# Forum Home Renovation Kitchens  Draws vs cabinets cost differences?

## Ricardito

On average does anyone know what is the cost difference between fully extendable drawers and cabinets? I was told that drawers can add substantial cost to a kitchen plan

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## nberry83

Hi Ricardito, 
We had a cabinet maker come around during the week, when we asked the question about drawers instead of standard cupboards he said it will add about 50% on top of the price. I don't know how accurate this is.

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## r3nov8or

The use of drawers in place of cabinets will also add about 50% to the kitchen's ease of use and use of space. My next kitchen will only have drawers below the benchtop.

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## GraemeCook

Drawers can double the usable storage area in a bench.  If they only cost 50% more then this means that they are cheaper per square metre of usable space. 
And the are much, much nicer and easier to use than cupboards.   We are in process of getting rid of all cupboards below 900mm (SWMBO view) or below 1200mm (the alternate opinion). 
Also look carefully at the different brands and models of full extension drawers slides.  Some are really rubbish, some are very good and some are excellent but $$$$'s. 
Cheers 
Graeme

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## Andy T

I also second the drawers. Full extension drawers make it so much easier to access items instead of grovelling around in a cupboard. A 3 tier set of drawers will replace normally the 2 standard shelves. You only need to see how much space is wasted with shelves to appreciate how much you can gain. Accessibility with drawers is so much easier. Yes more expensive than cupboards but if you can afford it well worth it. 
As Graeme has noted, there are different manufacturers of drawer systems including the soft close. Some kitchen manufacturers use different fittings and closing systems - the price will vary so ensure if you are getting a quote with the type of drawer fittings and soft close specified. Some are better than others. I have the Blum tandembox full extension drawers with soft close and they are great (but more expensive than others). 
cheers Andrew

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## GCP310

Grass Nova Pro's are a great alternative to the Blum, and the hettich innotech are also worth mentioning. 
drawers are fantastic instead of normal cupboard storage, pullout pantrys on the other hand are not.

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## shauck

Hi Ricardito. 
I worked at cabinet makers when I built our kitchen so I have put together quite a few.  
I am eternally on the side of drawers vs cabinets. 
We have the smallest space for a kitchen and get absolutely full use out of every available space. Even the sink area is drawers, with the trap going outside, the only fake drawer is where the sink bowl sits. We fully intended having to do a major clear out of kitchen items before building the kitchen but ended up keeping almost everything. 
On the drawer runners/rails... A full drawer has a little weight to it and the standard runners work great. There is no slamming issue and so unless you have money to burn, I personally think the extra expense for fancy ones is not really warranted. Spend that money on getting drawers instead of cabinets and I bet that 50% extra will drop dramatically.

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## Ricardito

Thanks everyone good answers here but I need to know few manufacturers or brand names to check these drawers out and compare costs and efficiency. This will make my wife life easy as she has physical disability.

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## SilentButDeadly

Blum, Hettich, Hafele.....are some of the big brands.  There's some cheaper Asian ones and many distributors of all. Nover, Licoln Sentry, Elraco are some of the distributors. 
Soft close drawers add between $120 and $400 to the price of a standard drawer cabinet (depending on the cabinet width).

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## Sybarite

> Soft close drawers add between $120 and $400 to the price of a standard drawer cabinet (depending on the cabinet width).

  And the number of drawers! 
Different weight allowances change the cost of the hardware. 
Moving up from doors to Blum Metabox (standard 3/4 extension runners) will add maybe $60 - $90  dollars per drawer in hardware and board; like SBD said depending on  how wide the drawers are. 
Then if you are paying a third party for the upgrade from standard runners to "softclose" you can count on at least $100 per drawer if you use Blum Tandembox...then there are extras like box sides and so on. 
Cheers, 
Earl

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## Ricardito

Thank you 
Your explanation goes a long way explaining many questions i have asked myself

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## phillta

> drawers are fantastic instead of normal cupboard storage, pullout pantrys on the other hand are not.

  What's wrong with pullout pantries? A friend had one in his kitchen and it seemed to work well, so we're planning one into our new kitchen.

