How to Install Undermount Soft Close Drawer Glides

Place the empty drawer upside down on the workbench with the front panel facing away from you. Lay the two mounting brackets that came in the soft-close drawer glide kit on top of the underside of the drawer, with the spring-loaded clips facing toward the middle, the open drawer-glide channel facing toward the back, and the screw holes uppermost.

Slide both mounting brackets snugly into their corresponding corners between the front panel and the sides of the drawer. Secure the brackets to the front panel and drawer sides with the screws provided and a cordless drill/driver fitted with a Phillips screwdriver bit.

Extend both drawer glides fully and examine the mechanism. The outer section consists of a long L-shaped channel to be attached to the sides and back of the cabinet drawer opening. The inner telescoping channel mounts onto the bottom of the drawer and has a catch on the front that engages the blue spring-loaded clips on the previously installed orange mounting brackets. There is a forward-facing hook on the back of the inner channel, designed to slot into holes drilled through each side of the rear face of the drawer.

Identify the left and right drawer glides and position the outer L-shaped mounting channels over the side corners of the drawer. Ensure that the catches on the inner mounting channel face toward the spring clips on the drawer brackets, and the forward-facing hooks on the back of the inner mounting channel point toward the back of the drawer.

Extend the telescoping sections. Push the right inner mounting channel toward the front of the drawer with the front lined up with the catch on the blue spring-loaded clip. Hold the channel steady against the side of the drawer. Tap the back gently with a hammer just enough for the tip of the securing hook to mark the back face of the drawer with a shallow indentation; repeat with the left mounting channel.

Clamp a 1/4-inch drill bit in the drill/driver. Place the tip of the drill bit into the right hand indentation on the back of the drawer. Hold the drill at a right-angle to the rear face of the drawer and drill a hole through the back to accommodate the securing hook. Repeat by drilling through the left-hand indentation.

Position the drawer glides back onto the drawer to test fit them. Extend the glides and push both inner mounting channels toward the front of the drawer; the securing hooks should now slide into their corresponding holes; this will allow the inner channel to move forward the rest of the way and engage the catches onto the spring-loaded clips attached to the drawer; once engaged, the glides are held securely in place.

Press the spring-loaded clips inward to release both drawer glides. Slide the glides back and lift them off the drawer.

Fit one of the white plastic rear-mounting brackets over the matching section on the back of the right hand L-shaped mounting channel. Slide the mounting bracket and attached drawer glides into the drawer opening with the bottom face of the L-shaped mounting channel resting on the bottom of the opening; push the L-shaped section sideways so it fits snugly into the right bottom corner.

Place a spirit level on the along the top of the channel. Center the bubble and mark the outline of the white plastic mounting bracket on the back wall of the drawer cabinet with a pencil.

Remove the bracket from the mounting channel, place it against the back of the cabinet and line it up with the outlined marks; secure the bracket to the back of the cabinet with the drill/driver and the screws provided with the kit. Repeat by attaching the left mounting bracket to the back of the cabinet the same way.

Slot both L-shaped mounting channels into the rear brackets. Attach the front of the channels to the sides of the drawer openings through the mounting holes on the side of the channels, using the screws provided and the drill/driver.

Extend the drawer glides fully. Lower the drawer onto the inner mounting channels. Reach under the drawer and press the spring-loaded clips on the bottom front of the drawer inward. Push the drawer in to engage the mounting hooks to the back of the drawer; you will hear the spring-loaded clips snap into place while doing so.

Load the drawer with a heavy tray of cutlery and slide it in and out to test its action.