This Old House master carpenter Norm Abram shows how to create easy access to items by building sliding kitchen shelves in a base cabinet.
by Joseph Truini Updated 09/03/2024
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A pull-out kitchen shelf resembles a shallow drawer that glides out for easy access to items stored in the back of a base cabinet. In many cases, you can replace a traditional shelf with one of these designs to make your cabinets easier to use.
In this guide, This Old House master carpenter Norm Abram shares a simplified, straightforward design that DIY-savvy homeowners can construct with ordinary tools. Learn how to install a pull-out kitchen shelf below.
These shallow drawers, mounted on full-extension slides, eliminate the need to rummage through the back of dark cabinets on your hands and knees. The process of building and installing a retrofit pull-out shelf is straightforward, as demonstrated by Norm.
Our shelf was built for a standard 24-inch-deep by 33-inch-wide base cabinet, but its design is adaptable to virtually any size cabinet. It has a 1×4 pine frame and 3/4-inch birch plywood bottom. This combination provides durability and a smooth surface for storing various kitchen items. You can cut the sides of the drawer using a power miter saw or a backsaw in a miter box, while using a circular saw to cut the bottom or pre-cut pieces at the lumberyard.
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One of the key advantages of building your own pull-out shelves is the ability to customize them to fit your exact cabinet dimensions. High-quality construction can also support more weight–over 100 pounds with full-extension slides. Another advantage is that you can tailor the design, finish, and hardware to match your kitchen.
Here are the tools you’ll need to build and install a pull-out kitchen shelf.
The other main component you’ll need is plywood to build the drawer. We recommend going with birch wood as an ideal combination of beauty, strength and price.
If you’re only building one or two shelves, you can save some money by going to a home center or lumberyard that sells quarter or half sheets of plywood. And in most cases, they’ll even cut the plywood to your dimensions.
