I am the unofficial resident expert on this problem :-( First of all, take out all of your dishes and weigh the drawer. Our 42 inch drawer weighed 30 lbs and the pegboard another 8 lbs. - I had exactly 75 lbs of dishes in the drawer - oops - crack - the side of the cabinet fractured. Once the dishes are out of the drawer and the drawer weighed - weigh your dishes. I took one of each size dish and then multiplied times number of sets to get my total. Now take the drawer out and look at how many screws are holding the drawer - you need extra reinforcement screws for the heavy drawers and not just the standard 3 screws -it doesn't matter if you have MDF, particle, or plywood - the weight is too much for the box without extra reinforcements. If you can, I would put in anchors. I have learned a lot since then and have been working with the KD and Brookhaven on the issue. BH would replace the cabinet - but getting in place could be a problem and we decided not to risk cracking the counter, messing up the tile, etc... The KD claims she did not realize the weight included the drawer weight - our drawer still closed and the glide did not break, but I felt that KD should have this knowledge and BH should have red flagged as a problem. So, we are going to stay with the big drawer but have a smaller inset drawer inside the frame (still waiting for it to come) - look at my Recipe for Disaster thread and michoumonster concept will be used for us. We are also changing the hinges to the 150lb Blum as an extra precaution. Take time to go through my post - lots of ideas from everyone. Recipe for disaster. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg1020404519236.html Good luck

aidan_m, As with the first pair of slides, IâÂÂve been using a stick to make sure that the distance between the two front brackets was equal to the distance between the rear two brackets. After confirming this, I put the drawer box in. As usual, it felt tight as I slid it in and out. And it did not self-close. I decided to get a little more aggressive. So I slid the box all the way in, then would pull it out a few inches and push it to the right and left, then pull out a few more inches and push it to the right and left. I repeated this pattern till it was fully extended outward. After repeating it for a while, I noticed that the box was getting looser each time. At some point I got a little more aggressive but had to be careful not to break the front brackets. After a certain point the box got loose enough that it began to self-close! I had employed the same method with the first box but forgot about it when I wrote my previous post. Eventually, I got it to self-close as well. But it was not a very smooth close. Then I noticed something. I had removed the first drawer box that I fixed yesterday to compare its slides with those of the second. But when I put this first box back into the slides it was self-closing really well. I mean really well. I looked at its slides and noticed that I had accidentally placed one of its slides flush with the cabinet face. Suddenly a light bulb went on in my head! I seemed to recall from the YouTube video, on the KV soft-closing side-mounted slides (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=149d_tBJTEQ), that the slides have to be flush with the cabinet face. I looked at the video again and sure enough I was right. I was placing the slides right where the face frame edge ended! I therefore adjusted the slides on the second drawer box and voila! It was now self-closing really well. Basically, in my frustration with the slides, I had forgotten this detail. I went to the other cabinet that I had completed a while ago and which had four drawer boxes. Sure enough, the slides were not flush with the cabinet face. They too were right behind the face frame edge. I adjusted them and they now self-close really well! I mention all this in case there is an unfortunate soul out there making the same mistake. Slides are now done. Next step is the drawer fronts. What an adventure! Below is the cabinet that really tested my patience with the slides.(As you will notice from the photo, my condo is still undergoing an electrical renovation. I have gotten all new wiring but the the outlets and light fixtures have yet to be installed. Then the walls have to be patched. IâÂÂm juggling a couple of things at the moment.)

As someone who has been actively involved in the cabinet industry for more than 40 years, I find this discussion interesting. Blum is certainly a well-known brand for good reasons - good quality, innovation and gererally a good competitor in the marketplace. But, Blum's product is nowhere so superior to several competitive brands to command the premium price they do. Don't be misled because of extensive trade advertising - someone has had to pay for each ad after all. Yet there is one question I have yet to find well answered - WHY should a homeowner want to have soft-closing slides or hinges installed? Maybe that is a question for another forum. There are some facts designers, cabinetmakers and consumers need to consider: 1. Soft-close and self-close action are two totally different mechanisms. Be sure you know the difference and are not confusing them. 2. There are major differences between under-mount and side-mount soft-close drawer slides in terms of weight capacity, installation and adjustability, and price. Some applications clearly call for one type of slide versus another - but one type of slide may not be well-suited for every application. Also, know the true difference between slides referred to as "full extension" and "full access" - big difference in function and price/value. 3. Realize there are major differences when evaluating the required pull-force, closing speed, dampener length (at what point does the closing mechanism take over), and dampener design. Look for hydraulic dampeners,they are superior to air-filled dampeners as they eliminate drawer bounceback much better. 4. Finally, acknowledge many cabinetmakers have been experiencing hardtimes for the past several years and have sought opportunities to get something that looks and works like the quality brands. Buyer beware still rules - slides may look alike but have vastly different quality aspects. From a competitive point of view I'll give credit where credit is due, in my opinion the two soft-close slide programs that merit equal consideration are Blum and KV. They have many of the same design charactistics, both companies have drawer slides as a core competence, and both companies have reputations for superior quality and excellent service. Hope this helps the discussion with specifics.

You can replace the hinges no problem. Blummotion is excellent hardware. http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR4.TRC1.A0.H0.Xsoft+close+hinges.TRS0&_nkw=soft+close+hinges&_sacat=0 A search on Ebay will show you a selection of hardware options. You can take a hinge to your local hardware store and they may be able to help as well.