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Home Improvement > Kitchen > How to Install Pull-out Shelves

Learn how to install sliding shelves from kits that can be adjusted to fit your cabinets.

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Step

Accessing dishes and other items stored in the back of you kitchen's base cabinets is a nuisance at the best of times, but particularly so when you are cooking. Sometimes you have to get down on your hands and knees to peer into the shadows, first removing other items that block the way and then retrieving whatever you need. To solve this problem, we found a roll-out shelf kit that makes converting hard-to-reach cabinet space into convenient storage easy. The steps below show that they are easy to install, fit almost any opening, and offer adjustable spacing.

Research and Select Your Shelf Kits

Step

Research products and select the rolling-shelf kits appropriate for your kitchen. We found our kits via the Internet. They are manufactured by Tenn-Tex (www.tenntex.com/literature/62_ttcatalog102408qtray.pdf).

Remove the Cabinet Doors

Step

Remove the doors from the base cabinets where you will install pull-out shelves. These doors will be reinstalled, so preserve them and their hinges and screws.

Knock Out the Narrow Half-shelves

Step

Knock out the original narrow half-shelves and supports in the cabinets. We will not be reusing this material, but take care that your demolition doesn?t damage the remaining cabinet walls and floor.

Remove the Cabinet Drawers

Step

Remove the cabinet drawers to provide additional light, visibility, and head room.

Decide How Many Narrow Cabinets to Merge

Step

Decide whether or not you will remodel a little to merge two narrow compartments into one larger space. For our project, we decide to remove the stile from the front face of the cabinets to make larger openings for larger shelves. Essentially, we start with five narrow cabinets and consolidate cabinets 1 and 2, leave 3 as is, and consolidate cabinets 4 and 5.

Add Glue to a Long Oak Reinforcing Strip

Step

Add carpenter's glue to a single one-by-two strip of oak long enough to span the upper edge of all the openings and stiles. This strip will reinforce the cabinet to support the weight of the cabinet and a granite countertop before we remove the stiles.

Slip the Oak Strip Behind the Rail in the Cabinet Opening

Step

Slip the oak strip into the cabinets behind the rail that forms to top lip of the cabinet openings. Align the edges of the strip with the edge of the opening.

Clamp the Oak Strip Temporarily

Step

Clamp the strip in position temporarily until the glue dries.

Drive Screws to Secure the Oak Strip

Step

Secure the oak strip permanently by driving screws through it and into the back of the cabinet.

Sever the Stiles from the Cabinet Face

Step

Sever the top of the two stiles from the cabinet face with a Japanese handsaw. You will reuse these pieces later in the project, so cut neatly and do not damage them.

Work the Stiles Loose from the Dowel Joint

Step

Work the stiles gently back and forth to loosen them from dowel pins joining them to the bottom of the cabinet. Try not to damage the cabinet or the stile.

Saw Away the Remnants of the Dowels

Step

Use the Japanese handsaw to cut away the remnants of the dowels.

Attach the First Support Post/Track

Step

Begin at the right-most cabinet and attach the first of the support posts/tracks from the purchased kits to the side wall. Use a small level to ensure they are vertical. Secure the track by driving screws through the pre-drilled holes. Each pair of roll-out shelves in the individual cabinet openings will use four tracks: a front and back track on each side.

Attach a Plastic Partition As a Wall Stub

Step

Attach a plastic partition to serve as the front wall stub behind the stile on the left side of the cabinet. Drive screws through pre-drilled holes in the partition and into the back of the stile to secure it. The partition provides a place to anchor the tracks on the left side. There are no walls to use because the base cabinet was never subdivided by interior walls.

Attach the Left Front Track

Step

Attach the left front track to the side of the partition.

Add the Rear Partition

Step

Add and secure another partition on the rear wall of the cabinet. Measure to ensure that it aligns exactly with the front partition. The shelves will not function properly if the tracks are not "square." Drive screws through the partition into the rear wall of the base cabinet.

Snap Glides into Place

Step

Snap two drawer glides from the kit into the slots on the rear support post/track. Note that the rear tracks are slightly different from the front tracks.

