Furniture guides, how to choose the right option, important nuances

Cabinet or modular furniture is often equipped with drawers that are designed to store various small items. They may have different sizes, but their main feature is that they can easily be pulled out and pushed back if necessary. For this, furniture guides are used, which can be presented in several forms. They differ in the installation method and the principle of operation. Their main task is to ensure the smooth and silent use of drawers. At the same time, they must be reliable in order to guarantee a long service life and ease of use of furniture.

Kinds

When choosing furniture rails, you need to pay attention to various factors. The most important parameter is the type of construction, according to which they can be roller or ball, as well as equipped with a closer and differ in reverse action. Each option has both advantages and disadvantages, so to make the right choice, you should study the characteristics of each type.

Roller

The choice of these furniture rails is considered the most popular. They appeared on the market more than 15 years ago, and quickly became popular among furniture manufacturers and ordinary users.

Roller guides for boxes have many advantages:

Do not require the use of lubricating pastes and other compounds;
Provide smooth movement of boxes;
They are easy to install, as there is no need to drill numerous holes under the fasteners.

Such furniture rails are installed on both sides of the recess allocated for the drawer. Small deviations in the dimensions of the furniture and drawer are allowed. Even if you initially made minor installation errors, you can adjust the design. The length of the roller guides can vary from 200 mm to 600 mm.

Ball

Ball guides are considered quite popular due to their smooth running and the ability to withstand a significant load. In addition, they are in an affordable price category. Such telescopic rails can be equipped with closers or produced without them. They consist of two elements, one attached to the drawer and the other attached to the side wall of the furniture. To disconnect them, you must press the special lock.

There are many models of ball furniture rails varying in height, which can vary from 17 to 45 mm. Additionally, they vary in degree of advancement. The most popular are structures whose height reaches 45 mm. They can withstand loads of up to 36 kg, so even large and heavy objects can be stored in boxes.

With closer

Guides for drawers with a closer are considered interesting. They are similar in design to the previous version, the only difference is the equipping of these elements with a closer and dampers. At the expense of the first, the box is picked up in a certain position, after which it gradually closes independently, without any effort on the part of the person.

The damper ensures that the drawer closes smoothly and silently. In addition, it acts as a shock absorber, so even if considerable force is applied to close the drawer, a strong blow and noise are prevented.

Designs with a closer are considered reliable and comfortable to use. They withstand significant loads, and therefore are popular among furniture manufacturers.

Full extension

Full extension guides are in demand with modern designs. They are based on a special ball bearing. Due to this system, a full and smooth opening of any drawer is ensured. To use such an extension system will have to make some efforts.

The rails, providing full drawer extension, are presented on the market in numerous models, the choice depends on the planned load. The installation of such accessories should be carried out with extreme caution, since careless handling is the cause of the violation of the integrity of various parts.

Flush mounting

Installation of guides of this kind is considered the most difficult and longest. But this hardware is becoming increasingly popular, as it is convenient to use. The design is equipped with a closer and a reverse action system.

The indisputable advantage of these furniture elements is that they are installed under the bottom of each drawer, so there is a feeling that the object is floating in the air. Other advantages include good product reliability, as well as the drawer stroke is characterized by smoothness and the absence of extraneous unpleasant sounds. The drawer closes softly and quietly.

Initially, such accessories were installed only on products made of solid wood, but today they are equipped with structures made of chipboard and MDF. Depending on the model, such guides can withstand loads of up to 50 kg.

Reverse action

Such guides are similar in principle to accessories equipped with closers. The only difference is that the drawer opens thanks to a light click on its facade.

A significant advantage of this design is that it is not equipped with any handles or recesses for control. It has an attractive appearance, and also allows you to embed the box in any part of the structure. Often used in the manufacture of furniture in modern styles, where it is important that the glossy surface is not disturbed by any fittings.

Reverse action guides should not be used for children's furniture. They provide a sharp drawer and can injure the child. In addition, to push such a box will require significant effort.

Tandemboxes and metaboxes

Such accessories appeared on the market relatively recently, but quickly became in demand. Design features include:

The guide is located directly inside the side wall of metal;
It is equipped with a closer;
Dampers are certainly applied.

An important advantage of such accessories is the ability to withstand really significant loads. This is especially true in relation to products in which the guides are installed in a hidden way.

Another advantage of such elements is their interesting design, they fit well into furniture made in various styles and sizes. Due to its excellent performance characteristics, ease of use of products and their long service life is ensured. In order for the installation to be done correctly, it is necessary to use special devices for marking. They help to accurately determine the location of the guides and avoid distortions.

I would also like to note the Bloom guides. They combine many of the advantages inherent in various types of furniture fittings. Due to the complexity of the design and ease of use, the cost of such products is considered quite high. Therefore, tandemboxes are usually used in luxury interior items made of natural wood or other similar expensive materials.

How to choose?

When choosing furniture rails, you need to pay attention to various factors. It is at the expense of them that the ability to smoothly and silently open and close various drawers that can be installed in cabinets, chests of drawers, dressing tables, hallways and other types of cabinet furniture is provided.

When choosing products, various factors and recommendations are taken into account:

The dimensions of the guides should ideally match the furniture where the drawer will be installed, as well as this element itself, otherwise the installation will be complicated;
Before buying, you should make sure in the store that the metal has the optimum thickness, and that all rollers or balls work properly;
Outwardly, there should not be any scratches, visible defects or structural integrity violations;
A specific type of guides is selected, as some users prefer roller products, while others prefer ball models;
If guides are chosen instead of obsolete or broken elements, then similar models are usually purchased;
Immediately after the purchase, you need to make sure that the kit includes all the necessary parts for installation;
If you are choosing modern tandemboxes, you should make sure that you can cope with the installation yourself. Such products are considered quite specific, so for installation often have to resort to the help of specialists;
Minimum metal thickness should be 1 mm, but it is better to choose structures where this indicator will not be less than 1.2 mm. This will make it easy to cope with high loads and ensure long-term operation.

Thus, furniture rails are important parts of various interior items. This is a hardware that provides ease of use of drawers. Guides are presented in several forms, each of which works on a specific principle. When choosing a particular design, various factors are taken into account that allow you to get really high-quality elements.