Top quality construction

sliding shelf front, back and sides of or pull out shelf are 9 ply 1/2" Baltic Birch

bottom of pull out shelf is 1/4" MDF with a white vinyl laminate

100 pound capacity Blum self closing drawer slides on all of our pull out shelving

Steel "L" brackets specifically designed for sliding shelf use

Grass plastic door protectors to help prevent damage to cabinet doors when opening pull out shelves

Imported from Russia this material is perfect for building rolling kitchen shelving, sliding shelves and pullout drawers. There are 9 layers of birch sandwiched together in this 1/2" thick material. The strength that this provides is incredible. I have taken a piece of Baltic that was 2 3/8" tall (the same as our standard shelves) and 15" to 20" long and laid it down flat supported up off the ground. I then stood on this piece of wood on one foot and all of my weight (I weigh over 200 pounds). Sure there was a little sagging (the wood not me, OK me too) and even a crackle or two, but it held my weight while laying flat. We use this material in the vertical position and I think it would support my car in this position (yes with me in it).

No particle board here. The bottom of our slide out kitchen shelves is 1/4" MDF or Medium Density Fiberboard. MDF is both stronger and more stable than less expensive particle board. The vinyl covering is textured to provide a grip to keep your items from sliding on it. It is also more durable than a cold rolled melamine.  Sliding shelves over 24" wide are reinforced with a 3/8" strip glued and nailed under the MDF bottom. This 1/4" material that we use for our pull out shelf bottoms is strong enough to hold your heaviest items without being so heavy as to limit the shelf's capacity. Some companies use a 1/2"Melamine (paper over particle board) for the bottoms and then claim it is superior to the 1/4" MDF. The truth is they rely on this bottom for mounting the drawers slides and simply trim the pull out shelf out with Baltic Birch fronts and sides. All they do is take away from the strength of the birch and add five pounds or so to the weight of the shelf, thereby reducing it's capacity.

The best pull out shelf is worthless if it is not mounted on top quality hardware. We only use Blum drawer slides for our kitchen cabinet pull out shelves. Since we starting making pull out shelves over sixteen years ago we have only used one brand of drawer slides and that brand is Blum. After twelve years and tens of thousands of drawer slides we have stayed with Blum for one reason, quality. Blum is respected worldwide as the producer of top quality cabinet hardware. One of the easiest ways to cut the cost of manufacturing sliding shelves would be to use a cheaper "knock off" drawer slide. To the average person Blum slides look very similar to the cheaper "knock offs". It is only upon closer inspection that you may notice that the other drawer slides are made of a thinner gauge steel or they use a smaller diameter axle for the rollers to mount on. Blum refuses to lower their quality as we refuse to lower ours. Blum backs their slides with a lifetime guarantee and we know why. In twelve years and through tens of thousands of slides we have had less than five slides that have been defective and none that have failed in service of our kitchen pull out shelves. We refuse to choose lower cost ball bearing slides even though many customers seem to think they are superior. The truth is ball bearing slides will get gummed up after years of use in a kitchen. They will then lose balls and cease to work. Some companies charge $17.50 for ball bearing full extension slides even though the actual cost is only slightly more than 3/4 extension slides and probably less than we pay for our high quality Blum slides. Don't get stuck paying more for inferior slides when the Blum 3/4 extension do all you need them to and if you really think you need full extension slides then stay with the Blum quality and durability

The steel brackets that we use for the standard full shelf installation of our pull out shelves are not some skimpy L brackets that are designed for some other purpose like the ones that some other sliding shelf companies use. These brackets are heavy gauge steel that measure 2 1/2" wide by 2 1/2" tall with a base that is 2 1/2" wide and  2 1/2" long. These brackets were made for pull out shelves and thanks to a second higher set of mounting holes they can be used with full extension slides as well. You can even use the second set of hole to lift the pull out shelf above a lip on the front of the cabinet that is common in RV use as well as manufactured housing. Or mount them upside down and create a pencil drawer under a desk top or if used with a flat economy shelf they work great for keyboard trays and printers.

When it comes to door protectors we had to change brands. Arizona is very tough on plastics and we found the Blum door protectors only lasted a few years before cracking. About ten years ago we switched the Grass version of this product. Grass is another hardware company that is word renowned. We like Blum drawer slides better than the slides from Grass but we definitely prefer the Grass door protectors over Blum's. So what is a door protector anyway? Door protectors are small plastic bumpers that attach to the side of the pull out shelf and help prevent door scratches that can occur if the cabinet door is not fully open when you start to slide out the sliding shelf.  Some companies don't even mention them, they know it is not until after the scratches appear on your doors that you will think of them. 

Pull out shelf design

Rabbet corner joints. 

