# drawer side height



## rut (Nov 17, 2011)

Just wondering, is there a standard for how high to make drawer sides compared to the opening height?

My kitchen cabs have 5" high openings and two of them have 9" high openings. I was thinking maybe height - 1" for the sides. Does that sound right?

Thanks,
Rut


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Deduct 1 inch from the width and 1 inch from the height.

You are correct Rut.


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## skipj (Mar 6, 2012)

You are close with the 1in. H but keep in mind what slides you use. The top drawer in kitchen cabinets
is generaly 5 1/4 in. and the drawer box is 4 1/4 in. so you could be ok unless you use undermounts,you
have to check. For the bigger boxes there is no rule, make them what you want, generally there could be
5 or 6 in a 9in. box. Go to a kitchen cabinet store and look at some desplays. Also you must know what
slides you use as it will dictate H & W of drawer box clerences.


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## huff (May 28, 2009)

Rut, If you make your drawers 1" less the the opening height, you will be fine. As far as your deep drawers go, that is depending on what you plan on using them for, but it's not necessary to have them 8" deep if you have a 9" opening. Something like 6" should be fine. Decide on your slides that you will be using to determine the width of your drawer boxes. Most of your slides require 1/2" on each side for clearance,( 1" total). but a lot of your undermount slides like blum, etc only require 3/16" on each side for clearance, (3/8" total).... and they require the bottom of your drawer box be recessed 1/2".


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## rut (Nov 17, 2011)

Thanks for the info. I'm using regular side mount slides (heavy duty for the deeper drawers for pots/pans). I figure keeping the drawers to H - 1" would prevent stuff from falling out the back side should the get packed too high (of course that will never happen


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## JAGWAH (Dec 15, 2009)

All good advice Rut,
but as for me I try to keep things simple. If I have a bank of drawer openings that may vary I'll find a common height for most of them and only change if the difference between drawers is greater than 2". This keeps my work simple and uniform, no confusion.


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