modern systems that have all the advantages of previous analogues and get rid of their disadvantages. They are made of different types, according to the purpose in the kitchen - corner, for a sink, for a cutting board and a garbage can, etc. Soft closing, finishing, full extension of shelves, possibility of individual planning of shelf space. Easily withstand dynamic loads up to 65 kg.

How to choose the right one

In order to competently equip the kitchen with retractable fittings, it is necessary to draw up a plan for the headset - and, accordingly, think over the purpose of each shelf and cabinet.

Of course, the main selection criterion should be the quality of the fittings, so that the constant load and dynamic use of furniture does not lead to annoying jamming, noise and breakdowns. The thickness of the metal for guides of any type and purpose must be at least 1 mm.

How to do it yourself

It is not difficult to make pull-out shelves in kitchen cabinets with your own hands, the main thing is to make your choice and learn about the installation features.

1. First of all, you need to calculate the dimensions of the future kitchen drawer.
2. Decide on the type of retractable element.
3. There must be a gap between the walls of the cabinet and the future shelf to accommodate the fittings - as a rule, it is 13 mm.
4. The depth of the shelf should be almost the full length of the sliding runner, minus 5-10 mm for the element stroke, or minus 2 cm for the stiffeners, if any. The standard length of runners produced for kitchen cabinets is 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 centimeters.
5. The box must be exactly symmetrical, its diagonals must be the same.
6. When using tandembox or modern box, the box already has sidewalls, you only need to make the back and front strips, the bottom.
7. Fasten false panels from the inside, install furniture handles.

Where can drawers be located

• During cooking, everything should be at hand, so pull-out containers are needed, first of all, in the area of ​​the working surface of the headset. As a rule, small accessories are stored here, so mechanisms can be used roller or ordinary telescopic.
• The corner cabinet is inconvenient for its depth, and often remains unused or clogged with unnecessary utensils. Today, there is a solution for corner cabinets - pull-out mechanisms such as a carousel, a rack with tiered shelves, on which you can place everything you need, and it will always be in sight.
• On the sides of the cabinets - usually between two adjacent ones, or between the cabinet and the refrigerator / wall - bottle holders can be made. These narrow and long shelves are convenient for storing bottles of oil, sauces, spice jars and some kitchen utensils that do not fit in the cabinet in length.

Installation nuances

1. The details of the box are fixed to each other with confirmations.
2. The bottom of the shelf should be made of fiberboard or plywood (used less often), have high strength and rigidity, hold the entire structure, and not bend.
3. To fix the rails on the cabinet walls, you must first mark their correct location by measuring an equal distance from the bottom of the cabinet and drawing exactly horizontal lines on the inner wall on one side and the other.
4. The housing guides are fixed along these lines with self-tapping screws (roller) or screws with a 3 mm cylinder head

   (telescopic), box runners of the guides - on the boxes, symmetrically to their body parts, with a distance of 3 mm from the front bar.

Filling

Pull-out shelves will be more convenient if they are supplemented with various partitions, organizers for cabinets, baskets, etc. All these parts must be different in size and fit the kitchen utensils and accessories that are supposed to be stored in them.

Thanks to the internal organization of the shelves, they will increase their functionality, each thing will be visible and at hand, in its place, and there will always be order in the cabinets.

Advantages and disadvantages

There are many advantages of sliding systems for kitchen drawers:

• Availability of every item and accessory, good overview of the contents of the shelf.
• The functionality and ergonomics of the headset are being improved.
• The systems save space and make even small kitchens comfortable.
• Saving cooking time due to convenience and maximum access to all shelves.
• The price and type of the pull-out system can be selected according to your requests.

The disadvantages of such fittings are not obvious, but they can be called:

• High price for the most functional samples of pull-out systems.
• The structural complexity of the fittings, due to which, if improperly used or initially incorrectly installed, breakdowns may occur.

Other pull-out mechanisms for the kitchen

On the basis of the main pull-out systems, many varieties are produced today that completely change the idea of ​​\ u200b \ u200bthe traditional kitchen space.

1. For example, in small "hotel" -type kitchens, you can even install a retractable countertop, which is removed inside the furniture after a meal.
2. A pull-out cutting board with a waste container will not be in sight, making the overall look of the kitchen tidy.
3. If you put baskets on runners instead of boxes, you get a system for storing napkins and tablecloths. The same system can be used to organize a "mini-cellar" by placing vegetables in baskets.
4. The bottle system can be used to hold tea towels and napkins out of sight.

Video: how to install drawers with your own hands