Related Articles How to. To fix this problem, you only need a few items, and your ball bearing drawer slides will work like new again. What other brands are good? Join as a Pro. Some slide companies make a soft close and a self close.

Needless to say the cabinet maker is not very happy with me right now. I'm so stressed as majority of my base cabinets are drawers with the exception of the two corners. I had to basically tug at the drawer the entire time to get it to open and push extremely hard to close.

It almost felt there there was a resistance band on it when I try to open and then something resisting me closing it. I thought I was being wimpy so I had my husband try - he has found that it was really, really hard to open AND close. Does your cabinetmaker have any displays in his shop that you can go check out to compare with what you have? Any "references" he can give for you to check out to make sure that they're "supposed" to be like that? I doubt it. There's a problem with the glides most likely and he doesn't want to waste his time fixing it.

But thats just my opinion. Look for the 'made in china' stamp. Please post photos so that we can debunk the cabinet maker's claim of 'resistance'. This is becoming a recurring problem.

One more comment- our blum self close, soft close with 50 lbs worth of stuff inside can be opened with the pull of a finger. Travisalfrey, could you share with us some of the other brands that are as good as, or better than blum? That doesn't sound like they're working correctly at all. I have Kraftmaid cabinets, so I don't have Blum brand glides - but my drawers open and close fine. Perhaps not as nicely as Blums I've never used Blums, so I can't compare , but they open easily, and close themselves after I give them a reasonable "push".

Now, this is only after my cabinets were replaced. The carpenter had originally installed the cabinets badly, putting the boxes out of square - then the drawers didn't work well at all. Once the cabs were replaced we had to reorder them! That makes no sense. When you test out cabinets at a store or display, there is nothing in them! The soft-close drawers I've seen are still soft-close when there's nothing in them.

Cabinet maker has agreed to replace all the drawer slides to blum. He said he will need to remake all the drawer boxes to accommodate the new slides. Does this sound right? Can anyone tell me if the blum slides are bottom mounted or side mounted? The current crappy slides are side mounted and they take up alot of space, therefore making my drawer boxes smaller.

BTW, thanks for everyones support on this. All the information that was provided in response to my post helped my case when I had to talk to my cabinet maker today. My newly installed cabinets have bottom-mounted Blum glides. There is an initial resistance when opening the drawer, but my 6 and 8 year old daughters can do it without a problem.

You do have to give them a little tug, so it feels a little strange never having had this kind of glide before , but not difficult. Hettich makes high quality cabinetry hardware - a bit more up market than Blum as I understand it. Side mount full extension and soft close are different than Blumotion which are undermounted ball bearing glides if I have my terminology right. With undermounted ball bearing glides your drawers will be wider and it will have a very different feel.

How deep are your cabinets? I think hettich is the best made. I also like the motion of the Accuride but Accuride has a difference clearance than blum or hettich so they are not interchangable. I use the accurides on inset jobs because they are the most adjustable. How can I tell if the Blum soft close, self close will fit? This is the wrong question to be asking. You simply TELL the custom cabinetry maker what you want an he goes and makes it in the size necessary to fit your space.

This should be part of the specifications that are given to the cabinet shop. This is the glide that's mounted inside the cabinet. They are the only kind I use and work get when installed properly.

The drawers have to be made to specific specifications. You can't change out cheap side-mounted slides without making all new drawers. May I join in on this discussion with my dilemma? My cabinets were installed this week and Accuride slides are totally dis-functional! If you push the drawers softly, they don't close; if you push them with enough force to close completely they bounce open. IMO, they are unacceptable. They are really easy to open, and pretty much close themselves without banging if I get them close enough they kind of "suck themselves in".

The side-mount glides on the Rev A Shelf? One more voice in the discussion. We are building out our kitchen and have many Blum Tandem soft close units. They work smooth and correctly. BUT, we have had 3 of the catches as pictured above but with a small white plastic tab for bottom screw install break. They have all broken in the same spot, on the plastic that I described My vendor did replace 2 so far, waiting on the third.

Here is a link that might be useful: our kitchen project. I just renovated my Kitchen and got the same story from my cabinet maker. My drawer slides are Hardware Concept Inc from Florida. I am in Jupiter FL.

I contacted the company and they said that I should not be having these issues with the drawers and that it was my cabinet maker who has installed the Soft Close Drawer Slides Menards Questions product incorrectly.

The company has done nothing to help correct the problem and my cabinet maker insists that people in Florida don't use soft close because they are hard to open and need to be loaded in order to work properly. I never have heard such crap before.