Set the Glide/Track Assembly in Place

Step

Set the glide/track assembly in place, butting the rear track into the back corner formed by the side and rear wall of the cabinet.

Snap the Opposite Glide Ends into the Front Track

Step

Snap the opposite ends of the glides into the corresponding slots in the front track to ensure that the two tracks and the glides are aligned properly.

Secure the Rear Tracks

Step

Drive screws through the rear supports and into the cabinet wall to secure the track.

Install the Remaining Track and Glide Components for All Cabinets

Step

Repeat the process for the left side of the cabinet, securing the tracks to the front and back partitions installed in earlier steps. Once this step is complete, move on to the next two cabinets to install the hardware for the pull-out shelves. On completion, you will be ready to start constructing the shelves which are actually shallow trays.

Inventory the Shelf Components

Step

Open the carton containing shelf components and lay the pieces out on your workbench. Each set should contain a front, a back, two sides, a bottom, and two drawer glides. The front and back components have dovetailed mortises/grooves cut along their full length to join dovetailed tenons/tabs on both ends of the side components

Size the Front and Back to Fit Your Cabinets

Step

Use a table saw to cut the front and back components for the shelf to custom fit them to the width of the first cabinet opening. For your project, you may not need to adjust them at all.

Trim the Bottom Shelf

Step

Trim the bottom of the shelf to match any adjustments you cut on the front and back. In this step and the last, we are essentially making the drawer narrower to fit the width of the opening.

Brush Glue on the Dovertailed Tenons

Step

Brush carpenter's glue on the two dovetailed tenons on the first side component.

Position the Side Component Flat on the Workbench

Step

Lay the side component with its inside surface upwards on your workbench.

Fit the Dovetailed Mortise of the Back Over the Tenons

Step

Fit the dovetailed mortises on the back component over the tenons on the glued side component and push the parts together.

Tap with a Mallet to Seat the Joint

Step

Tap on the upper end of the back component with a mallet to seat the pieces properly.

Add Glue to the Other End of the Side Component

Step

Add glue to the single dovetailed tenon on the other end of the side component.

Fit the Mortise Over the Single Front Tenon

Step

Fit the mortise of the front over the single tenon. If necessary, tap it gently with the mallet to seat it. The incomplete frame now resembles the letter "U" standing upright.

Add Glue to the Tenons on the Second Side Component

Step

Add glue to the tenons on both ends of the second side component and position in across the top of the "U."

Tap the Joints Together with the Mallet

Step

Tap the joints together with the mallet. This step completes the frame for one shelf.

Turn the Frame Face Down on the Workbench

Step

Turn the frame upside down on the workbench and add glue all along the perimeter.

Set the Bottom Panel in Place with the Edges Flush

Step

Set the bottom in place with the edges flush, and secure it with screws driven through the pre-drilled countersunk holes on all sides.

Lap and Secure the Metal Glides

Step

Lap the metal glides over the edges of the left and right sides of the shelf and drive screws through the pre-drilled holes. Be sure that the flat side of the glide is on the bottom of the shelf and the curved edge is on the side. This completes assembly of the shelf. Use the same process to assemble the remaining shelves.

Install the Rolling Shelves in the Cabinet

Step

Install the rolling shelves by sliding the glide on the shelf onto the receiving glide mounted on the tracks in the cabinet.

Add Slip-resistant Shelf Liners

Step

Add slip-resistant shelf liner to stop your kitchen items from sliding around on the shelf as you open and close it.

Remount the Cabinet Doors

Step

Remount the doors, aligning the hinges in the original position and reinserting the screws to secure them.

Attach the Stiles to the Doors

Step

Attach the stiles/face frame pieces removed earlier. Secure one stile to the back of one cabinet door on each of the two wide cabinets to seal the opening. Position the stile with part of its front face against the back of the left door and the remainder extending a couple of inches toward the right cabinet door. Secure the stile with screws and touch up the ends with paint. Close the left door first, and then the right. When both doors are closed, the stile should rest in the identical position it occupied before you cut it off the face frame.