Convert drawers to trash can pull-out

[Erik Holmes]

Hello all. I am repurposing a buffet/sideboard into a kitchen island, and I would like to convert the lower three drawers pictured into a pullout compartment for two trashcans side by side. It would be easier to just convert one of the cabinet doors on either side, but my wife really wants to be able to get both the trash and recycling out of sight and the cabinets aren't big enough for two cans.

It seems like the easiest way would be to essentially use the bottom drawer as the trashcan holder, gut the shelves supporting the other two drawers, remove those two drawers fronts, attach a piece of plywood to the back of the bottom drawer front, and attach the two now "false" fronts to that piece of plywood, so the whole thing pulls out on the bottom drawer. The bottom drawer slides on a center wooden track, so I imagine I will need to use modern slides to make the unit slide in and out easily enough.

Has anyone tried this? Any perils I am not seeing here? A better way to do it? Any suggestions for what type of slides to use to be able to hold the weight without sagging?

Thanks for the help!

[roger wiegand]

Here's how I did it. Crude but effective, I guess. I just used full extension side mount slides.
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[Justin Ludwig]

100lb rated slide will hold the weight; though you shouldn't pack the trash while in the drawer. Either bottom mount or side mount will work.

Side mount: I'd build a "drop-in" trash can rollout out, making the front of the drawer tall enough to screw the bottom two drawer faces to it as well. Optional heavy duty hardware can be used if you're worried about load. They make them up to 500#.

Bottom mount: I'd do the same thing but in reverse. The rollout front would be part of the drawer and tall enough to attach the the two middle drawer faces. Blum has a 563H for 90# dynamic load and 569 for 135# dynamic load. I have the 563H in my double trash, but they are front/back - not side to side.

[Erik Holmes]

Thanks for the advice. To do sidemount slides I'd have to build a new drawer because there is no clearance between the side of the drawer and the faceframe, so a slide couldn't fit through. No big deal, but I like the idea of using the original drawer with the nice dovetails and such.
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Alternately, maybe I could replace this original wooden bottom slide with a pair of modern bottom slides, one on each side?

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Which do you think would be easier and more effective - building a new drawer to use sidemount slides, or putting bottom mount slide under the drawer?

[Richard Hash]

Why couldn't you glue 3/8" baltic birch ply to the left and right insides of the drawer sides (essentially doubling up the drawer side thickness) and then on the outside (original drawer side) dado out space for side-slides? (like flush inset side slides). Vertical on edge it would be plenty strong enough.

Not sure if the description is sufficient to get the idea?

[Erik Holmes]

Yeah, I think I get it. And I have been sitting here pondering the same thing. Can you point me to a slide product similar to what you're thinking of?

Also, can you think of an advantage to doing it that way rather than concealed undermount slides? For one thing, my poking around online seems to show much less selection of concealed undermount slides, and not a lot of heavy duty ones.

[Richard Hash]

No, I can't point you to a slide product, I'm just thinking if you wanted side-slides you could "inset" them if your heart was set on it (as opposed to being forced to rebuild a new drawer box). If you can find undermount slides heavy duty enough, I would think that would work fine also.

[Erik Holmes]

I think I may just ditch the original boxes and build a custom insert for the job. There is basically zero clearance with these drawers and I'm worried things wouldn't line up perfectly and they'd rub and catch. Building a new custom solution for the job like Roger posted above is probably the way to go. Thanks!

[Garth Snyder]

Here's how I did it. Crude but effective, I guess. I just used full extension side mount slides.
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You might be able to replace the cat with some additional bracing. That would free up the cat for a different use.

[Erik Holmes]

We have two cats I will gladly give to anyone who builds this drawer contraption for me.

[Erik Holmes]

Roger, did you just use standard drawer slides for yours? Does one set of slides seem to do the job ok, or should I add a second set as an upper support?

[Kent A Bathurst]

You might be able to replace the cat with some additional bracing. That would free up the cat for a different use.

IPA on the monitor..................... :p :p

[Jamie Buxton]

Are you sure you can't put a trash can behind each door? That would certainly be lots less work. You can get trash cans in all sorts of sizes. You can turn them so the long axis runs front-to-back.

Here's a page with three several different manufacturers, and among them a dozen or so sizes. http://www.wwhardware.com/cabinet-storage/waste-recycling/accessories

[Erik Holmes]

I'm sure I could do that. But you know how it is with a kitchen remodel - you want what you want.

[Erik Holmes]

And the wife wants the sliding trash can thing. I may or may not have promised it and then forgotten.

[glenn bradley]

I use this method for deep drawer/bin support:

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Tall from and rear, sides support the bottom and the upper "arms" support the extra tall fronts and rears.

[Jamie Buxton]

And the wife wants the sliding trash can thing. I may or may not have promised it and then forgotten.

No argument. But you could turn the door into the front of a pullout much more easily than it is going to take to convert the three drawers to a pullout. And you'd still have the three drawers as drawers.

[Tom M King]

I have a few rules for trashcan pullouts-KV8505 slides regardless of what the rest of the kitchen uses, tall kitchen trashcans only even if the toe kick is included in the "drawer"-required under some sinks, and a dedicated place behind the trashcan on the pullout to hold the largest size box of tall kitchen bags. If you use the shorter cans, the trash has to be taken out more often, and I never liked the bags. I made that mistake in one house in 1991, and years later changed it as a Christmas gift to the owners. One tall one is better than two short ones.

Every buyer of any house I ever sold liked my design.

[Mike Schuch]

When i remodled my kitchen the best thing i did was put in a trash compactor. Now I only take out the trash once a week and we went from a large trash bin to a small one saving us money every month. I got my trash compacor off craigslist for $100 practically new.

[fRED mCnEILL]

When I reno'ed our kitchen 10 years ago the trash container was the instigator for the remodel.
In a 3 stack drawer I cut two holes in the top drawer for 2 plastic garbage cans, one behind the other. They are the size that will hold a standard plastic grocery bag. I then secured the door front for the second drawer to the top drawer so when you open the trash drawer both the top drawer and the next door front down pull out. What this does is put the trash container at counter height.
In actual practice my wife uses the front one for trash and the second one for recycled paper. The bottom drawer(3rd one down) holds plastic bags.My wifes rational for only one trash container is the bigger it is, the more it holds, the longer it stays in the kitchen, and the more chance it has to stink.
About a week ago over breakfast my wife commented on how much she loves her kitchen and how she wouldn't change a thing. Works for us.
I should also add that the drawer slides in the kitchen are all undermount concealed Blums including the trash drawer. As a matter of fact the trash drawer is just a regular drawer(with dovetailed sides) with holes in it for the trash buckets.

[roger wiegand]

Roger, did you just use standard drawer slides for yours? Does one set of slides seem to do the job ok, or should I add a second set as an upper support?

I just used one set of heavy duty slides. We've been using it for about 18 months now and so far so good. It was a bit of a kludge as I was trying to get the kitchen functional when we moved it. If it breaks I will probably do something more elegant. We bought recycled kitchen cabinets from CL, so I had various bits and parts I could rearrange-- a drawer from one cabinet, doors from another.

The cat is actually available for adoption, he's a foster, and a very nice boy.