Bottom dado joint 

hand sanded

Protected with lacquer

bottom wrapped slides screwed from the side

We  designed our pull out shelves to be just that, pull out shelves. We know that that may be heavily loaded and that they will be opened and closed thousands of times, after all they are kitchen shelves. We also know that we can not guarantee them to last without designing them to do just that. We know that a shelf without sides will not hold items in place and sliding shelves in most cases should have sides. We also know that the shelf sides cannot be too tall or you will not be able to see what is in it. The design of our kitchen pull out shelves has been proven to last. The design of our pull out shelves utilizes the sides and front / back for the structural integrity of the rolling shelf. A flat piece of particle board or even birch or other plywood may warp over time and this will cause alignment problems as well as the possibility of sagging so badly the the shelf cannot slide. Particle board does not have the screw holding ability of Baltic Birch. With the Baltic Birch plywood used vertically as we do the full potential of wood's strength is realized. In over twelve years now we have not changed the design of our standard pull out shelf because it works so well. Other companies see our ideas and try to copy them, in fact we repeatedly find our pictures on other company's web sites. They do not have the experience that we do and many of them offer inferior designs because they simply do not know any better. Of course some offer cheaper designs just so they can make a little more money from unsuspecting customers, they usually offer a discount when you buy more than one shelf. Don't they feel comfortable enough with their product to trust that you will come back after seeing the first pull out shelf? We offer a design that is proven and is guaranteed to last.

Unlike weaker butt or mitered joints, a rabbet joint gives extra surface area for gluing and the shape of joint adds to it's strength. It may not be quite as pretty as a mitered joint but our shelves are built for function over looks. After all they do spend most of their life behind a closed door.  The rabbet joint also allows us to nail the shelf together from the side so repeated pulling on the front to slide it open will not pull the joint apart. The rabbet joint does not put stress on the layers of the birch as a dovetail joint can.

The 1/4" bottom of our kitchen organizing sliding shelves is not just stapled or even worse hot glued or screwed to the bottom of the sides. We take the time to cut in a dado joint (a 1/4" slot) into the front, back and sides of our sliding shelves. During assembly we glue the bottom into the dado joints to create a strong joint that will handle many years of daily use. The space below the dado joint allows us to add extra reinforcement for extra wide pull out shelves to stiffen the bottom.

After the pieces of our kitchen organizing sliding shelves are cut to size and milled to add the rabbet and dado joints, each piece is hand sanded to round over the touched surfaces and to prepare for spraying. You can see the slight variations that is the signature of hand made quality.  After they are sprayed they will be hand sanded again to smooth out  imperfections in the finish and provide a  surface that is smooth to the touch and easy to dust.

Unless you request differently all of our sliding shelves are sprayed with lacquer. The lacquer protects the surface from getting dirty and also seals the Baltic to prevent damage from repeated touching with wet hands and to stabilize the wood during changes in humidity.  If you would rather stain your pull out shelves to match your kitchen cabinets just request the shelves unfinished and we will skip this step. We do strongly suggest that after you stain your shelves you should put on an appropriate sealer to keep the sliding shelves looking and working like new. 

Another benefit of the Blum drawer slides that we use is the metal from the slides wraps around the bottom of the shelf's sides to help reinforce them. The screws to install the slides are screwed into the sides of the shelf for maximum strength. A slide that screws into the edge of the plywood or anywhere into particle board will not have the strength that our design provides. Just another little touch that makes our shelves superior to the designs that some other companies use. 

Unlike our standard shelves there is no lacquer to spray, no dados to cut so we can have these shelves ready to ship within one week of ordering. Of course they are still custom made for your order. Available for cabinet openings from 6" to 24" wide and from 12" to 22" deep.

We only use the best junk available. Well OK it's not junk, but it is particle board, but not just any particle board. This is 5/8" thick industrial grade particle board with a cold rolled Melamine finish on one side. Available in White only.

To add class to this otherwise plain sliding shelf we have added a piece of 1/2" thick hardwood to the front of this pull out shelf. The hardwood comes unfinished (so you can stain it to match your location if you choose) and in your choice of Oak or Maple. This front trim not only looks great but it also increase the strength of the shelf and reduces the sagging that is common with particle board shelves. We have extended the front of this shelf just beyond the slides so there is no need for a door protector on these shelves.

We have added a 1/4" thick rear panel to the rear of the shelf to help prevent items slipping off the back of the shelf. The panel is 5/8" taller than the shelf and like the front trim reduces the likelihood of the particle board sagging. The panel is low enough to allow clearance for wires. 

We use the same great quality Blum drawer slides as our standard shelf. These 3/4 extension drawer slides are guaranteed by the manufacturer for a lifetime of work. We recommend no more than 75 pounds on the economy slider due to the particle board construction. It works great for home office use such as a keyboard tray or printer drawer. If you want to use this shelf for a kitchen or bathroom pullout we suggest the use of no slip padding to keep items in place. The lack of sides on this shelf make the non slip pad a necessity. There is a benefit to the lack of sides, the shelf area is 1" wider than our standard shelf for the same size opening.