Measuring for Slide Out Shelf installation

The two basic types of cabinets, framed and frameless

Measuring framed cabinets

There are two dimensions that you must have to order your pull out shelves, the cabinet width and the cabinet depth

Cabinet Width

The dimension you need is the clear opening of the cabinet, i.e. the space it takes for the slide out shelf to clear opening, door, and hinges. This is the distance from face frame to face frame minus any reduction for the hinges or door overlap. It is also important to make sure your door opens at least 90 degrees so the shelf can clear them when you slide it out. The picture above shows the opening measured from the hinge to the opposite frame, In this case: you would order your slide out shelf 14 3/4" wide. The size of the lower shelf is often smaller than the upper shelf as the hinge will not usually interfere with the upper shelf. We will make the actual shelf 1" smaller than the dimension you give us to allow for the sliding hardware which uses 1/2" on each side. Always refer to the clear cabinet opening when ordering shelves not the finished shelf size, we will make the adjustment. Please measure carefully, we make our shelves in increments of 1/8". Always measure your cabinet twice using an accurate tape measure.

Half shelf measurement:

With the door open, measure from sidewall to sidewall unless there is an obstruction such as the door or upper hinge that will interfere with the slide out shelf. In the picture above the measurement is made from the edge of the door to the opposite face frame. In this example the pull out shelf measurement would be 14 7/8" wide. If the upper hinge would interfere, then you would measure from the edge of the hinge. The 1/2 shelf is 5" lower than the position of the hinge, so a 2 3/8" shelf would fit with this measurement, but a 4 7/8" shelf would not

Cabinet Depth

The slide out shelves are available in depths from 10" up to 26" in 2" increments. Shelves deeper than 22" are mounted on 22" drawer slides. The safest way to measure depth is from the back of the cabinet face frame to the back wall of the cabinet. Watch out for electrical wires, pipes or anything that may reduce the available depth.

Mounting style

There are four basic mounting styles, side mount, rear sockets, half shelf and full shelf or base mounted

Full Shelf

Full shelf or base mounting is the easiest method of installing slide out shelves. When you choose the full shelf option the glide hardware will have four L brackets attached, two on each glide. These L brackets allow you to attach the slide out shelf hardware directly to the cabinet base for the bottom shelf or on to an existing full depth shelf. The full shelf installation is not only the easiest way to install pull out shelves, it is also one of the strongest installations.

Half shelf

Note: Half shelf installation does not work the same with Full Extension Glides. 

Many base kitchen and bathroom cabinets have a short "half" shelf for the upper shelf. This shelf is usually about 10" to 12" deep. You can install a full depth slide out shelf where your half shelf is. If you choose the half shelf option we will send the drawer glides with an L bracket attached near the rear of each glide. This L bracket can be screwed to the existing half shelf. The front of the glides can be attached to the cabinet face frame, they can be side mounted or they can be mounted to the back of the face frame using 3/4" wood blocks. If you order full extension glides the front must use side build up or spacers as they can not be attached to the edge of the face frame.

Rear Sockets

Rear socket mounting can only be done with 3/4 extension glides. Full extension glides will not work with rear sockets. Rear sockets are  plastic brackets which the drawer glide slips into for attaching the glide to the cabinet back .The front of the glides can be attached to the cabinet face frame, they can be side mounted or they can be mounted to the back of the face frame using 3/4" wood blocks. The rear sockets will not work with shelves over 22" deep unless special glides are ordered.

