Furniture guides, how to choose the appropriate option, important nuances

Cabinet or modular furniture is often equipped with drawers, which are designed to store various small items. They can have different sizes, but their main feature is that they can easily be pulled out and pushed back in if necessary. For this purpose, furniture guides are used, which can be presented in several types. They differ in the installation method and operating principle. Their main task is to ensure smooth and quiet use of the drawers. At the same time, they must be reliable to guarantee long service life and ease of use of the furniture.

Kinds

When choosing furniture guides, you need to pay attention to various factors. The most important parameter is the type of design, according to which they can be roller or ball, and also be equipped with a closer and have a reverse action. Each option has both advantages and disadvantages, so to make the right choice you should study the characteristics of each type.

Roller

The choice of these furniture guides is considered the most popular. They appeared on the market more than 15 years ago, and quickly became in demand among furniture manufacturers and ordinary users.

Roller guides for drawers have many advantages:

Do not require the use of lubricating pastes and other compounds;
Ensure smooth movement of boxes;
They are easy to install, since there is no need to drill numerous holes for fasteners.

Such furniture guides are installed on both sides of the recess allocated for the drawer. Slight deviations in furniture and drawer dimensions are allowed. Even if small errors were initially made in the installation, the design can be adjusted. The length of the roller guides can vary from 200 mm to 600 mm.

Ball

Ball guides are considered quite popular due to their smooth running and ability to withstand significant loads. In addition, they are in an affordable price range. Such telescopic guides can be equipped with closers or produced without them. They consist of two elements, one is attached to the drawer, and the other is attached to the side wall of the furniture. To disconnect them, you need to press a special lock.

There are many models of ball furniture guides that differ in height, which can vary from 17 to 45 mm. Additionally, they differ in the degree of extension. The most popular designs are those whose height reaches 45 mm. They can withstand a load of up to 36 kg, so even large and heavy items can be stored in the drawers.

With door closer

Guides for drawers with closers are considered interesting. They are similar in design to the previous version, the only difference is that these elements are equipped with a closer and dampers. Due to the former, the drawer is picked up in a certain position, after which it smoothly closes independently, without any effort on the part of the person.

The damper ensures that the drawer closes smoothly and silently. Additionally, it acts as a shock absorber, so that even if significant force is applied to close the drawer, strong impacts and noise are prevented.

Designs with a closer are considered reliable and comfortable to use. They can withstand significant loads, which is why they are popular among furniture manufacturers.

Full extension

Full extension slides are popular modern designs. They are based on a special ball bearing. This system ensures complete and smooth opening of any drawer. To use such a retraction system you will have to make some effort.

Guides that ensure full drawer extension are available on the market in numerous models; the choice depends on the planned load. The installation of such fittings should be carried out with extreme caution, since careless handling can cause damage to the integrity of various parts.

Hidden mounting

Installation of guides of this type is considered the most difficult and time-consuming. But this fittings are becoming more and more in demand, as they are convenient to use. The design is equipped with a closer and a reverse action system.

The undeniable advantage of these furniture elements is that they are installed under the bottom of each drawer, so you get the feeling that the object is floating in the air. Other advantages include good reliability of the products, and the movement of the box is smooth and free of extraneous unpleasant sounds. The drawer closes softly and quietly.

Initially, such fittings were installed only on solid wood products, but today they are equipped with structures made of chipboard and MDF. Depending on the model, such guides can withstand loads of up to 50 kg.

Reverse action

Such guides are similar in principle to fittings equipped with closers. The only difference is that the drawer opens by lightly pressing the front with your hand.

A significant advantage of this design is that it is not equipped with any handles or recesses for control. It has an attractive appearance and also allows you to integrate the box into any part of the structure. Often used in the production of furniture in modern styles, where it is important that the glossy surface is not disturbed by any fittings.

It is better not to use reverse action guides for children's furniture. They cause the drawer to pull out abruptly and can injure the child. In addition, pushing such a box will require significant effort.

Tandemboxes and metaboxes

Such fittings appeared on the market relatively recently, but quickly became in demand. Design features include:

The guide is located directly inside the metal side wall;
Equipped with a closer;
Dampers are definitely used.

An important advantage of such fittings is the ability to withstand really significant loads. This is especially true in relation to products in which the guides are installed in a hidden manner.

Another advantage of such elements is their interesting design; they fit well into furniture made in various styles and sizes. Due to excellent performance characteristics, the products are easy to use and have a long service life. In order for the installation to be carried out correctly, it is necessary to use special marking devices. They help to accurately determine the location of the guides and avoid distortions.

