How To Make a Pull Out Pantry

A pull out pantry is almost a necessity considering how deep and narrow most pantries are. We install pull out shelves in pantries all the time to make it convenient for homeowners to access everything easily. Occasionally we are asked to attach the door to the pull out pantry shelves so that it rolls out as one unit.

This is asked often by customers ordering pull out shelves for their own pantries through our web store http://www.slideoutshelvesllc.com

The first thing that needs to be done of course is to install the pull out shelves in the pantry. The following pictures show our double stack pull out shelves installed inside a pantry but even multiple single pull out shelves can be attached the same way.

Shelves installed inside the pantry

When installing the cabinet half of your slides, be sure the front edge of the slide is mounted as close the the outside edge as possible without protruding outside of the cabinet. This will make mounting the pantry door easier as described later. The picture shows our pull out shelves side mounted inside the pantry cabinet, but any mounting style will be acceptable. Below is a full extension slide, but the epoxy drawer slides mount the same way.

Slide attached to pantry cabinet

Once you have the cabinet part of the slides installed inside the pantry cabinet, you are ready to get the pull out shelves set to accept the pantry door.

We use double face tape to set our door placements. These square tape pads can be purchased at most hardware stores. The double faced tape will allow you to place the door squarely on the pantry cabinet before screwing the pull out shelves to the door. These pads will also allow minor adjustments in square.

Place a tape square on the bottom and top shelves as shown below


Next, clamp a cleat to the bottom of the pantry cabinet at the height you want the door bottom to be.

Set your pantry door on this cleat, square the door to the pantry cabinet and press the door against the pull out shelves. The tape will hold the door temporarily until you can attach the pull out shelves to the door permanently.

Remove the bottom cleat and carefully slide the door open. This will expose the pull out shelves attached to the pantry door.

In each inside corner of the pull out shelves install a screw through the shelf front into the back of the pantry door. Always be sure that you are putting the screw into the fat or thickest part of the door. Most panty cabinet door frames are 3/4" thick, our shelves are 1/2" thick, so we use 1" drywall screws to attach the pull out shelves to the door.



Once you have attached the bottom and top shelves to the pantry door, slide any remaining shelves against the door and attach the same way.

Now your pantry shelves are attached to the pantry door and when you pull the pantry door open or close, all the pantry shelves roll into and out of the cabinet.

Below is a picture of a base kitchen cabinet with slide out shelves attached to the door


All Pull Out Shelves shown can be purchased through our web store http://www.slideoutshelvesllc.com
They are custom made to fit existing cabinets



All photographs are copyright of Slide Out Shelves LLC and cannot be reproduced in any manner without written authorization from Slide Out Shelves LLC

Welcome to Everything About Pull Out Shelves

I am starting this post to help with questions and problems that arise about pull out shelves. Kitchen pull out shelves and trays will make your life easier but can also be frustrating when it comes to measuring and installing pull out shelves.

Even though we custom make pull out shelves and sell to the general public at wholesale pricing, I also understand that some want the satisfaction of producing pull out shelves themselves. So, if you have any questions about making pull out shelves yourself, please do not hesitate to ask.

I will start with how we make pull out shelves and a few thoughts on why we make roll-outs the way that we do, rather than other methods.

Our Pull out Shelves are made from 9 ply baltic birch. The reason that we use this ply is the strength. The birch from the baltics has small voids and is a very stable board that resists twisting and warping. This board has been very popular by cabinet makers, skateboard and surfboard makers for years because of this quality.

Our pull out shelves are produced using rabbet joints that help to inter-lock the front and back into the sides. The sidewalls of our pull out shelves are glued and pneumatically nailed into the front and back walls. This method gives us a very strong joint.

Dovetail joints- we do not dovetail our joints, there are company's selling dovetail jointed pull out shelves, but be aware that they are half blind dovetails and not full dovetail joints. A dove tail joint has great strength front to back, but lacks strength side to side. Since most of our customers are ordering pull out shelves for cabinets that have pots and pans rather than undergarments, we feel that a rabbet joint is the ideal joint to use on our pull out shelves.

Butt joint- a butt joint is not as strong as either a rabbet or dovetail joint. You will find butt jointed pull out shelves where manufacturers are reducing labor costs to increase profits. Another thing that is common among butt jointed pull out shelves is that they will almost always have the shelf bottom surface mounted and stapled to the sidewalls of the pull out shelf rather than capturing the bottom in a dadoe slot. This again is to save labor costs and raises a red flag.

If you have any questions or comments about pull out shelves please post your question and we will try to answer the best that we can.

You can also get more information about our pull out shelves at our web site, http://www.slideoutshelvesllc.com