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## GCP310

ok where do i start.......... 
background info, i work for a large commercial joinery company that focus's on High-rise apartment fit-outs, and we see pull-out pantry's specified on alot of our jobs. 
There a few different hardware companies that sell these units, and you typically get what you pay for. The issue i have is that when you load these pull-out pantry's full of gear, they tend to sway a little [front to back] and you really have to make sure that the setup and adjustment is spot on. you have to remember that when its loaded up it can weigh a fair bit. 
The storage baskets are also a limiting factor. Sure you get access to the items at the back of the cupboard, but the basket for a 500w x 580d cabinet will be 400w x 500d, so you end up loosing a fair bit of storage due to clearances. 
i think the blum internal drawers system is a far better option.      
or if you really want pullout pantry, i would use this one,

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## HigherPlane

Sorry slight thread hijack here. 
GCP310 or anyone else that might know. I am installing soft close draws into my kitchen at the moment. They are a brand called Lobek but is a tandembox desgin (a cheap version of the blum stuff I think). I've been told it comes out of the same factory. I'm having a problem with the taller draws. Due to the handle being alot higher than the little connectors on the draw there is a fair bit of torque and if I pull the draw open a bit too quickly I end up pulling the draw panel of the rest of the draw. Have you come across this issue with any tandembox stuff you have worked with? 
Cheers
Matt

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## GCP310

Does the drawers have a gallery rail on them? this is a tube that runs from the drawerfront back to the drawer back and is used to help stabilize the drawerfront. this tube can be turned to adjust the pivot of the drawerfront to help with the alignment. 
The Blum, Innotec and Nova Pro drawer systems i have worked with have all been really good, there was one set of drawers i had issues with and the drawerfront was 900w x 350h and had a cut out for a sink.  
detail dwg  
double gallery rails

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## Gourmet Camper

We have a pullout pantry (Vauth Sagel) for the top part of the pantry;  and wire drawers opening behind hinged doors for the bottom half.  
If you've got the width, drawers are definitely the way to go, especially for areas below eye level.  Our 900 wide pantry has 5 drawers below eyelevel, and every bit of space is easy to get at.  
The pullout above it is in two section 450 wide each, and is a good solution for those higher areas that you are not going to use as much anyway, and where you need to see stuff from the side.   
If I was doing it again, I would continue the drawers up higher; then have the pullout above that- or the unit that GCP310 points at above, with baskets on the doors as well.

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## HigherPlane

GCP310. Thanks for replying. My runners are pretty much the same as that schematic you just postedd. It does have galley rails (only one set) however they are pretty flimsy things and are only connected to the draw face by pushing them in the holes, so the slighest force pulls them straight out again. Do you guys epxoy yours in or something? I'm pretty pissed at the quality of these these draws and am going to go back the shop and complain. They weren't as expesive as blum but they weren't that much cheaper. I thought the reason for the price difference was the apperance wasn't as nice ie not stainless steel look. 
The problem is I really don't want to have to replace all the draws as I've installed most of them and can't be arsed doing it all again. So I'd like to find a work around. 
Matt

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## GCP310

probably a work around would be to epoxy them in, the rods have an expansion sleeve that works when you straighten them out, it sounds like the hole was drilled too big, or the sleeve has failed. How big is the drawerfront? 
its one of those things, Blum are the best, you do get what you pay for, and there are cheaper copies.  
I am luck in the fact that we use what the project specifies, which is usually the architect being told by a hardware rep how great their version is to Blum.  :Biggrin:  
so i get exposed to all the brands, opposed to just a small cabinetmaker who will focus just on one brand or another. Our CNC software has all the manufacturer's systems set up, so we just switch to what ever we are using. 
over the last 6 years, majority of the time, we have been using the s/steel Blum tandembox and the white powder coated Hettich innotech, with Grass Nova Pro's making a bit of an apperance in the last 18 months. 
make a genuine complaint to the company who did your kitchen, i would probably even contact the hardware supplier and find out if its a common fault. 
G

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## 70's Revival

OK well I've just had the Blum Boxside drawers put in.  No overheads just drawers.  I put in everything I had in the old kitchen plus more in just the underbench and I still have two empty drawers.  We went the massive drawers of 1200 wide and have 13 of them.   
I don't know where you are in Melbourne but you can call Blum and make an appointment and go and see how the drawer system works.  They are super friendly and they show you so many options.  We did it and it helped so much with deciding what we wanted.

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