I would want dovetail drawer joints and FULL extension, ball-bearing drawer glides. I'm not into a lot of the optional hardware/accessories added to cabinet interiors, and I would have plain plywood doors before giving up full extension drawer slides. :-)

These have some lighter weight construction materials than my dh makes for our cabinet boxes, but I'm not sure how they compare to others. Maybe check and compare with IKEA specs, since so many think so highly of them.

I will do that. The three I'll compare will be these, Starmark, and IKEA. If the specs are similar, I could look into them just making the doors. I don't know that Starmark would specially bore a hinge pattern but since they're a small company, they might. I was a little concerned about the 1/2" sides. I thought that IKEA even has 3/4" industrial strength fiberboard.

I think you would regret the 3/4 extension glides. The soft close on my glides might have been overkill, but the full extension was a necessity. Being able to use the entire drawer, particularly in a smaller kitchen, is just so much more functional.

Definitely get full-extension! I used to regularly scrape my knuckles getting things out from the back of my old 3/4-extension drawers. Soft-close is a "nice to have", but not a necessity...but full-extension is. (It doesn't say you can upgrade the glides, but I'd check in case you can...)

Also, check to see how much weight the glides will hold...that can be important for pots & pans, casserole dishes, mixing bowls, appliance storage, etc. 100 pounds would be great, but I suspect 60 or 75 pounds would be fine as well.

Are you getting all drawers? If not, then look into pullout shelves instead of "adjustable shelves."

You probably know all this, but there may be others reading this that do not.

Good luck!

Definitely go for full extension. I can't wait to get mine! I personally wouldn't worry too much about the 1/2" sides since so much of what I've read says that installed, built in cabinets are very stable. If they were free standing that might be a different story.

If any of you could choose between Tandem Box and full extension glides (I hope I have this vernacular right!)... which would you pick?

Remodelfla,
Tandembox and full extension are two different things. If I remember correctly, all Tandemboxes come full extension. The Blum website is a good place to start to understand the differences. The Tandembox versus Dove Tail wood drawer construction would be a better comparator.

I wonder why the bottom of the cabinet is 1/2"? The shelves are thicker than that at 3/4".

Good luck!

Tandem box is a drawer with a full extension glide built-in from blum. This is who makes ikea drawers. I think they are darn nice drawers and equal to the best dovetail drawers for function.

Tandem is the name of a line of undermount glides, also from blum. Tandem glides can be either 3/4 or full extension.

Original question -
The drawers are thicker in the plywood construction. The plywood shelves will tolerate heavy loads better. I don't know that the shelf thing would matter in your kitchen cause you don't have wall cabs?

1\4 inch drawer bottom is a definite no, beyond that the specs for the "Classic" seem fine (not the best but good quality). Ikea cabinets are 1\2 or 5\8 particle board with cam lock and wood dowel joints - kind of apples and oranges as yours are not frameless so you have a screwed and glued hardwood frame on these which should give you more structural integrity. A lot of US manufacturers use solid wood frames and 3\8 furniture or ply so these don't seem too bad but it would be nice to know the nature of the joints for the frame.

Ikea uses metal drawers and the blum hardware is ball bearing (I think) which is definitely better than track-and-roller (side mount)but epoxy coated track-and-roller slides are decent quality. Don't know your situation but for my Mom it came down to having fewer drawers and full extension or more drawers without the upgrade and she chose more drawers with 3\4 extension and has no regrets. Not a big deal on deep drawers and a lot of inserts are still made for 3\4 drawers so they cover that space anyway.

You might ask for ANSI Grade on the ICGP (furniture board, particle board etc.). It is usually M-S or M-2 for cabinets.

I wasn't clear but thankfully, homepro and bmore got what I was trying to say... the Tandem boxes like on IKEA or dovetail drawers with Blum full extension. Apparently they are both good options. All my bases will be drawers except the sink. I will have uppers above the bakers table and coffee center for sure. I'm uncertain about the cooking/frig run. I'm leaning toward no uppers there but I first need to figure out and make sure I'll have enough storage.

caryscott... even though it was right in my face (about cabinet frames); it didnt' register that the RIvers Bend were framed cabs. I always thought I wanted framelss. Don't framelss cabs offer more interior space and lean toward a cleaner more contemporary look? Now I have to go back and recheck Starmark to see if they are frameless. Isn't IKEA frameless?

With your help I know I definitely want full extension drawers whether they end up being Tandem box or full extension glides on dovetail drawers.

Ikea is framless. Full overlay on framed cabinetry looks pretty much like frameless but without the advantages of the ease of access and extra space (some claim 15% more usable space). Besides Kraftmaid you don't see a lot of framed cabinetry here in Canada, frameless really is the standard. With frameless I wouldn't go less than 5\8 on the cabinet material, and this very subjective, but for frameless I prefer a solid 5\8 back which Ikea does not offer. Key issue to the strength of frameless cabinetry is really proper installation but a solid back doesn't hurt.

Maple Creek is a an RTA manufacturer of frameless cabinetry that is part of MasterBrand group of companies. In Canada for a small upcharge you can purchase this product assembled. It doesn't have a solid back but it is pretty comparable basic construction to Ikea and is quite affordable and backed by the MasterBrand limited Lifetime warranty. I am not sure if the metal drawers are full extension (I don't think so).

Here is a link that might be useful: Maple Creek Cabinets

Below are Starmark's construction specs. I hope you can see it as I downloaded the pdf and then saved as a jpg. I don't know if this is similar to what anyone else has gotten from Starmark. Since they don't mention face frames; can I assume they are framelss? I didnt' notice anywhere on their site where they mentioned framelss or not; but I could have missed it.

Quite good but this still looks like a framed product.

Shoot... well... I posted a question on another thread but Ultracraft opinions or sources anyone?

Looks framed to me. I would assume framed if they don't' say they are frameless, because most seem to be framed.

Definitely get the full extension. That and the drawers themselves are among the best things we did.