I asked the cabinet maker to use Blumotion because it is a fabulous product I have in my other home. All drawer sizes work beautifully and have for 4 years. He said the Hardware Concept product was as good if not better so I agreed to go with the product he wanted. Little did I know he had no idea how to install the product. They have been installed twice and still do not work properly. I am left with with drawers that do not work the way they are suppose to work.

Your cabinet maker is giving you the run-around! I am in the Jupiter area also and have had soft close drawers and cabinets for 5 plus years and they work perfectly. We just renovated our kitchen and my new Blumotion work flawlessly also. If the cabinet maker has tried to install your glides correctly twice, and they still don't work properly, I would call the manufacturer and have them recommend a competent installer to fix them for you.

I just picked up a coffee table that I had made from a customer to fix this very problem- I had used self closing side mount slides due to the fact that the drawers are so small in height Blumotion wouldn't work. It is being used by an older person and I agree that it is hard to pull the drawer open.

The work great the other way. This is the first time this has happened to my in over 35 years and thousands of drawer installs. The slide will have a screw hole at both ends. Predrill holes into the drawer. Screw the slide to the drawer. Set the slide back on the drawer.

Align its top edge Soft Close Drawer Slides Wont Close Zoom with the mark you made earlier, adjusting the slide so the holes are over the spots you drilled. Fasten the slide in place with an electric screwdriver. Attach the slide on the other side of the drawer. Find the other small slide piece. Flip the drawer over so the other side is facing up.

Then, line up and attach the other slide the same way you did with the first one. Part 3 of Set the back brackets in the slide frame. Find the L-shaped metal brackets as well as the 2 remaining slide pieces. Fit a bracket into 1 end on each slide. The brackets easily slide into the frame track. The free ends of the brackets will attach to the cabinets with screws. Align the slide frames with the bottom of the cabinet. Place the slide frame pieces inside the cabinet.

Push the brackets all the way to the back. The frame pieces should be flush with the bottom edge of the cabinet and rest against the side walls. Use a level to straighten the frames. The frames need to be level from front to back. Reposition each frame as needed until the leveling tool is even from left to right. Mark the position of the frames with a pencil. Mark where the frames rest on the cabinet.

You can draw directly onto the cabinet with a pencil. Create the lines right over the ends of both frames. Then, mark the spots where the brackets and rails will be screwed in place. The rails will have at least 1 hole at the opposite ends. Make sure the lines are dark enough to see as you secure the rails. Predrill holes into the wood. Drill into the spots you marked earlier.

These holes prevent the screws from breaking or cracking the wood. Screw the frame pieces in place. Use an electric screwdriver to secure the frame to the cabinet. Then, set another screw in the front end of the bracket to secure the slide in place. Push the drawer in to make sure it glides smoothly. If the pieces are installed correctly, the drawer will come to a gentle stop inside the cabinet. You may need to readjust the screws.

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Be aware of what slide variety your drawer uses. Soft close hinges tend to be manufactured with plastic pads fitted to connect with the leaf of the door just before it touches the frame.

From here, the damper slows the movement of the door right down and controls it so that it simply taps shut quietly and gently. Rub paraffin on the meeting parts of drawers to keep them working smoothly. You'll find paraffin with the canning supplies in your local grocery store. In a pinch you can also use candles, bar soap or even dry spray lubricant. Wooden drawers can become stuck over time.

Pull open the drawer as much as you possibly can. Connect a light bulb to an extension cord and place it inside the drawer. Place the light bulb inside a drawer that is above or below the stuck drawer if you were unable to get it open even a few inches. Use silicone thread lubricant to moisten the jammed lock , making it easier to insert the key.

Consider putting a small dot of graphite in the keyhole if the lock still does not open. Once you have applied graphite to the key, try to open the jammed lock at least four times so the graphite has a chance to work.

If you're locked on the other side, look for a tiny hole on the doorknob. Push an eyeglasses screwdriver, a paper clip hammered flat, or a very small butter knife into this hole. Push it straight through as far as you can, and turn or twist it until it catches a groove and the lock clicks open. Pick the lock. Tilt the front of the drawer downward. Push down on the sides of the drawer so that the back end lifts slightly.

This will cause the wheels or lip on the back edge to raise up higher than the stopper at the front of the track, making it possible to pull the drawer out the rest of the way. How do you close a drawer that won't close? Category: home and garden home appliances. Unfasten the drawer slides on either side of the recess where the drawer fits using a screwdriver.

Pull the drawer slides out of the recess after removing the mounting screws. Look for kinks or warping, preventing the drawer from closing. Fix or replace, as necessary. How do self closing drawer slides work?

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