for all you drawer fans... questions about drawer bottoms

13 years ago

We're cabinet shopping for our kitchen remodel and are very interested in Omega Dynasty cabinets. However, despite their overall very nice quality, we were not overly impressed with the 1/4" plywood drawer bottoms they use. (Other than the drawer bottom, the drawer construction seems to be excellent -- 5/8" solid wood dovetail-joined drawer box and nice soft-close full-extension glide hardware.)

We've been reading post after post here on the GW site about how drawers are the way to go rather than roll-out shelves with doors, even for heavy things like pots and pans, so...

For those of you who are using drawers for your heavy items like pots and pans, what construction method was used on the drawer bottoms? Do you have 1/4" plywood, or something sturdier? How is the drawer bottom attached to the drawer box?

What is the width of your heavily-loaded drawers, and how much weight would you estimate you are storing in them? Would you confidently use them to hold, for example, several pieces of cast iron cookware?

If you have had them for a while, how are those heavily-loaded drawers holding up to use?

Would also be grateful for any technical inputs which can shed light on whether/how the thickness of the drawer bottom really affects the overall structural integrity of the drawer... in other words, am I worried about the wrong thing? Is the drawer's long-term durability actually more a function of how the drawer bottom is joined to the drawer box, rather than what the drawer bottom is composed of? (The Omega Dynasty drawer bottoms are dadoed into the front, back, and sides of the drawer boxes.)

Thanks so much!

r.a.

Featured Answer

CEFreeman

13 years ago

I have 36" drawer bases. I know the bottoms of the drawers are plywood 1/4", with the 5/8" you're mentioning. They have dovetail joints. I wouldn't accept anything less, because of the size of the drawers.

Mine hold a heck of a lot of weight. All my Pyrex in one, the other holds some stupid, really heaving serving pieces I can't figure out what to do with.

The question you might ask, if applicable, is what the construction of the stove base cabinet is. Are you going with a cooktop? I'm thinking those might be even sturdier drawers since they're absolutely meant to hold heavy things.

What you're describing for drawer construction sounds weak to me. I find that construction in some very, (cheap) inexpensive, 12" drawer cabinets I bought for filler. Since they're pretty stupid cabinets and can't hold much, I didn't care. Even the drawer glides are (cheap) far less quality that the Norcroft cabinets that are my 36" and 24" cabs.

I'll take a look at the Omega Dynasty if I can find it, and compare to my cabinets.

Christine

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Comments (18)

CEFreeman
13 years ago
I see here that they talk about 4 corner dovetail drawers:
here.

Am I looking at the wrong thing?

Christine
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ra_ca
Original Author
13 years ago
Hi Christine,
thanks so much for your inputs. Yes, that is the right website that you are looking at. Did I accidentally write something which contradicts what the website says? Maybe I'm not using the correct construction terminology...???

Yes, we are planning a gas cooktop with a 36" cabinet base underneath (and separate wall ovens). That is one of the primary cabinets that I am thinking would end up with either drawers or ROTS that would have to hold heavy pots and pans.

Thanks much,
r.a.
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dianalo
13 years ago
My Ikea cabs hold a bunch of weight easily. I don't have dovetailed joints or all plywood construction and yet the weight does not seem to be a factor. There is no discernible bowing or strain on the glides.
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pricepal
13 years ago
My dynasty hold all my pots and pans with no problems at all. estimated weight is 60 #.

In another are all my dishes and the weight is considerably more in the 70 to 80# range with no problems.

I asked my GC if I could do this, he said not a problem. Time will tell I guess.

The drawers close easily and smoothly so no indicating yet of problems coming.
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CEFreeman
13 years ago
It was the "bottom is joined to the drawer box rather than dadoed in."

That doesn't seem as strong to me, but pricepal has the Dynasty & it seems to work for her.

Christine
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ra_ca
Original Author
13 years ago
Hi Christine,
maybe I worded it wrong, but I was trying to say that the bottoms are dadoed into the sides.

Hi Dianalo and Pricepal,
glad to hear your drawers are holding up well despite being heavily loaded - that's very reassuring!

Thank you all for your inputs -

Regards,
r.a.
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natschultz
13 years ago
1/4" bottoms seem to be common for some reason. That is why I am planning on having custom drawers made. I have some 1/4" plywood - great for the back of upholstered headboards, yet FLIMSY as hell! I would NEVER trust my dishes in a drawer like that. The glides and 5/8" solid dovetailed sides are all good though.

Honestly, I have a serious problems with the majority of cabinet makers these days because of things like this - the "good" ones use Blum glides (very important) and then say that the glides strengthen the drawer and carry the weight - WRONG! The glides do carry the weight of the entire drawer and contents (so must be rated 75-100 pounds plus in order to glide properly and not break), but they DO NOT strengthen the drawer bottom - your stuff is still being supported by the bottom only - if you load your drawer up with tons of china the glides may hold up but a 1/4" thick bottom will buckle under the weight at the center. All bottoms must be dadoed into the sides, but that is still not enough, in my opinion. Pots and pans (unless cast iron or solid copper) are not nearly as heavy (or breakable) as china though, so in that case you'll probably be ok.

