http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80107083 http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10107072 buy one of these, install it, and see. it takes 20.5" without the softclose spring. Add the softclose and you need a bit more space at one little spot (cut a little of the drywall at that spot). you can buy the softclose spring at the same time. These ikea drawers are the Tandembox version of Blum drawers. (on Blum's web site, you will see Tandembox, Tandem and other versions) Blum's Tandembox drawers are a different version from "Ikea Tandembox" = the same glides with a different softclose. But it's the same idea. Returning things to ikea is acceptable to ikea. Returning things to a custom cabinet maker is not as standard. (as far as I know). Blum drawers are hard to get in a store. (as far as I know). who has the best online price is easy to find when you know what you want to buy; you use the model number to search with, as a key word. This is not your main concern today, because you don't yet know what size. With the ikea purchase you get a drawer floor and back. in other words, a complete drawer. buying blum parts means you have to learn the exact size to cut chipboard, and then you need the right tools to do a perfect job. Lots of work.

'I just used a shorter screwdriver and had lots of patience.' I might have to buy one of those! I don't have a short one anymore. I remember having one a few decades back tho. 'But I like your idea of doing it on the side piece first and then fitting it into your cabinet.' I'm glad you think that'll work! I'll have to make a template for that - and it'll take a larger piece of wood (x2) than if I didn't do it that way. I figure whatever it takes to make it easier tho. I think putting 3 or 4 rails on a board before inserting the board and screwing the whole board into the cabinet wall will be much easier. I just hope I can find a board the correct thickness needed and align those glides up on the boards correctly. I'll just have to take my time and remind myself that it isn't something I have to 'finish doing' within an hour or 2! 'If I lived near you, I would totally help you. I have become very good at IKEA assembly.' that is so nice of you! I do wish you lived close to me - lol! I need lots of help these days. A few decades ago I wouldn't have thought twice about trying to do something like this. My body just isn't as limber as it used to be. I plan to go over and wipe out (I've already vac'd, pulled out old contact paper and wiped cabinet innards down once) the innards of a few cabinets and put down new shelf paper. If I don't post here (this board) within a few days, you might call the 'old body police' 'cause I'm probably still stuck part way inside of a cabinet - and can't get out or in case of the bottom cabinet, can't get back up! lol!

Ann: thanks very much! So, it sounds like you had SP customize their typical/stock 4-drawer to your current configuration: can you please tell me how much usable vertical space you have in your bottom 7" drawer (measured from the inside bottom of the drawer to the top of the drawer opening itself)? TIA. jakuval: busy is good, I'd imagine, in your line of work! :) I just saw your edit: I, too, asked about removing intermediate rails on SP cabs, and was told this could not be done (by both SP and KD). KD told me this is because the Blum hardware attaches to the rail itself...is that correct? SP didn't give an explanation - they said to talk to my KD. Can you confirm? From what I can see (correct me if I'm seeing these wrong), the back end of the hardware attaches to the back wall of the cabinet box itself (I think this is actually a view of the heavy duty Blum, but I think the standard Blum also attaches similarly): And the front portion of the glide hardware actually attaches beneath the drawer itself: So, the front end of the hardware doesn't attach to any part of the cabinet box itself. Any idea why SP would not remove at least one intermediate rail? That would certainly allow us to pick up 1-1/2" of usable height! Also, given the rear box attachment, does this mean I need to have the rear box reinforced for any cabinet box that might house a heavy duty Blum drawer? Also, RIR? (I tried googling this one, but couldn't come up with anything I thought might be relevant to cabinets.) Drawers vs cabinets: I'm using both judiciously, thanks. So far, it does appear that I would be served best by going with mostly drawers. Have spent the past 24 years reaching back into a 24" deep cab space, unstacking, re-nesting, etc., I'm ready for a change -- it'll also force me to purge/donate items I don't need any more. I see the utility of pullout trays, but I just know around here, trays will be yanked out to partially open doors, and I'll end up with scratched up doors. Completely agree about not stacking items in drawers: any anticipated 14-16" bottom drawers (I have a few) will accommodate baking dishes/casseroles, etc. tilted on their sides. Did not realize that I have leeway to use 1/16" increments! Sooo good to know: I thought I was stuck working in 3"s. Seems like I've been doing nothing but fiddling with my spreadsheet and drawer/cab specs lately, and am going a bit bonkers. Trying to keep perspective (a la seeing the forest for the trees), but one does easily get mired! Combined cabinets: didn't have a clue about this! Backing up, is it possible to combine cabinets AND incorporate drawers? For example, I've got two side-by-side 36"s cabs planned, each containing three drawers. I can actually order, say, a single 72" cabinet (with one center stile @ the 36" mark), with six drawers, and this would be less expensive than the two 36" cabinet set up? Is there any downside I should be aware of? (We're going with granite countertops.) I'll also have a 27w 3-drawer cab to the left of my 36w sink cabinet: am I able to combine those two into one space, effectively eliminating the wall between the two spaces? It would greatly open up the undersink area for DH to work: our RO filter/tanks are housed under there, and he would appreciate the extra workspace. Thanks so much, if you have time to reply.

Many Cabinetmakers, including myself, will use jigs or templates when drilling multiple units so you don't have to measure every single drawer, hinge, etc. I've made jigs/templates for everything from, drawer hardware, hinges and shelf holes. In your picture it could be that someone used the wrong jig holes or just didn't think it would matter when initially setting up. I'm sure your Cabinetmaker would be willing to adjust to meet your request. Any good "custom" Cabinetmaker would as far as I'm concerned. If he's not a custom shop, it may be impossible to adjust. He may charge you for it. If he has jigs set up for assembly, and they are set for as pictured, he would have set up that middle drawer differently. I'm not just referring to the slides, this also would be for attaching the drawer front. It all depends on how he assembles. The Blum Tandem plus Blumotion slides are IMHO one of, if not the best on the market. It is true that in order to maximize drawer depth (front to back) you may need to add to the depth. I typically used the 560H5500B which are 22" (550mm) slides in order to maximize depth. Technically the drawer ended up being about 21 3/4" long when using these. Total depth for slide is figured by taking the nominal length (550mm in this case) + 3mm. 3mm being the amount the slide is set in front the front edge. For inches divide the metric by 25.4. I found these to be perfect for maximizing depth without needing to adjust depth of cabinet. However, it comes down to how your Cabinetmaker makes his cabinet and the usable depth of your cabinet.