Whether you live in a house, condo, or apartment your house is bound to be filled with drawer slides. They are absolutely everywhere. Their size can vary anywhere from 20” to something as small as 12” or custom made up to 36” completely depending on the use they’re needed for in your home or even in your business.
Standardly, most drawer glides are used for drawer cabinetry either in your kitchen or bedroom closets. The free-flowing and smoothness of a glide also lends a sense of quality to a piece of cabinetry much the same as the purring of a fine car’s motor. Soft close drawer glides are also available and lend to giving you that air of quality.
Historically, drawer glides were made from wood as were most pieces of cabinetry. Due to the nature of wood, with its expansion and contracting, drawer glides would loose their ability to slide smoothly. Wood also has a tendency over time to wear a lot quicker than metal glides. Metal glides offer a variety of advantages over wooden glides such as smooth operation as well as a cost saving and time saving measure.
Generally, metal glides work on the principal of a ball bearing of some sort that the glides actually roll back and forth over. As you can imagine, the weight that a drawer is expected to carry would be a determining factor as to which metal glide you should be choosing. You should always allow an overage of 50% of weight just to make sure the glides perform to your expectations.
Drawer glides also have various grades of use. Some glides actually extend beyond the carcass of the cabinet they’re inside where other glides only show a partial size of the entire drawer.
Whatever you decide to use, keep in mind Space Age Closets and Custom Cabinetry is here to help you out.
Drawer Glide Questions, Answered
Why do older wooden drawers stick, and can they be fixed?
Because the glides themselves are wood, and wood expands and contracts with the seasons, Toronto’s humidity swings are hard on it, and wears far quicker than metal. The fix is usually straightforward: retrofit metal ball-bearing glides and the drawer runs smoothly again, often for less than you’d expect in time and cost.
How much weight does a drawer glide need to carry?
Match the glide to what the drawer will actually hold, a drawer of pots demands far more than a drawer of socks, then allow an overage of about 50% on top. That margin is what keeps the glide performing to your expectations instead of grinding under a full load.
What’s the difference between full-extension and partial-extension glides?
Full-extension glides bring the entire drawer out past the cabinet carcass, so nothing at the back is out of reach; partial-extension glides leave the last stretch of the drawer buried inside. In deep kitchen or closet drawers, that back section is exactly where things go to disappear.
Are soft-close drawer glides worth adding?
They’re one of the smallest upgrades with the biggest daily payoff. A free-flowing, soft-closing drawer lends the same air of quality to cabinetry that a purring motor lends to a fine car, and it spares the cabinet years of slamming.
What sizes do drawer glides come in?
Standard glides run from about 12” up to 20”, and custom work goes up to 36”, the use determines the size, whether it’s a shallow bedroom drawer or a deep commercial one. The drawer’s job, not a stock number, should pick the glide.
Not sure which glide your drawers need? Call Space Age Closets & Custom Cabinetry at (647) 394-7557.