Side Mount

As the name implies side mounting uses your cabinet sidewalls to mount your slide out shelves. Side mounting usually requires more work than the full shelf installation but it is the most space efficient. If your cabinet has a large difference between the opening size and the inside dimension side mounting may not be the right choice. As the distance from the sidewall increases so does the leverage on the mounting screws. Make sure you check your sidewall thickness before placing any screws. Side mounting can be done with spacers or you can use 1x4 wood strips to build up the space as needed. The standard spacers are available in 1/8", 3/8" and 1/2". There is a Euro spacer that measures 3/4"and can be used on framed or frameless cabinets with a 32mm hole system. On tall cabinets such as pantries, wood strips mounted vertically can provide great support, even with large build up areas. The advantages to the vertical wood strips are much of the load is transferred to the cabinet base and the shelves can be mounted at whatever height needed. Make sure to measure the cabinet in several locations, up and down and front and back. If the cabinet size varies you will need to adapt the shelf size paying attention to what size build up or spacers you will be using. 

Measuring Frameless Cabinets 

There are two dimensions that you must have to order your shelves, the cabinet width and the cabinet depth

Cabinet Width

The dimension needed for width is again the clear opening. On frameless cabinets with one door this will be the measurement from the inside edge of the sidewall to the hinge on the other sidewall. If the cabinet has two doors you will measure between the hinges. If the hinges are more than 3 1/8" above the cabinet base you can add 1/4" to the shelf size (if ordering 2 3/8" side walled slide outs) for each hinge as the hardware will clear the hinge. The size of the sliding shelf may vary depending on the installation type. Please determine the mounting type before measuring the cabinet. 

Cabinet Depth

The sliding shelves are available in depths from 10" up to 26" in 2" increments.  Shelves deeper than 22" are mounted on 22" drawer slides. The safest way to measure depth is from the front of the sidewall to the back wall of the cabinet. Subtract about 3/4" from this dimension to allow for set back and hinge clearance. Watch out for electrical wires, pipes or anything that may reduce the available depth.

Mounting style

There are four basic mounting styles, side mount, rear sockets, half shelf and full shelf or base mounted

Full Shelf

Full shelf or base mounting is the easiest method of installing pull out shelves. When you choose the full shelf option the glide hardware will have four L brackets , two for each glide. These L brackets allow you to attach the slide out shelf hardware directly to the cabinet base for the bottom shelf or on to an existing full depth shelf. The full shelf installation is not only the easiest way to install pull out shelves, it is also one of the strongest installations. On frameless cabinets you will need to either deduct 1/4" for cabinets with one door to allow for the L brackets or you can use the L brackets to mark the height and then mount the glide directly to the cabinet sidewalls. On cabinets with two doors you will not need to make any deduction as the brackets will sit behind the hinges. 

Half shelf

Many base kitchen and bathroom cabinets have a short "half" shelf for the upper shelf. This shelf is usually about 10" to 12" deep. You can install a full depth slide out shelf where your half shelf is. If you choose the half shelf option we will send the drawer glides with an L bracket for the the rear of each glide. This L bracket can be screwed to the existing half shelf. The front of the glides can be attached to the cabinet sidewall either directly or with spacers as needed for clearance. See side mounting for more details. 

Rear Extension Sockets

Rear extension mounting can only be done with 3/4 extension glides. Full extension glides will not work with rear extension sockets. Rear extensions are plastic brackets which the drawer glide slips into for attaching the glide to the cabinet back wall. The front of the glides can be attached to the cabinet sidewall either directly or with spacers as needed for clearance. See side mounting for more details. Rear mount brackets are not usually used with frameless cabinets. 

Side Mount

As the name implies side mounting uses your cabinet sidewalls to mount your slide out shelves. Side mounting usually requires a little more work than the full shelf installation but it is the most space efficient. Make sure you check your sidewall thickness before placing any screws. Side mounting can be done with spacers. The standard spacers are available in 1/8", 3/8" and 1/2". There is a special Euro spacer that measures 3/4" and can be used on framed or frameless cabinets with a 32mm hole system (about 1 1/4" apart).  To determine the shelf width when using the 3/4" Euro spacers simply measure inside width of the cabinet and subtract 3/4" for a single door cabinet and 1 1/2" for a double door cabinet.  Make sure you pay attention to what size spacers you will be using and adjust the shelf size accordingly.