Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
purrus

Rev-a-shelf Tilt-out sink drawers

purrus
9 years ago

Hi.

So, my installers want to install these before the sink and counters are in, but we're afraid of the fact that they might not fit. My sink is 19 inches front to back. Will this be a problem? Has anyone encountered this issue?

Also, while you're at it... do you guys like these things? I want somewhere to stash the stopper, and maybe a cleaning toothbrush, and a sponge or scrubbie. I have read old threads, but it never hurts to ask for other thoughts on the matter.

Thanks!

Comments (14)

  • joygreenwald
    9 years ago

    I wouldn't install before the sink went in. We installed the hinges, but left the tray front off. Good we did. We had to swap a standard for a slim line one. Mine is being installed right now (DH is just getting to it), but I already know I love them from using them at friends' houses.

  • purrus
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Where can you buy these things? I see them online at HD, but they don't have them at my local HD. Amazon has them of course. Is there a place to buy in person so I can exchange if needed?

  • annkh_nd
    9 years ago

    I've had mine for a year, and use it a lot. My wonderful cabinet installer took care of all the details for me. I was talking to the cabinetmaker after install, asking if he would make me a new front for mine - I had put two handles on it, but it didn't open smoothly unless I used them both. I wanted a new front to put on a single pull.

    Instead, he told me that he had just gotten (as in that day) soft-close hinges for tip-out trays! He was there for counter install, and changed out the hinges for me then (no charge). I love my cabinet man!

    Just like you, purrus, mine holds a sink stopper, scrub brush, small plastic scrapers, and a scrubbie. I love not having any of that stuff sitting out on the counter!

  • Pyewacket
    9 years ago

    I would only install them in real wood cabinets. In the particle board veneered crap that most people end up with in their cabinets these days, the screws will eventually pull right out of the particle board, often taking chunks of your cabinet with them.

  • heidihausfrau
    9 years ago

    It was a must have for me. I have always put things there--scrubbers, rubber stopper, etc. I think it makes wasted space useful---even for the small stuff that gets easily misplaced.

  • sjhockeyfan325
    9 years ago

    We had the same issue as joygreenwald - had to swap the regular for the slim version. I like having it, but I keep forgetting. I do have it!

  • lee676
    9 years ago

    > Where can you buy these things?

    Lowes stocks them.

    I always use these. One tip - install the hinges and have your countertop, sink, and the lower doors of the cabinet in place before installing the tray(s) themselves. And then position the trays as low as possble without hitting a cabinet frame support underneath. That way you'll get the most usuable room inside - room to store small sponges on their side for example, and more likelihood things will fit in the first place. My last installer placed them too high, and besides limiting the available height of items placed in the tray, also the top of the cabinet front won't quite close all the wall because the top of the tray sides scrapes the countertop support that frames the top front of the cabinet. I'm going to need to lower the tray about an inch.

    For the neatest installation, install the cabinet pull(s) first and counter-sink the screw, then uses screws to hold the tray onto the inside of the door afterward, usually covering the cabinet pull screw(s). Dont drill a hole through the tilt-out tray to mount the knobs or handles - it doesn't look good from inside and precludes adjusting the position of the tray if necessary.

  • DIY2Much2Do
    9 years ago

    I have tilt-out trays in front of the sink now, and love the storage. In my remodel, we are thinking of using an apron-front sink for the look, but I'm afraid I'll miss that convenient storage. We may need to rethink that one...

  • scrappy25
    9 years ago

    lee676, Does the tilt out drawer front come down far enough to get a screwdriver in there to install the tip out tray after counters and sink are in? When I was looking at the revashelf instructions it does not look like the door front tips down very far so I though that the tray had to be installed before sink and counters.

  • andreak100
    9 years ago

    scrappy - you just need a right angle screwdriver if there isn't enough room. Very handy to have one of these in your house anyway.

    To answer the OP question about if I like mine - yes, I do, quite a bit. It doesn't hold a lot...but what it does hold is great. We had one in our previous house and we loved having it. The one thing that was annoying in the previous house was that the hinges weren't soft close (nothing else in that kitchen was either though), but now rev-a-shelf makes them with the soft close hinges.

    In our new kitchen we have just one long tray. In retrospect, I think that I would have preferred two shorter ones. Oh, and we did the metal tray...we had the plastic ones before...I think that I would prefer the plastic again since they didn't have the sharp corners that the metal one does (the metal one's sharper corners are harder to clean)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Right angle screwdriver

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    9 years ago

    "I wouldn't install before the sink went in. We installed the hinges, but left the tray front off. Good we did. We had to swap a standard for a slim line one."

    That is countertop fabricator error; they cut the sink cut-out too close to the front. I worked for a shop that had a checklist with "Tipouts? Yes or No" so we didn't make the same mistake.

    Install them completely so the fabricator can see them when he templates.

  • scrappy25
    9 years ago

    Oooh- thanks for the tip on the right hand screwdriver! I am going to buy one .

  • lee676
    9 years ago

    I can't remember whether a short stubby screwdriver was necessary or not to install it. You can get ratcheting 90-degree screwdrivers that need only an inch (or less) of clearance, or use a socket wrench with the right size hex socket and a screwdriver bit of the sort used with power screwdrivers. The pic below is from an older installation I did; on a newer one with the same 24"w sink cabinet I used the double tray kit intended for a 30"w cabinet with two tilt-out trays in 15"w panels side by side; the two trays will fit the full width of the 24"w panel if placed next to each other and you'll have a spare set of hinges.

    {{!gwi}}

  • CEFreeman
    9 years ago

    I had to use a stubby.

    In my case, they're (2) in my MBR vanity. Toothbrushes, toothpaste and an occasional right.

    Had I to do it over again, I would have put them in before the counter and sink. It was a huge PIA trying to wiggle myself around to get them in.

    I wish I'd known about the soft close ones. I ended up having to jam the hinge open to screw it in. It wanted to snap hard on me. To this day, if I let it close on its own, it throws the contents into the drawer below.

    Oh -- and after I quit trying to follow the directions, installation was a breeze. No joke. The instructions just made the darned thing a few hours more difficult.