The Easiest Way To Measure Drawer Slides

Whether you're building a new cabinet or fixing a binding drawer, it's essential to measure your drawer slides as accurately as possible. If you're installing cabinet drawer slides that are too short, you won't be able to pull the drawer out far enough for the furnishing to function correctly. Conversely, if the slides are too long, your drawer might be putting too much pressure on them, and might end up sagging. You may also run into problems when opening and closing your drawer if you don't have the correct amount of clearance for your slides between the drawer boxes and your cabinet frame. The location of this clearance depends on whether you're using traditional side-mounted drawer slides, or opting for undermount or center-mount slides instead.

To measure the length for your drawer slides, start by determining the depth, height and width of your drawer box. You should also use a tape measure to check the width of the cabinet frame's interior. By subtracting the dimensions of your drawer boxes from the dimensions of your cabinet, you'll find out exactly how much clearance your drawer slides have to work with. In general, the length of the slides should match the depth of the drawer box, rounded down to the nearest whole number. The easiest way to complete all of these measurements is to take your drawer boxes out first, and lay them upside-down on a flat surface. This also gives you a great opportunity to declutter your junk drawer.

Most of the time, taking your drawer boxes out of your cabinet is as simple as pulling them out as far as possible, disengaging the track levers, and lifting the box upwards. However, certain heavy-duty slides may require the use of a screwdriver. Once your drawer box is free, measure its depth, width, and height, without counting the drawer's front panel. Remember to measure the height of the box along its outside edge, rather than its inside, since the drawer bottom will be slightly elevated if it's resting in a dado groove.

Once you have the depth of the drawer box, round it down to the closest whole number. This is how long your drawer slides should be when they're not extended. Next, subtract the width of your drawer box from the width of your cabinet interior, and divide that number in half. This is how wide each of your side-mounted drawer slides should be. If you're using undermount or center-mount slides, you'll need to check the vertical gap between the drawer boxes instead. Usually, you'll need half an inch of clearance underneath each drawer box.

Building your own cabinets and planning to use undermount slides? These runners are often slightly longer than the drawer box they're made for, since they usually notch onto its rear panel. You should account for this before constructing your cabinet frame. However, the slide length you order should still match the depth of the drawer box.