pps: I emailed my KD & asked if the guarantees on Blum & Hettich were comparable. She responded that both come with a lifetime guarantee, and I responded to go with the Hettich. Right now, my drawers barely glide at all, let alone soft close, so, the improvement will be huge, and $250 is not insignificant to me.

Did you ask which Hettich glides they were planning to use and what the weigh capacity is? I wdon't joe be more concerned that they are rated for the right weight. Blum comes in 75lbs, qq0lbs and 125lbs I believe. This maximum includes the weight of the drawer.

Good luck!

Thanks, Homepro. I did not ask. Hopefully, with a lifetime warranty of both the cabinets and the glides, I'll be covered.

As long as your drawers are not wider than 30", the standard drawer glides should be okay - unless you are filling a drawer with cast iron cookware.

Six of my nine drawers are wider than 30"...

Hettich Quadro is a very good drawer slide, but they aren't really any cheaper than the Blum Tandem, and certainly not $25 more each !!!

you should be sure you are getting undermount slides and not side mounted ones . That could account for the 25$ per charge.

But, you'd better PUT A STOP to production immediately til it gets sorted.

Thanks, xedos. Since both the cabinets and the glides have a lifetime warranty, I'm going to wait and see. There's no way I could handle stopping production right now.

I would ask your KD the weight limit for the Hettich glides. Hettich must have an option for wide drawers with heavy items (dish drawer, for example). If not, then weigh the drawer before it is installed & weigh whatever is going in your drawers. I learned the hard way & had to have the standard Blum Tandem glides removed & heavy duty glides installed on my 36" drawers. Once one of my drawers failed & I weighed the contents, I was surprised by how little I could actually put in the drawer and stay within the 75 lb limit. If you exceed the recommended weight, the lifetime warranty may not cover a drawer failure.

Quadro is 30 kilo limit which is roughly 75 lbs. same as Tandem.

For a 36" drawer of be looking for a 50 kilo limit- which I don't think is offered in Quadro. Could be wrong though.

I also had a "failure" in my dish drawer. The drawers are slightly more than 35". The soft-close hardware failed and it turned out it was the 75-lb. version when it was supposed to be the 100-lb. version. I think they're Salice. The cabinet company replaced it. I still keep my large soup bowls in a different drawer from the rest of the dishes - they're heavy and we don't use them very often.

carrieb-here is my old 2013 thread asking the same question. Blum v. Hettich

I ended up paying the upgrade for blum in the kitchen and have hettich in the master bath. Is there a difference? Yes. My kitchen drawers close first push every.single.time, smooth as silk. Mater bath - not always with one push. Sometimes they don't 'grab'. Big deal? No but it would drive me nuts in the kitchen since it's high use and used by more than just me. DH's drawers in the master are ajar on a daily basis. I close them. :) If it was the kitchen it would drive me mad. Plus add in 2 boys who would care less if they are closed or not. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks, folks. I just emailed my KD asking her about the weight limit. I think I'm driving her crazy, and it drives me nuts that I think that...

Grrrr. Just got this response from the KD: "Hi Carrie. The weight limit is 75lbs for both the Hettich and the Blum."

Grrrr. I have 3 - 36" drawers & 3 - 39" drawers.

I don't know enough about the drawer construction. Maybe Livewireoak and Xedos can provide you the correct model numbers for the drawer glides to match the drawers they are building you.

Glad you asked the question rather than be disappointed in the end.

Good luck!

It's frustrating. I specifically asked about the width of the drawers & weight, and she assured me that they'd be fine. And now she's saying that the limit is 75lbs, and people here are telling me that's not enough. I want to ask her if she'll honor a lifetime warranty if the drawers can't support the weight of my dishes, cast iron pots, etc.

I just wrote to the KD & asked if her cabinet company would honor a lifetime guarantee if the drawer glides failed from excess weight from my cast iron cookware & ironstone dishes. I'm afraid she'll read that as being combative, and maybe it is, but...

You are paying for these cabinets Carrie. Do you work for your money? If you do, get what you need to support your kitchen. This is not a pair of shoes that you will replace next season. Many only get to do one of two kitchens in a lifetime. Tell her to stop until she can give you all the information you need to make an informed decision. It takes a lot of effort to make money for me so I am cautious how I spend it.

What type of drawers are being made? Dovetail? Plywood? MDF? Wood? Are they framed or frameless? This will impact what type of glides you specify. The weight of the material being used to make the drawer is also factored into the weight capacity. If they are using MDF, it is heavy and could leave very little weight for items to go into the drawer.

Good luck!