I would especially like to mention Bloom's guides. They combine many advantages inherent in various types of furniture fittings. Due to the complexity of the design and ease of use, the cost of such products is considered quite high. Therefore, tandem boxes are usually used in luxury interior items made from natural wood or other similar expensive materials.

Roller

They have the simplest design and fairly low cost. Another characteristic feature is the durable epoxy coating (can be any color).

Disadvantages - noise when extending/retracting, low reliability, relatively short service life if installed incorrectly.

How to choose?

When choosing furniture guides, you need to pay attention to various factors. It is thanks to them that it is possible to smoothly and silently open and close different drawers, which can be installed in cabinets, chests of drawers, dressing tables, hallways and other types of cabinet furniture.

When choosing products, various factors and recommendations are taken into account:

The dimensions of the guides must ideally match the furniture where the drawer will be installed, as well as this element itself, otherwise installation will be complicated;
In the store, before purchasing, you should make sure that the metal has the optimal thickness, and that all rollers or balls are working properly;
Externally there should not be any scratches, visible defects or violations of the integrity of the structure;
A specific type of guide is selected, since some users prefer roller products, while others prefer ball models;
If guides are selected to replace outdated or broken elements, then similar models are usually purchased;
Immediately after purchase, you need to make sure that the kit includes all the necessary parts for installation;
If you choose modern tandem boxes, you should make sure that you can handle the installation yourself. Such products are considered quite specific, so installation often requires the help of specialists;
The minimum metal thickness should be 1 mm, but it is better to choose designs where this figure will not be less than 1.2 mm. This will allow you to easily cope with high loads and ensure long-term operation.

Thus, furniture guides are important parts of various interior items. These are fittings that make drawers easy to use. Guides are presented in several types, each of which works according to a specific principle. When choosing a specific design, various factors are taken into account to ensure that you can purchase truly high-quality elements.

Full extension

Such fittings are most in demand by modern furniture manufacturers. The basis of the design is a ball bearing.

Advantages - they allow you to open the drawer smoothly and completely, the model range is quite wide. The downside is the need to be extremely careful during installation so as not to damage the parts.

What you need to know about installation

Ball guides

These drawer runners are the most popular and in demand. They can also be called telescopic. Such runners have many advantages.

Here, too, 2 guides are required. But here both strips are inserted into each other. Fixed at the bottom and top. To move the retractable piece of furniture, a ball system is used. These balls are made of metal.

Ball Guide Components

The main element of such runners includes 3 parts:

response;
average;
main

Designs with ball systems open with virtually no unnecessary noise. Withstands weight up to 60 kg. It is durable, reliable and visually attractive.

But it is logical to assume that the price will be higher than for roller runners for retractable furniture components.

Ball runners for drawers

Classification

Roller guides are classified according to several indicators:

1) By length.

Based on unification considerations, 9 main standard sizes for guides were determined: 250mm, 270mm, 300mm, 350mm, 400mm, 450mm, 500mm, 550mm, 600mm. The selection of roller guides for a specific case is determined by the design features of the furniture element.

2) According to the thickness of the material used. The thickness of the painted roller guides ranges from 0.8mm to 1.2mm, which is determined by the load acting on this type of fittings

3) By color scheme. (photos of guides in five colors) In the modern world, only five colors are standard for this type of product. These are white, grey, black, brown and silver

4) By type of extension: partial and full extension.

Tandemboxes and metaboxes

These are new items. You can find them in stores quite recently. The main differences are that the guide is located inside the side metal wall, there is a closer and dampers.

Advantages - original design solution, aesthetics, ability to withstand heavy loads, ease of use, durability. Disadvantages - the use of special marking devices is required.

They are the future

See also
Eccentric coupler for furniture: advantages, how to install

While ball drawer slides are the favorite to beat roller systems, there are other competitors.

2 systems are considered more advanced:

metaboxes;
tandemboxes.

It would be right to talk about them separately. So we will prepare special material for you.

Metabox and tandembox

I can only say that such systems have become more durable. A wide range is already available, including Boyard. In general, Boyard has one of the best fittings in the world. This is a fact, not advertising.

Plus other innovative and effective solutions are used:

hidden installation systems;
dampers;
closers;
electric drives;
mechanical drives (activated by a light touch) and more.

As a result, furniture elements open more easily, silently, and effortlessly. Plus, we managed to strengthen the structure and make it more load-bearing. And the same hidden installation allows you not to see metal structures.

Concealed guides