No offense, but for the price of these cabinets (Ikea excepted - the price fits), they should last at least 50 years, and 1/4" bottoms will NOT! That is also why I insist on 3/4" thick cabinets - the glides attach to the cabinets and a weak cabinet will not hold as well for as long as a strong thick one. BTW - Blum bottom-mount glides attach to the backs of the cabinets, not the sides, so 1/4" cabinet backs won't do you any good unless there are SOLID 3/4" thick back mounting rails attached.
macybaby
13 years ago
there is a lot of variation in plywood - I've bought some 1/4" luan that I could bend and snap, and others that are engineered with more plys that are very stiff, amazingly so for the thickness. The cheap stuff runs about $10 a sheet, the nice stuff is about $25 a sheet.
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lithigin
13 years ago
In my last Kitchen Craft kitchen, I loaded up my 30" drawer base with pots and pans and LOVED it! I just ordered Ultracraft and my biggest drawer base is 33". I looked up the specs online and they say "5/8" thick, dovetailed sides and back, 1/4" thick, fully captured bottom and full extension, 75-pound rated tandem, undermount glides with soft close." One drawer in there will be a dish drawer and I told my cabinet girl repeatedly that it would be so and asked if I needed any reinforcement or superior glides and she kept saying that I do not.

Worst case? I put half of my dishes in the middle drawer with the kiddie stuff, which is all plastic, and the other half in the lower drawer with my tupperwares and glass tupperwares.
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bob_cville
13 years ago
My cabinets have 1/4" thick plywood bottoms, with 1/2" thick solid hardwood, dovetailed sides. One drawer, next to the cooktop I've been using to store the various tile samples we've been considering for our backsplash. We haven't been able to decide on what to use, and consequently the drawer is full of tile, and weighs in the range of 100 pounds. Its been that way for a couple of years, there is still no backsplash or even a backsplash decision, but the drawer is handling the weight fine.
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bob_am
13 years ago
Thicker does seem like it would be better, but you have to be careful. For instance, a 1/16" thick glass shelf wouldn't hold much weight, but a 1/16" thick trampoline certainly can. A 1/4" drawer bottom can be plenty strong, if it is placed in a dado, AND glue or staple reinforced (usually on the bottom). A 1/2" bottom just captured in a dado might give out before the glued in 1/4". A bottom can also be 'applied' to the box, with glue & staples, and then the glide mounting screws pass through it into the sides. That would reinforce the bottom in a similar way. If you can, flip the drawer over and have a look. Shake it - does the bottom rattle? Does it seem solid? Sometimes that's all you have to go on. Or recommendations. These things can be constructed in so many ways, it's hard for any non-specialist to really evaluate sometimes.
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Fori
13 years ago
You made me curious so I looked at my drawers (which are NOT Omega) and I can't tell how thick the bottoms are because the edges of the base aren't viewable. All sides are dadoed (?) into the drawer box sides. (I could measure and do math if I could find a tape measure.) My 36" and 40" drawers all have a support brace running front to back in the middle of the bottom. Can't budge those bases. I do keep a load of cast iron in the 36" drawers, but the 40" drawers carry more weight--they are 30" deep and 13" high and loaded with heavy stuff like canisters of flour, sugar, etc.

Is the support on larger drawers standard? I don't know if it's necessary, but I'm sure if you pulled out a drawer and jumped in it, the failure wouldn't be the drawer base.
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ra_ca
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you to everybody who has replied... I appreciate your taking the time to provide your inputs and experiences.

Fori, I like the idea of that support brace running down the middle, but as far as I know, I don't think the wide Omega Dynasty drawers have any kind of extra support like that...?

Pricepal, do your Dynasty wide drawers have anything like that support brace that fori mentioned?

Regards,
r.a.
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shelayne
13 years ago
I also have IKEA drawers (with the Blum metal sides and back), and the bottoms of the drawers are 1/2" thick--I just measured to be sure. I have a drawer full of pyrex pans and glass casseroles, stored on their sides, and it rolls very easily, and the bottom doesn't sag from the weight at all.

I *heart* my drawers! :^)
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davidro1
13 years ago
ikea drawers are "Blum Tandembox", metal drawer sides, which must have a 1/2" panel in the drawer floor to fit the groove in the metal sides. A chipboard panel 1/2" thickness is used because there is no need to go with a stronger kind of wood panel, like thin ply plywood.

The OP can go with thinner drawer floors, if it's strong enough panel material.
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ra_ca
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you all for your comments - it's very helpful to hear all the different points of view.

Just as an FYI for anybody else considering Omega Dynasty, I called the cabinet store and asked if there was a way to upgrade the Dynasty drawer bottoms from 1/4" to 3/8" plywood for an extra charge... and was told that no, that is not possible within the Dynasty line. The saleswoman said that in order to get a 3/8" drawer bottom, we would have to move up to full custom Omega cabinets (rather than Omega Dynasty), and that doing so would mean a price increase of 40-50% relative to the Dynasty cabinets.

A 40-50% upcharge would put the cabinets out of our budget range, so after reading everybody's inputs and contemplating our choices some more, currently we are thinking that those 1/4" plywood bottoms won't stop us from ordering Omega Dynasty cabinets after all.

Best regards to all,
r.a.
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kitellie49
13 years ago
I sell Dynasty and I see no reason why your salesperson can't order drawer boxes individually for those drawers you would like to upgrade. I was planning on doing it for a couple of my displays. Maybe the thicker side panel changes the dimension of the drawer box opening in Omega but I'm not sure and am planning on looking into it. Prior to this modification, the Dynasty and Omega drawer boxes were identical so I'm assuming they were interchangeable.

I'm not too up-to-speed on this site, but if there is a way you can communicate with me via email, I would be happy to let you know what I am told when I call. Also, unless you are buying inset, going from Dynasty to Omega is not a 40% - 50% upcharge. It is more in the 30% range.
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for all you drawer fans... questions about drawer bottoms

CEFreeman

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