How To Install Drawer Slides Youtube

Practiced step-by-footstep DIY directions for installing a microwave door, including selecting size, chiffonier alterations, and more.

A built-in microwave drawer may be the answer to one of kitchen remodeling'south eternal questions: where to place the microwave, without a) sacrificing valuable counter workspace or, b) creating another major projection of reconfiguring the ventilation system above the cooktop.

Microwave drawers can be easily installed in base of operations cabinets below countertops or in wall assemblies like wall ovens.

A microwave drawer offers exceptional convenience without sacrificing coveted counter space. — A microwave drawer offers exceptional convenience without sacrificing coveted counter infinite. Abrupt Electronics

Microwave drawers come every bit preassembled, self-contained units with ventilation systems built in.

The cooking compartments may slide in and out with a slight pull or push button that activates an electrical motor or at the touch of a button. Some units operate with both, and all other electronic controls are usually mounted on the drawer front.

The cabinet that you'll build the microwave drawer into must be equipped with a dedicated, 120-volt, breaker-protected, grounded electrical line terminating in a three-prong receptacle. Most manufacturers recommend that the outlet exist positioned in the back of the cabinet at the tiptop. Accept a licensed professional do the electrical work.

Selecting the Right Size Microwave

Across all brands, the basic choices are 24-, 27-, and thirty-inch microwave drawer units. These dimensions are nominal and refer to the width across the drawer front from left to right. Stock base cabinets are generally available in widths from 12 inches to threescore inches wide in increments of 3 inches, so it shouldn't be difficult to obtain a cabinet into which the microwave drawer unit will fit, if there's not 1 in your kitchen already.

Key Installation Dimensions of a 24-inch Microwave Drawer — Central installation dimensions of a Sharp 24-inch microwave drawer Sharp Electronics

The main flim-flam to installing microwave drawers successfully is to select advisedly and friction match the size of the unit to the space available inside the cabinet or wall niche you plan to install it in. That's not ever and so easy without actually getting your hands on the unit(s) you're interested in and taking the overall measurements of the office that fits inside the chiffonier. Manufacturers' spec sheets are famously imprecise and often disruptive.

For aesthetic purposes, information technology'due south also important to mensurate the overall width and height of the microwave drawer front to make certain that it'll overlap the rails and stiles of cabinet that it will be installed in and marshal pleasingly with adjacent chiffonier fronts, namely doors and drawer fronts.

As you select and plan, likewise mind the door height, the height of the microwave enclosure that'south to fit inside the chiffonier and recommended clearances specified past the manufacturer. In all likelihood, the position of the shelf on which the floor of the microwave will rest volition have to be adjusted for successful installation.

Before you settle on a specific microwave drawer model, as well measure out the cabinet you lot're planning to install it in. Take off the existing fronts (drawers/and or doors) and measure:

- Overall width
- Inside width
- Inside depth

Cabinet Alterations

If the cabinet has a confront-frame, measure the width of the opening across the front from left to right betwixt the stiles (vertical frame members). Will the microwave drawer unit fit in, or will yous have to trim the within edges of the face up frame? If you exercise need to trim, you tin can utilize a router with a trim bit and guide or a reciprocating saw to enlarge the opening.

If the chiffonier doesn't take a confront frame, you may take to add some 1-by-2s or some other form of filler panels to the inside of the chiffonier sides to narrow the opening and provide an adequate fastening surface for the microwave drawer flange, which will ultimately be screwed to the chiffonier face to hold the unit in place.

Besides compare the within depth of the cabinet to the depth of the microwave drawer enclosure measured from the face flange to the back of the unit. Volition the flange fit flush against the front edges of the chiffonier or face up frame? If not, endeavor cutting out the back of the cabinet to proceeds more infinite.

Supporting the Microwave Drawer

You lot need to establish a shelf or platform for the microwave drawer to rest on.

With a helper, ready the complete microwave unit on blocks inside the cabinet, using shims to get it to exactly the correct superlative, parallel to the bottom of the countertop and/or tiptop rails. When the temporary position of the unit seems perfect, marking the inside of the chiffonier walls, tracing with a marker confronting the bottom of the microwave enclosure.

Cut a shelf from ¾-inch plywood. Fasten wooden cleats to the inside of the cabinet ¾ inches below those marks and and so fasten the plywood shelf on top of them. The shelf must be stationary and sturdy plenty to back up a minimum of 150 pounds.

Cutout opening requirements for a Sharp 24-in. microwave drawer; requirements differ for different sizes and brands. — Cutout opening requirements for a Sharp 24-inch microwave drawer; requirements differ for unlike sizes and brands. Sharp Electronics

Depending on the pattern of your kitchen cabinets, y'all may wish to add together a face-frame rail (horizontal member) to conceal the edge of the shelf. Your chiffonier manufacturer can probably supply a length of matching stock.

Yous may also order new doors or drawer fronts of the correct size to finish the opening below the microwave installation.

Finishing the Installation

Likewise note in the cartoon to a higher place that you lot'll need to install an "anti-tip block" wedge to the installed microwave drawer against the elevation of the chiffonier. Use a block of 2-by lumber trimmed to whatsoever dimension provides a tight fit. The anti-tip block should exist screwed to the cabinet sidewall.

With the cutout finished and the outlet and anti-tip cake in place, plug the microwave's ability string in, and slide the unit into the opening. Drive screws through the face flange when information technology's flush with the chiffonier front, and yous're washed.

Michael Chotiner is an expert home-construction DIYer and writes on home appliances for Abode Depot. Michael's advice on microwave drawers is geared to assistance homeowners understand the basics of installation. Home Depot's selection of microwave drawers, as well as a full array of microwave ovens, can be viewed on the Home Depot website.