A client told me my drawer slides were too loud and it changed my whole setup

Last month I finished a kitchen job and the homeowner called me back saying the soft-close drawers sounded like garbage. I was using the same undermount slides I always used for years. They showed me a video of the noise and I could hear this grinding sound I never noticed on site. I switched to Blum slides on the next job and the difference was night and day. Cost me about $80 more per kitchen but the peace and quiet is worth it. Has anyone else had a client call them out on something small like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

sean_murray1mo ago

Blum slides are the gold standard for a reason. That grinding sound is usually the slides binding from not being perfectly parallel or the cabinet box racking when you screw them in.

coleman.jade1mo ago

Oh man, you nailed it. I had a set of Blum undermounts that sounded like a dying cat every time I pulled the drawer out. Turns out my cabinet box was just a hair out of square and I didn't notice until I hung the doors. Once I shimmed the box and made sure both slides were exactly level with each other, the grinding totally disappeared. It's crazy how much a tiny twist in the cabinet frame messes with the whole mechanism. Learned that lesson the hard way on a kitchen remodel last year.