Types of Kitchen Drawer Slides: Custom Cabinets Hardware Guide – 2021
Kitchen drawer slides come in several styles, and contribute to the overall experience of using your cabinets. The feeling you get from your drawers is determined by the type of drawer slides you choose, along with how the slides mount to your cabinets. Understanding the differences in your options can help to ensure the longevity and enjoyment of your cabinets for years to come.
Learn everything you need to know about the options available for updating your kitchen drawer slides. Find out what types of slides are available and how they affect the motion of your drawers. And, see which mounting method is the best fit for your cabinets.
Total Guide to Different Types of Kitchen Drawer Slides – 2021
You can upgrade and update the style, feel, and experience of your cabinets by getting new kitchen drawer slides. Drawer slides can completely change how it feels to use the cabinetry in your kitchen, and they serve to protect your drawers from getting damaged through repetitive use. When considering new slides for your drawers, the two main areas of consideration include the type of drawer slide and the method of mounting the slides to your cabinet drawers.
Top 4 Types of Cabinet Drawer Sliders
In custom cabinetry, you find 4 main types of sliders: Shock Absorber, Push-to-open, Soft-closing, and Self-closing. Each type of slider is mechanically complex and works to preserve the longevity of your drawers, and heighten the experience of using your cabinets. Each offers benefits that suit different usage styles and aesthetic preferences.
Shock Absorber Drawer Slides
For kitchen cabinet drawers that receive heavy, vigorous use, shock-absorbing slides are a great choice. Slamming drawers cause damage to your cabinetry, which shock-absorbing slides work to counteract. By preventing the drawers from closing hard or slamming shut, the slides catch and pull the drawer into the drawer slot automatically. And, the mechanical design of shock-absorbing slides renders them silent when opening or closing.
Push-to-open Drawer Slides
If you want a completely hands-off drawer slide, push-to-open slides offer minimal interaction. Push-to-open slides maintain a clean, contemporary aesthetic for kitchen drawers with no handles. Just push on the drawer and it automatically opens.
For high-activity kitchens, however, drawers might tend to accidentally get opened, for instance, if someone bumps into one. Especially for households with energetic children, push-to-open drawers might be better suited for the closet or bedrooms. But, by removing the need for a drawer handle, this type of slider is great for saving a little bit of space in tight quarters.
Self-closing and Soft-closing Drawer Slides
Similar to shock-absorbing slides, self-closing drawers return into the cabinet with a gentle push. These drawer sliders give an up-scale feeling to your cabinetry and prevent the drawers from making any noise. In keeping with the slow-closing motion of these slides, it also preserves the integrity of your drawers from damage caused by rough usage.
Soft-closing slides are, essentially, the same as a self-closing slide. But, soft-closers feature additional damping mechanisms to soften the drawer return, even further. You might find that soft-closing sliders are ideal, or you might prefer a bit more expediency – ultimately it is a choice of preference.
Top 4 Ways to Mount Drawer Sliders in Your Kitchen Cabinets
In many ways, how drawer sliders are mounted has as much impact on their function as the type of slider you choose. Slides mount to different spots on the drawer and cabinets to serve different functions. For instance, the mounting method determines the drawer’s weight capacity limits, optical apparency, and maximization of storage space.
Bottom and Side-Mount Sliders
Bottom-mount drawer slides are most commonly used with roller-guided drawers, as opposed to ball-bearing slides. The slide mounts the bottom of the drawer, which is designed for frameless kitchen cabinets. Bottom-mounting slides are a good option if you want something easy to install and affordable.
Side-mounted drawer slides provide a sturdier connection between the hardware and drawer and are widely utilized in all different types of cabinetry. Unlike bottom-mounted slides, mounting the slide to the side of the drawer provides more weight-bearing ability. But, unlike under-mount slides (see below), side-mounted slides also require more clearance room on either side, which cuts down your usable drawer space by about an inch in width.
Undermount and Center-mount Drawer Slides
If you combine the drawer’s hardware placement from bottom-mounted slides, and the stability of side-mount slides, you get under-mount slides. Undermount drawer slides use an L-bracket attached to the side of the cabinet. The drawer’s hardware mounts to the bottom, allowing the slide to run along with the L-shaped cabinet slider hardware.
If you want the most stability and maximization of space, under-mount slides are highly recommended. Center-mount slides run along with a single slide that mounts underneath the drawer. This type of slide often restricts the vertical clearance of the drawer but offers the benefit of easy installation and affordability. But, be aware, that center-mount slides hold the least weight capacity and are more likely to wear out with heavy use.
Another consideration to take into account is the aesthetics of your kitchen and the cabinets, therein. Choose the style that best fits the atmosphere of your kitchen. For guidance on the combination of slider style and mounting method that is best for your kitchen drawer slides, talk to a cabinetry expert for a free consultation.