Homepro -dovetail plywood, frameless. She just asked me to let her know which drawers would be above capacity (truthfully, I don't have a scale...) but I gave her the two 36" drawers where I plant to keep pots & pans. I'm assuming that she'll get back to me with the up charge amount. There are also two 39" drawers, but I'm planning to keep linens & plastic food storage containers, etc. in them.

Good news... KD just got back to me. She said that for heavy duty glides, their production manager prefers Blum, so they've upgraded the two drawers to heavy duty Blum glides at no extra charge. I did not ask her the weight capacity for the two. I'm sensing strain in the relationship, and don't want to compromise that any further before the job is done... Work is scheduled to start on Monday.

Unless those Blum are the 50 kilogram models they won't support any more weight than the "standard" slides !

Better to strain now when you have some leverage , than later when you have little, and cabinet co. is outa your life. And you're unhappy with underperforming AND mis-matched glides.

I'd not mix brands on the slides - it's going to drive you nuts.

You're right, xedos. I just emailed asking for the capacity...

As far as mixing the glides, I don't think it will drive me nuts. Keeping fingers crossed, but I think I've not got much fight left in me at this point. At least, whatever I do, I need to save for future fights...

CarrieB,

I would be worried if the KD was frustrated with me before the cabinets were delivered. I think this may show that issues will not be dealt with easily. At least they are still responding to you now.

Good luck!

Ugh. I think she's been frustrated with me almost from the start - when I brought back ideas & disagreed with stuff she said based on what I learned here...

Always remember - this is your money and your reno and will be your Kitchen - *not* your KD's. Always, always, always keep that in mind. You have every right to be an informed consumer, to ask questions and to get the reno that you deserve. Actually, I suspect that she prefers your type of customer than one who knows nothing and then is full of complaints at the end of the job.

i'm not sure why the heavy duty hardware isn't recommended for wider drawers by the cabinet manufacturers/KD's. It should be. I have four 36" drawers & the KD replaced the hardware on 3 of them. Initially, they were going to charge me (parts & labor) but then decided to replace them free of charge. I store tupperware in the 4th but I wish I would have had all four done. I would seriously consider adding the heavy duty to the two 39" drawers, even if you have to pay for those two. There was a recent discusssion about cost difference & if I remember correctly, it was $25 per drawer to go from standard to HD.

Since my drawer glides were replaced, Blum has made model number changes with increased weight limits to the Blum Tandem Plus Blumotion glides/slides. Some of the distributors still have the old hardware. If your drawers are standard depth, here are the part numbers & weight limits for both the old & the new hardware. Dynamic is when the drawer is being opened. Static is when it is closed.

Standard Glides:

#562 (old model) 75 lb dynamic/100 lb static

#563 (new model) 90 lb dynamic/100 lb static

Heavy Duty Glides:

#568 HD (old model) 110 lb dynamic/125 lb static

#569 HD (new model) 135 lb dynamic/150 lbs static

You won't see the hardware, so mixing the Hettich & Blum shouldn't be a problem. Best of luck getting this resolved. One less thing to worry about.

I don't agree romy.

While you won't see it , you will feel a difference.

Agree with Xedos. No way would I mix the two. You'll always regret it. The contrast in motion between the two will peeve you every single time you open a Hettich and mentally compare it to the Blum. Better to have the project designed for the Blum from the beginning.

I do agree with xedos & greendesigns. I know the Hettich was going to save you some money.

Thanks, folks. I'm pretty sure that having two different glides would not bother me. There are things that bother me, and I doubt very much that this would be one of them.

What bothers me here, is that my KD's knowledge, professionalism, and integrity is in question. She said that she believes the Hettich and Blum to be equally good. When I questioned her about her company's warranty should I exceed the weight limit with my cast iron pots, she said that they'd upgrade those 2 drawers to the Blum.

Now, I haven't (it's only been since yesterday afternoon, but still...) heard back about what the Blum weight limit is. But, assuming that they'd upgrade to Blum AT THE SAME WEIGHT LIMIT for the two heaviest weight-bearing drawers - how can they believe that they're the same quality?

Didn't your KD say for heavy duty, they like Blum better. I would think she is referring to Blum's HD glides. But I wouldn't assume, so sending an email to have her clarify was smart.

The reason I know the parts numbers is because I had to find them for my KD. She wasn't aware HD glides existed. The installers knew all about them but by the time you get to installation, you've got the standard glides. I really like & respect my KD. She did a great job with my kitchen. I think the "as many drawers as possible" for lower cabinets isn't as popular for the standard kitchen as it is on GW.

Still haven't heard back from her on the weight limit. Because she initially said that "both are 75lbs" I assume that that's what she was referring to, but I don't know.

