Using Cabinet Pulls while installing Base Cabinet Pull-outs

The worst place to put things in the kitchen is in the base cabinets. From the minute you put things there you know it's going to be a nightmare to get them when you need them. You’ll have to get down on all fours to retrieve things. But what if you didn’t have to crawl into the cabinet to get to those things when you need them? What if the items came to you?  What if when you needed something the bottom of the cabinet pulls out making it easy to get things? Sound too good to be true? It’s not. You can actually install the piece that makes these cabinet pulls work.  

 
It is a little project that you can do in a weekend, assuming you have a few tools, some patience and a little know how.
First you have to decide which kind of cabinet pulls you want. There are wood pullouts and wire grid pullouts. They are also designed in many shapes so they can have dividers to hold small things, large things and those in between. 

If you want to create your own cabinet pulls here's how:

You need a saw, drill, tape measure and ½ inch or ¾ inch plywood.

Depending on the pullouts you need, you will either need to install bottom mounted or side guides.

First, you will need to take out the current wood shelf. You don’t want to hurt the cabinet.

Now measure the opening where the new cabinet pulls are going to be installed. Subtract an inch from the side-to-side measurement. That total is as wide as your cabinet pullout can be. Also measure from back to front.

With the side-to-side measurement and front to back measurement you can now create the cabinet pulls tray. This should be made out of ½ inch or ¾ inch plywood. You need to make a frame that fits the previous measurements with four sides and a bottom.  Put the pieces together with carpenters glue and finishing nails.

Now make sure it will fit in the space. Once you know you got the size right, it’s time to coat the drawer with polyurethane and leave it until it is completely dry.
 
Next, put on the drawer slides. These have to go on both the drawer and the cabinet. Measure carefully because they need to be lined up perfectly or your cabinet pulls will be lopsided and may not work like you were hoping.  Once you have them loosely in place, put the drawer in to see if it fits well and will open and close smoothly. It should not scratch or pull along as you move it.

For some, creating their own cabinet pulls is a job they would rather not do. That’s alright. There are options other than building them from scratch. If you look at home improvement stores, you will likely see pullout drawers that are already made and will fit into most cabinets, all you will have to do in this case is install the slides and you’re ready to go.

Back to door and drawer cabinet hardware information


 

     

Your home decor  - door and drawer - cabinet hardware - knob - pull - handle - backplate information resource