How old is your Blum hardware and is it holding up?

10 years ago

Now that we have 37 drawers with Blum soft close drawer slides, I wonder how that hardware will hold up. One drawer already doesn't always close unless you push it rather hard. It is a small drawer and it doesn't have anything heavy in it. The drawer side just seems to have failed after just ten months.

My DH really wanted the soft close drawers and I think these days we all have drawer slides. I am betting that they will be the first thing to fail in our kitchen.

I can't find anything on how long they are expected to last.

And plastic bits are already falling off our Marvin windows which are just over ten years old, which is the length of the warranty. This modern stuff just doesn't last.

This post was edited by donaleen on Sun, Jun 9, 13 at 14:38

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Comments (15)

maryl1
10 years ago
Mine are about five years old now. No problems. Perhaps your glide just needs a slight adjustment?
jakuvall
10 years ago
Mine are pre soft close-only added it to 4 drawers later but that is still different than the current system. 9 yrs no problem
Can't say how long but most mfg warranty hardware for life.
Except for abuse like ....

All the current undermount glides are sensitive to dust and debris. I'm forever hassling installers to vacumn, and warning them they could be buying new glides. Granite or sheetrock dust can kill them in no time.
Always check glides immediately after install amd after counter install.
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xc60
10 years ago
Ours are just over 2 years old, no problems yet.
Donaleen Kohn
Original Author
10 years ago
I think that is good advice about the granite dust. We absolutely protected ours during countertop install with plastic and lots of blue tape and careful vacuuming.
chinchette
10 years ago
Jakuvall, what is pre-soft close?
Iowacommute
10 years ago
Oh no! I know every product has some failure, but why do things seem to end right after the warranty does?

I'm really disappointed to hear about your Marvin windows. How many windows are doing it and does it hinder the operation of the window?
Buehl
10 years ago
We have Blum's full-extension, soft-close hardware (Blumotion) on all our drawers. It's been over five years and they are all still working flawlessly.
jakuvall
10 years ago
Chinchette-sort of like pre-war, once upon a time there were no soft close, just full extension which was a big deal. Then there came soft close attachments that snap in, hence could be replaced.
Now it is a "must" and fully integrated, not repairable. Personally I'm ambivalent and would prefer to not have them on everything.
Donaleen Kohn
Original Author
10 years ago
IowaCommute...one of three windows installed near each other (same side of house) has the issue. Yes, it still works but I suspect it isn't as weather tight as it once was. One day I opened the top sash of the window and this plastic strip just fell out of the top. As I looked at the window, I see more plastic than I think a "wood window" should have.

House things should be repairable because houses live a long time. Ten years is a pitiful guarantee on a major house part like a window. Old real wooden windows are almost always repairable, even after a hundred years.
Iowacommute
10 years ago
Eek. Thanks for the update Donaleen. I've looked at windows for our sort of soon new construction home and felt 100% with the Marvin Integrity. I'll have to do some work to see if this is a wide spread issue.

Thank you again.
beachpea3
10 years ago
Our Blum hardware is still going strong after 6 - 7 years.

Re: Windows- the old wood windows will last a lifetime or two. The ones we have that are original to the house c. 1680 and c. 1730 are in great shape. The ones made of new growth wood have been replaced once and sadly will need replacement shortly...Apparently the newer wood products are not aged/cured long enough.
Babka NorCal 9b
10 years ago
8 years with Blumotion here on 17 drawers. All working very well. We have Milgard windows here which are guanteed for our lifetime. We had a few replaced when their seals leaked. No charge.

-Babka
Iowacommute
10 years ago
Babka- I think I'm going to have to look at Milgard again for their warranty. I think I had to rule them out initially because our area did not have a dealer.
chinchette
10 years ago
Ah, pre soft close...
Mine are a cheap knock-off and the soft close failed with-in a month. Fortunately the glides other than that work great after 7 years.
barthelemy
10 years ago
We demolished a +15 y/o kitchen (IKEA) with Blum hardware in my parents' house and everything including the hardware was in perfect working condition. My own kitchen is over 7 years old and no problem with the Blum hardware.

Honestly this is such a quality product that I think that any problem may come from a bad installation and/or some debris/dust trapped in the glides.

Another possibility may be that the wood/plywood/particle board bottom of your drawer is warped because some moisture got there, this would impede the glides to work properly.

Blum states that their glides are rated for 100,000 opening/closing cycles.

This post was edited by barthelemy on Mon, Jun 10, 13 at 16:55

How old is your Blum hardware and is it holding up?

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maryl1

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How old is your Blum hardware and is it holding up?

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