Carrie - keep in mind that warranties are only good if you don't misuse/abuse the product and that you comply with the manufacturer's specs. In this case, if you put more than 75 pounds in a drawer with glides only rated to 75 pounds, the manufacturer is not obligated to honor the warranty b/c you "misused" the drawers. Many, I think, will still honor the warranty, but they are not obligated to. The more reputable will most likely honor it, but it's not a guarantee.

Buehl - thank you. That, I know. I don't expect everyone to read through all the comments in a long thread - but I did address that here.

The runners from blum and hettich are equal in quality in my opinion, so don't chide your KD for that.

The hettich ones offer more lateral stability than the blum, but the blum ones have a smoother glide. They cost roughly the same price and have the same weight capacities.

It's kinda like saying which car is better Benz or BMW ?

In the U.S. - Blum has better retail market penetration, so that's why people get all giddy when Blum is mentioned.

Xedos - thank you. You say that they cost roughly the same - but the KD quoted me a $250 up charge for Blum on my nine draws, so, $25 (edited to correct: almost $28) extra per drawer. Do you think that should not be the case? And if the quality is roughly the same, with the same weight capacity, then I wonder why the KD's production manager suggested the Blums for the two drawers that would be used for my heaviest items. Not questions I expect you to know the answers to, just mostly thinking out loud.

I don't have a scale, but I do wonder how much my pots & pans weigh...

You're asking the right questions and are correct - I don't have the answers.

My guess is we don't have all the facts. And it's the details that count.

KD just wrote back. 135 dynamic load for the two. I'm going to leave it be for the the two 39" drawers. I'm OK with that.

Hi Carrie, sounds like those glides will do the job. It's great they upgraded them for you for free! I think leaving the others is a good call. If worst comes to worst (which it hopefully won't) it's something you can change later, as others have done.

I am an occasional poster but mostly a lurker, and I have been following your process from the beginning. I just wanted to say how thrilled I am for you that your reno is starting next week! (Living vicariously, since my own is still years away.) You may be more stressed at this point than excited, but you've planned really carefully and your new kitchen is going to be amazing.

Do you know how long it is supposed to take? Good luck, hang in there, and please keep us posted!!

Great news Carrie!

Atmoscat - thanks for your vote of confidence! This kitchen thing can be such an emotionally trying thing - a confidence struggle for so much of it, for me. It's so nice to hear you say that I've planned carefully!

Romy - yay! I'll have to update everyone on how it ends up feeling having drawer glides made by two different companies in my kitchen - I'm not at all worried about it, but it will be an interesting experiment.

Carrie - you'll be doing a GW research project. i'm really glad it all worked out. You'll be able to load up those two big drawers with all your heavy stuff & not worry.

CarrieB,

Glad you got that sorted out.

Good luck!

Atmoscat - I forgot to address your question of how long it will take. That's always the big question, right? So, my contractor said 4-6 weeks. Everyone (and their mother) says no way - it will take twice that long. Especially since I'm having exterior work (moving/adding windows/doors) at the same time - on a 200 year old brick house. I'm kind of planning on there being contingencies & uncovered (structural?) problems/issues with the walls & floor.

That said, when I talked to the contractor yesterday, he said he hoped to be done before the Pope comes to town (weekend of September 26.) Now, I'm not holding out too much hope that the kitchen will actually be done-done by then... but wouldn't that be nice?!?

It's so funny your contractor is using the Pope's visit as his target date. But whatever it takes to get him to finish, right? Yes, you never know what you're going to get with an old house (I have one too.) Maybe you'll find some buried treasures (take pictures!) Fingers crossed everything goes as smoothly as possible for you. Now every time I hear about the Pope on the news, I'll think about your kitchen nearing completion! Good luck!!

Atmoscat - right? Now, Philadelphia is predicted to be a madhouse around the time of Pope-mageddon, but really I think it'll just be that weekend (though the week leading up to it's got the Catholic Conference of Families or some such thing that is a big deal) with road closures and mega-security. So, I can see him not wanting to bring trucks & stuff here during that time, though I don't live in the center of all that. Now, I'm just anxious for it to start!

Carrie, I was supposed to do the Fall Rittenhouse Outdoor Art Show the weekend before, but when I heard about the Pope coming and all the hoopla, I cancelled doing the show this year which is a bummer for me since it's my best show of the year.

Ah well. Look for me next fall in booth 114 right across from Parc.

Cpartist - I'll keep an eye out. Love the Rittenhouse Craft sale, and craft sales in general. If we "follow" one another here, we can private message. Would love to take a look at your work Online!