One of the biggest challenges that you have when remodeling your space is ensuring that you have enough storage. It is hard if you are paring down to understand where all the space can be found. If you are joining rooms or making your space bigger the task becomes easier. Another area of concern is making sure you can actually reach all of the storage space that you’ve created. If you have reduced mobility or you’re just simply not as young as you used to be, it can be hard to reach the lower storage areas, especially trying to reach those items that get pushed all the way to the back. What can you do to create storage areas that are easier to maneuver? Why not consider pull out shelving?
Pull out shelving allows everything to have a place and be more easily accessible. You can eliminate the need or greatly reduce the need to get down to the floor. Pull out shelving can be used for corner cupboards as well, which will increase the storage area available. You can determine what areas will benefit from pull out shelving and where you can install it in your new space.
Another choice you have when considering pull out shelving is how you would like the shelving set up. The choice here is what type of rails or slides you would like to utilize for the shelves. Some common ones are a European style, under-mount slides, and ball bearing slides. The European and ball bearing slides are mounted on the side of the shelving. The European slides are epoxy coated and the ball bearing slides are zinc coated. The European slides offer more stability to the shelving unit because they become part of the shelf structure. The shelves slide through the use of nylon wheels. The ball bearing slides screw into the sides of the pull out shelving and there are small ball bearings that move when the shelf is opened or closed. The ball bearings when used in a kitchen environment can become coated with kitchen debris (grease or dust) which can hinder the movement of the shelving.
The under-mount slides are perceived to take up less room because all of the mechanics for the slide are under the shelving instead of on either side. While this can be helpful if the cabinets are narrower, there will still need to be room made available underneath for the hardware and the back needs to be cut out.
It will be important to consider your shelving budget, where the shelving is going to be placed, and if you have any aesthetic needs before you choose which type of shelving hardware to use.
