What are drawer guides and what are they for?
Drawers are ideal solutions when it comes to managing space in your home. They help to make better use of the space in a piece of furniture, allowing you to separate and organize utensils, clothes or papers. We can see drawers everywhere, although the places where they are most often seen are in bedrooms and kitchens, allowing you to organize either clothes or kitchen products.
The mechanism for extracting a drawer is called a “ guide ”. Just as doors have hinges, drawers have guides that can be pulled with the aid of a handle to open and close them, always sliding. However, there are different types of drawers , and depending on the installation method and the type of extraction you want to achieve, you will have to choose between one type of guide or another.
Let's look at the types of guides that exist for drawers.
Guides for drawers
Types of guides
I. Full and partial extraction guides
Although we introduce this as a type of guide, this is considered more of a feature that guides have . This is the first thing we explain because once you know that there are full and partial extraction guides, you already have a very narrowed down of the type of guide you may need.
Full-extension guides are those that allow the drawer to be fully extended from the cabinet , while partial-extension guides will leave part of the drawer unextended and access to the bottom of the drawer will be more difficult . You will choose one or the other based on the weight that the drawer will support and, above all, the type of guide that can be installed on it.
Full extraction guides Partial extraction guides
II. Gazelle-type guides or guides with wheels for drawers
Gazelle-type guides or guides with wheels for drawers are the most basic and economical guides that exist. These consist of two parts, one that is installed on the sides of the drawer and another that will be fixed on the sides of the closet, always at the same height on both walls . Once fixed, you only have to fit the part of the drawer into the piece on the side of the closet and using two nylon wheels , one on each side, the drawer can be slid open and closed. The system is as simple as two rails and two wheels .
Guides with wheels or gazelle type
III. Telescopic guides and microguides
Telescopic guides are currently the most commonly used due to their perfect operation, price, ease of installation and variety of extra features they offer. Silent closing or extraction using a click system are some of the extras we are referring to. Likewise, they are two pieces that are installed separately and then joined together, but this time it will not be nylon wheels that make the drawer work, but a bearing system that will make sliding the drawer easy and comfortable.
In addition to this, the robustness offered by these guides will allow them to support high levels of weight without losing functionality and you can choose between guide sizes of all possible sizes to adapt them to your drawers. These guides will be fully removable so access to the inside of the drawer will be easier than in the case of guides with nylon wheels .
Microguides are very thin telescopic guides that work with a ball bearing system. They are normally installed by making a hole in the side of the drawer and inserting the guide into it .
Check out our catalogue of telescopic guides hereIV. Hidden guides (box type)
Box-type guides are strong and robust guides that work using a bearing system, thus allowing for a much smoother closing and opening. These guides offer full extraction and are installed at the bottom of the drawer so that when it is opened, the guides will not be visible . The drawer rests on the guides and is fixed to them on the outermost part . As they are guides with bearings and much more sophisticated systems, they will not only flow better but you will be able to achieve a smooth and silent closing or a click opening without having to install handles on the drawer.
We recommend using this guide if you have space inside your wardrobe between the drawers to be able to install them. It is one of the most modern solutions that will suit you.
V. The most interiorist guide: Hidden drawers
This is the most convenient solution when it comes to making drawers .
The drawer sides, as their name suggests , are the guides and bearings incorporated into the side walls . In this case, the guides are at the bottom of the drawer (just like the hidden guides) and are attached to the side of the drawer so that assembling it means placing the front part in tune with the furniture (or wardrobe), the base of the drawer and the back part. They are quick and easy assembly systems, ideal for professionals, thus offering one of the best solutions with quality and guaranteeing premium operation .
To start a project from scratch , this is certainly the best alternative we offer.
Differences between different types of drawer guides
Below we show you in a table the differences between the different types of guides:
| Telescopic guides | Microguides | Guides with wheels | Hidden Guides | |
| Opening | Bearings | Balls | Wheels | Bearings |
| Extraction | Total | Partial | Partial | Total |
| Type of fixation | Lag screw | Lag screw and embedding | Lag screw | Clip |
| Heavy loads | Yeah | No | No | Yeah |
| Silent closing option | Yeah | No | No | Yeah |
| Opening click | Yeah | No | No | Yeah |
| 3D Regulation | Yeah | No | No | No |
| Visible | Yeah | Yeah | Yeah | No |
Once you have seen the types of guides that exist and you are clear about which one you need, you can start with your project . Here is our catalogue of drawer guides so that you can find the one you already know you need.
Guides for drawers
