pull out pantry

Anybody have experience or opinion on a pull out pantry cupboard? Our kitchen has 400-500mm spare wall space, ceiling to floor, that we think might slot between benchtop and fridge. I'm not sure if I should put some deep shelves accessed from the side or put a carcass with a roll out cage thing. I have only seen pics, not in real life and I was wondering how stable everything is when you slide the pantry out??? Did I describe it clearly enough? I wouln't want to be accused of ill-communication!!!

Hi Helga

When I designed my kitchen I put in a double pull out pantry - loving it - have to be careful with a whole heap of can (weight but you just rearrange) but I would not change them. Other people are always wanting them. Access from both sides. Ours are 400mm wide by 500mm deep.

Helga,
many years ago I renovated an old terrace house and ended up with a tall narrow gap like you describe. At the time $s were a concern and so i decided to build a solution myself.

Kitchens are dirty environments with fumes etc and so i did not want open shelves which would have been easy. I boxed the section in with laminated chipboard (pre mdf days) and built a slide out set of shelves with access from both sides. The shelves were melamine covered for ease of cleaning. When shut you only saw a false timber door. The load was carried on a set of simple rollers which travelled on the bottom which was melamine, with timber guides to keep it all travelling straight. I added a T shaped rail in the middle at the top which did not carry any load but ran between 2 pieces of timber so there was no sideways movement. I had removeable stops at the end of the rails and T section, this made it safe but you could take the whole thing out for cleaning.

Don't underestimate the weight factor. Make the shelves strong and the rollers good. Mine was still working well after 10 years of use. Would do it again without doubt.

cheers

Helga, our kitchen guy built the cabinet but bought the hardware from Ikea like this:

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/store...ts=10110*10652

Cheers

Having had experence with a few high-end kitchens over the last few years, I gotta say you get what you pay for!!

If you can afford it buy Häfele or Hettich fittings otherwise go for a narrow cupboard & standard shelves.

The cheap fittings are OK for VERY light loads but if it's like a normal pantry there is quite a lot of weight involved (canned food etc.) & you will soon see problems with cheap fittings.

Helga,
I've fitted a few of these, used commercial units. From memory they come in two widths (450 and 600? - not sure) and cost around $200. They work fine, even with a heavy load on board, but I wouldn't use them unless there was no other way of utilising the space, due to their cost and the fact that they're not the most efficient at utilising space (in my opinion anyway)

Mick

Have two in the kitchen one each side of the fridge, wouldn't be without them
you don't lose stuff at the back of the cupboard, the shelves are adjustable and you can axcess whatever is in them easily, they are costly but how long will you have them and how often do you use them 3-4 or more times a day if not more , so worth every cent in my opinion



Rgds
Russell



Useless infomation for the day


Alexander Graham Bell's wife and mother were both deaf .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MajorPanic

Having had experence with a few high-end kitchens over the last few years, I gotta say you get what you pay for!!

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I agree with the Major.....go for quality and you wont be replacing it all in a few years time.

Dr Dee - what type of rollers did you use?

Wombat,
From memory they were very simple nylon wheels about 2" (5cm) in diameter and 1" wide, running on a steel axle. I recall the axle holes were quite tight and I drilled them out a tiny bit so they rolled and not skidded. This was a long time ago and the choice was nothing like what is around now. I think any simple roller would work, just so long as they have enough weight carrying capacity. If you were keen I am sure that hardwood wheels would work if they were nice and round and had a suitable axle.
cheers

Ashore, did you know Bell wanted people to answer the phone "ahoy hoy" and finish with "hoy" before they hung up?try it some time

thanks for all the replies, at least noone totally canned the idea. The other option is to just leave a bit of space on the end of the kitchen, but I worry I won't have enough room for all the stuff, particularly pantry as we live out of town and I'm bored by supermarkets. Ikea looks a bit expensive, I will see if I can buy the moving parts and price them, and put them in a Hoop pine ply carcase or something.Thanks

helga if you have a look in the latest family handyman magazine they have plans for a cupboard just like your describing.