Warning: cheap drawer slides will fail you every time

I learned this one the hard way last month. I put in a set of those $8 soft-close undermount slides from a big box store into a client's kitchen remodel. Thought I was saving them some cash. Three weeks later I get a call that a drawer is sagging and won't close right. Went back to look and the ball bearings had literally fallen out of the track. The metal was so thin it bent just from normal use. I pulled the whole set and swapped them for Blum slides I should have used from the start. Cost me an extra day of labor and the client was not happy. Anybody else tried to cheap out on slides and had them blow up on you?

2 comments

2 Comments

wells.reese5d ago

I bought the cheap ones and my silverware drawer now doubles as a ramp.

the_faith4h ago

I got the OXO ones from Target for like 15 bucks and they've held up for almost 2 years now. The plastic is thick enough that nothing bends or warps when I jam the drawer shut. My knife set is heavy and they don't slide around at all. The compartments are actually big enough for my measuring spoons too.