Pull-Out Cabinet Shelves

[Shel_B]

My GF has an under-the-counter cabinet with fixed shelves. I was thinking of installing shelves that pull out to make things easier for her. She often complains about the inconvenience, but she's too "frugal" to replace the shelves.

Can pull out shelves be retrofitted to such a cabinet? Would they be easy/simple to install? Do such shelves come in standard sizes? I imagine her cabinet is of a standard size, but I'm just guessing.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Chris Hennes]

Yeah, the retrofit is relatively simple, as long as you can remove the existing shelves: have you tried to do so? In my kitchen cabinets the fixed shelves are slotted into dadoes and glued. That is, they aren't going anywhere!

[Shel_B]

Yeah, the retrofit is relatively simple, as long as you can remove the existing shelves: have you tried to do so? In my kitchen cabinets the fixed shelves are slotted into dadoes and glued. That is, they aren't going anywhere!

I just took a look. I thought the shelf was solidly fixed, but it's not. It's secured with clips that fit into drilled holes in the cabinet walls. The shelf should be simple to remove, and that suggests a simple replacement.

Adding a slide out shelf to the bottom of the cabinet should be a relatively simple task as well.

Thanks!

[Chris Hennes]

There are basically two ways to go about it then: buy just the glides and mounts and rip a few inches off your existing shelves, or buy a kit that includes the shelf. Obviously the kit is going to cost more, but if you don't have a table saw or circular saw, it's probably the way to go. They are available in several standard widths. be aware that sometimes getting things adjusted properly can be a pain, since the glides are designed to fit a wide variety of different cabinet styles. When the cabinet doors open do they pull out of the way of the cabinet opening, or are they simple hinges?

[Raoul Duke]

Handyman magazine had an article on doing this in the last 3 months. Don't remember the issue but it had some great tips and instructions. Remember, measure twice, cut once.

[JAZ]

I installed this in my cabinet (more precisely, a friend did). I'm very happy with it.

For my pantry shelves, I got single pull-out shelves that attach to the existing shelves. I don't have photos, but here they are. They work well in the pantry but I wasn't sure they'd be strong enough for cookware.

[qrn]

the best way is to get rid of the doors/shelves, is, use drawers

last kitchen I built,has only one pair of doors,under the sink, all the rest including the corner, where most put those dumb rotating things, are full extension drawers...very user friendly...

Bud

[runwestierun]

We bought a house with an old galley kitchen. Not wanting to do a full remodel right away, I ordered pull out shelf kits from Costco for one side of the kitchen. You send them measurements and they send you wood trays to install. They work well. I am very happy with them. They attach right onto the existing fixed shelves.

On the other side of the kitchen, we ripped off the bottom cabinet doors and ripped out the shelves and had a cabinet maker install 2 very deep very large drawers. I can fit my food processor with the bowl sitting upright in the drawer.

I like the drawers better than the pull out shelves because they hold more stuff and don't have to be stacked as carefully as the pull out shelves.

[forever_young_ca]

When I had pullout shelves installed into my existing cabinets, I had the installer leave a gap between the bottom of the cupboard and the first slide out shelf. This gap is large enough to slide in large platters. It is a great way to store otherwise bulky items.

[Shel_B]

Thanks for all the help.

As it happens, there's a nearby store that may be able to provide information and shelves.

[HungryC]

I have the pull-out wire baskets retrofitted into my existing cabinets. No need to remove the existing shelves for installation, as long as you have sufficient working space inside the cabinet to fit a drill/screwdriver to install the rack. (I have one of those compact drill/drivers w/a 90-degree joint, so it was easy.)

[snowangel]

We retrofitted our under-counter cabinets and pantry (former very deep broom closet) with pull-out drawers. We built the drawers ourself.

With the pull-out glider thingies, there are not only different lengths, but different "grades" -- we got the heaviest duty ones we could find so weight isn't a problem.

All in all, building the drawers was simple. Installing them was simple. It took the longest to apply finish to the drawers.