Installing the mounting brackets for a pull out pantry drawer or deep-set slide out shelf can be difficult, especially when the installation is for cabinets that are 24 inches deep or more. It is important to make sure that the the mounting brackets are properly spaced in the rear of the cabinet. Often, there very little room to work in, and it's dark under the cabinetry.
At Slide Out Shelves, LLC, we have a technique to make installation of pull out shelving for deep cabinets nearly perfect, every time! The following procedure will help overcome difficulty and make large drawer shelf installation easier.
Step 1:
Unpack the slide-out shelf from the shipping box. Check to see if the slides on each drawer box are already attached to the bottom of the drawers. If they are not, attach them according to the enclosed instructions. Take the slide-out shelf and do a test by placing it into the cabinet and checking the fit. Check for room on either side, to ensure that the drawer box will not rub on the side of the cabinet when you pull it towards you. Check to make sure that cabinet doors and hardware open correctly with the pull out drawer box inside the cabinet. Make sure that the cabinet doors shut correctly with the drawer inside.
Step 2:
Once you are satisfied with the fit, position the drawer within the cabinet, measuring with a tape if needed to get it even from both sides; take a pencil and mark the front mounting brackets location on the cabinet shelf. Remove the drawer box from inside the cabinet and note the marked area for the bracket foot.
Step 3:
Take the slide-out shelf and turn it upside down on a flat surface where it will not be scratched or marked. Using a 2 inch wide roll of masking tape, apply the tape as shown in the picture below, placing a strip of tape from one mounting bracket foot to the other on all four sides, and creating a cross with the tape diagonally from corner to the other. When you apply the tape, be sure and stretch it as tightly as possible - it will be easily to remove it. This tape is going to become the pattern that helps you mark the inside of your cabinet and align the bracket feet.
Once you have created your masking tape pattern, lift the brackets and the tape away from the drawer box (see the *Note below about removing slides). You might need some help with this step by having someone hold the pull out drawer box down when you ease the slides away from the sides and bottom of the drawer box. Once the brackets are free of the drawer box, the shelf mounting brackets are being held together by the tape, which is the same width as the drawer shelf, both front and rear.
Step 4:
Take the masking tape pattern together with the mounting brackets and place them into the cabinet with the slide hardware facing up. Line up the front mounting bracket feet with the pencil marks on the cabinet that you made earlier.
Install the first screw into one of the front mounting brackets using one of the horizontal holes. Do not tighten the screw all the way down at this point.
Install the next screw in the opposite corner mounting bracket in the rear of the cabinet. Use one of the horizontal screw holes. Do not tighten the screw all the way down at this point.
Place another screw in the two remaining brackets, but do not tighten them down just yet.
Step 5:
Next, take the slide-out drawer shelf and place it back onto the slide brackets that you just partially installed into the cabinet. Test slide the slide-out shelf to check that it pulls in and out smoothly, does not rub the sides, and that the doors close correctly with the drawer box inside.
Once you are satisfied that the slide-out shelf is positioned, pull the shelf out halfway; reach back into the drawer and tighten down the screws now.
Step 6:
Test the slide-out shelf again for smoothness of operation. Now pull the slide-out shelf all of the way out (See *Note below for removing the shelf from the slide brackets) and continue to place screws in the open holes of the mounting brackets. Place at least one screw in the center hole of the mounting bracket once the drawer works smoothly.
*Note:
To remove the slide-out shelf from the slide hardware, pull the drawer all the way out until it stops. On either side of the pull-out shelf there is a release tab. Place a finger on both release tabs at once, press in on the tab while pulling out on the shelf - easy!
Now you are ready to install the rest of your sliding shelf drawer boxes. Before you know it, you have pull out shelves everywhere you want them - the pantry, the kitchen, and the bathroom - helping you organize your cabinets for better and more efficient home storage!
