All You Need To Know About Drawer Guides for Your Kitchen and Bath Cabinets

Drawer guides (also called drawer slides or drawer glides) are designed to ease the opening and closing of cabinet drawers. Although the original drawer guides were made of wood and many furniture manufacturers still use wood, most cabinet manufacturers use metals guides.

The best quality drawer guides operate on ball bearings made of steel or polymer and are full extension which means they allow the drawer to be fully pulled out allowing you to see the entire drawer box. They typically have a soft close or self close feature which allows the drawer to close on it’s own when they get near to the close position.

There are also three quarter extension guides which may be appropriate in tight spaces and also come with the soft close feature. Some drawer guides operate with a nylon wheel on a metal track. Although they tend to be of lesser quality than ball bearing guides, they can be a good choice for lesser used drawers such as in a bathroom.

One of the most important things to look for in your drawer guides is the load rating. The load rating tells you the amount of weight the guides can carry. For drawers that will hold heavier objects such as pots and pans look for a higher load rating. Here are some general guidelines for the load ratings of drawer guides:

• Light Duty- designed to hold up to 75 lbs.
• Medium Duty – typically hold between 75lbs and 110 lbs
• Heavy Duty - holds from 100 up to 500 lbs.

Drawer guides come in several different mounting configurations.

Center-Mount Drawer Guides

source: Rockler
Center mount guides are typically rated as a light capacity drawer guide. The hardware is mounted under the drawer in the center, so nothing is visible when the drawer is opened.

Side-Mount Drawer Guides

source: Rockler
Side-mount guides are the most common type of drawer guide. The hardware mounts on the sides of the drawer and is visible when the drawer is opened. These are offered in a variety of sizes and capacities.

Undermount Drawer Guides

source: Rockler
Undermount drawer guides are a great alternative to center-mount slides when a higher weight capacity is needed. The hardware is mounted on the under-side of the drawer and is not visible once the drawer is opened. They are available in a variety of sizes and capacities.