What shims should I use?

6 years ago

Hello, my spice pullout is not sitting right in the cabinet. It's an Ikea cabinet that was cut down to to this size, so the guy clearly didn't do it quite right. The Rev a shelf people said to shim up the rear to make the top front sit flush with the bottom (see photos). As of now the top is further back than the bottom. They had no advice on what type of shim to use or how to do it. I've never shimmed anything, so any advice is much appreciated. There isn't much room back in there, so I'm not sure how to tap the shims into place. obviously I'll have to loosen the screws enough to slide them in, but I'm not totally sure where to go from there. It'll be hard to get the exact amount and I'm worried about the particle board holding up to being screwed in and out. I already had to do that a few times because the sliding mechanism on the Rev a shelf arrived damaged and that wasn't visible to the naked eye before installing. Thanks!

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Comments (6)

Phoebe Zajac
Original Author
6 years ago
Here's the mechanism. It wouldn't let me add it to the post on my phone.
User
6 years ago
Put a level on it in all 6 dimensions. And check the diagonals. If the cabinet is level, the insert should be level. If it’s racked, or out of plane, the cabinet is what has to be fixed.
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graywings123
6 years ago
How wide is that cabinet? It sounds like Rev-a-Shelf is telling you to put a block of wood under the back of the mechanism so it is level with the front.
Seabornman
6 years ago
Buy a pack of "fender washers" of an appropriate size, maybe 1-1/2" diameter, not very thick. Remove the rear screws and slip one or two washers under the track, then re-attach. You may have to do this more than once. You may get close enough with the washers. If you have to fine tune with a shim thinner than another washer, slip a piece of thin cardboard in the mix.
ci_lantro
6 years ago
Don't make any adjustments to the pull-out until you are sure that the cabinet is level and plumb. Because looking at the photo, the pull out cabinet doesn't look plumb relative to the stove front.
Phoebe Zajac
Original Author
6 years ago
The stove was leveled incorrectly, so ignore that. I've got to fix it myself. The cabinet probably isn't quite level and plumb, but unfortunately it is too late to fix anything since the counter is on. I planned all of this myself, having never done anything like this, and my installer wasn't very good even though he had hundreds of 5 start reviews and only 3 bad ones that had nothing to do with his work. Hindsight 20/20, but nothing can be done about it as far as I know. I was on tight schedule trying to get it done before our baby came, so I couldn't postpone the counter installation. @Seabornman Thank you. That may work perfectly.