Is this a reasonable price for custom shelves?

I finally got around to getting a free consultation for glide out shelves in my tall narrow deep hole of kitchen / pantry cabinet. The designer suggested 8 shelves: 6 single height ones, one double height, and one triple height. For 8 shelves in the basic line, it's $2247 or $2368 if I want the shelves to have a cut out handle. The same number of shelves in the premium line (actual wood) is $2614, cut out handle included. The prices include a discount from a company ad coupon I clipped out of the newspaper.

Do you think these are reasonable prices? I know hardware stores and such sell glide out shelves but my cabinet is just a weird size which the store-ready ones aren't available in. Plus I'm no good with drills and whatever tools are needed to install shelves

For that kind of money, it's worth getting another estimate.   That does sound very high, but since they're custom built perhaps it's not that unreasonable.  What really surprises me is that they are not real wood for that price.   I don't think I'd pay that much for particle board.  What kind of material would the shelves be? 

take you take a photo of the space where you want the shelves?

I used to work at the Container Store and I am curious.. maybe I can give some ideas

The basic shelves are made with 9 ply birch plywood. The premium one is real hardwood. The shelves feature full extension rails, are treated with a stain resistant protective coating, and have options like dividers and a short front but taller back and various configurations to fit into existing cabinets. The prices also include labor and delivery.

I'm leaning towards the premium one because it looks more polished than the basic one. The designer brought sample shelves with her. Leroy had to check out the shelves but oddly otherwise wasn't very interested
The bottom part:


The cabinet is 22.5 inches deep. The interior measures 17 inches but because of the door frame, the opening is just 15 inches. The bottom shelf of both the top and bottom sections have a lip.The shelves are fixed in place with plastic clip things on all four corners.

That price sounds quite high. Can you please clarify - do you mean this price is for someone to make and install custom pull-out shelves into your existing pantry?
If that is the case, then no!
Having done a few renos in the last couple of years (gutting apartments and refinishing, new kitchen, new bath) I do know that anything to do with a kitchen gets expensive. But we just put in a new kitchen next door last summer for $1800 cabinets + $2000 quartz countertops. And Canada is always more expensive than the States. So much so that a few years ago we contemplated a trip to PA to buy real wood ones to bring back here. But customs was too much of a hassle.
I would strongly advise you to get several quotes.

Home Depot does custom work.  You can get a quote from them to compare.

pushylady said:

That price sounds quite high. Can you please clarify - do you mean this price is for someone to make and install custom pull-out shelves into your existing pantry?
 

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Yes, exact measurements of my existing cabinets will be taken and shelves will be built exactly to those measurements to fit into the cabinets.

There aren't any other local companies that do similar custom shelves A few closet design companies but none do kitchens. And general kitchen remodleing kitchens or cabinetry companies.

I'm not handy with tools at all and would have to hire a handyman or someone to install the shelves. I would prefer to have a company make the shelves and have their own professional installers to put the shelves in.

LTS3 said:

 
Yes, exact measurements of my existing cabinets will be taken and shelves will be built exactly to those measurements to fit into the cabinets.

There aren't any other local companies that do similar custom shelves

A few closet design companies but none do kitchens. And general kitchen remodleing kitchens or cabinetry companies.

I'm not handy with tools at all and would have to hire a handyman or someone to install the shelves. I would prefer to have a company make the shelves and have their own professional installers to put the shelves in.

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have you checked in your area to see if there are any amish or mennonite craftsmen? they do excellent work, and their prices are generally lower than other contractors. i'm thinking that for those prices, you may very well be able to have a new cabinet(s) made and installed.

i had my roof torn off and a new metal roof put on over two years time -- had it split up, doing one roof level at a time. i hired an amish owned roofing company to do it, and they did a wonderful job. the amish take pride in a job well done, done right. and they really work hard too.

Do you really want to give the pantry a complete overhaul, or just sliding shelves?

*Puts on The Container Store name tag and apron*

Elfa makes easy gliders which may be your best bet: 

http://www.containerstore.com/videos/index.htm?videoId=222

Elfa may have them that just may fit your pantry size- the "Narrow" Size is almost 21" Deep and 13" wide and will fit your door frame. comes in different basket heights which I find nice!

Easy to install. Comes in white and platinum (plus you can put a tag on the baskets to keep your items organized and in proper places!)

A couple of Lazy Susans will really help for the higher shelves. 

http://www.containerstore.com/s/kit...uble-bamboo-turntable/123d?productId=10023477

I've noticed you have a lot of spices and smaller jars.. how about a nifty Pull-Down Spice Rack to put on the top shelf?

http://www.containerstore.com/s/kit.../pull-down-spice-rack/123d?productId=10000899 

I love this thing, lol.

I've also noticed you have items in clear containers.. how about something with a handle to make it easier to take down?

http://www.containerstore.com/s/kit...ndled-storage-baskets/123d?productId=10022155

it is clear too so you can see what's inside.

Stacking shelves like this would be great for the dishes, bowls and cups:

http://www.containerstore.com/s/kit...mesh-stacking-shelves/123d?productId=10022157

Above would be a couple hundred bucks.. better than thousands.

Man I miss working at The Container Store for reasons like this.

EDIT: had to add more links.. I need to walk away before I drive to your house to redo your pantry myself.. LOL

I had pull out shelves installed in a similar style cabinet and two regular cabinets.   The price was a little over $3400.  The brand is Shelf Genie.   You should google them and see if they server your area.   I had my closet done over and the closet guy suggested them.

In my case I had only two installed in the top and left the upper shelf as it is because I can't reach that high to get things off it.  Actually the second shelf is a stretch to reach but I still like it. 

The bottom has only three pull outs.  Mine do not have cut out handles.   But they are real wood.

The only advice I would give is to pay attention to the height between the shelves.  I ended up putting one original stationary shelf in between the top two pull outs in the lower section because the distance between them was bigger than I expected.  This is not a problem because mostly I just store cat food cans there.  

The installer has asked about what the tallest things I had planned to store on each shelf.  Apparently he did not fully understand what I wanted.  Unfortunately he had left before I noticed. 

I live in a high cost area so prices here tend to be up there A tiny studio apartment with nothing included or amenities rents the same amount as these custom shelves Kind of want to plan ahead if I ever sell, too. Glide out shelves would add value, IMO. Other units in the building have the same cabinet but I don't know how others are using theirs.

The main issue is that the cabinet is soo deep. Things get pushed way into the back and are a pain to dig out later. Having clear bins and such does help a bit but I still have to dig them out. I keep my dishes in there and it's a delicate job to extract what I need without dropping it or a ceramic cup or something on the floor. A sliding shelf would make it so much easier to get what I need. I need a step stool to each the upper shelves, my 3 step ladder if I need to get to the very top shelf but even using that I can't reach way into the back of the shelf so there's a lot of wasted unusable space up there. I'm short

The pantry cabinet just needs shelves. I think with some cleaning I can toss out a lot of old stuff. But what's left needs to be better organized and I need better access to them.

I'll take a trip to the local Container Store and see if someone there has any other suggestions.

Wow, that seems high. We spent that much for our entire pantry unit, top and bottom! (Well, Rick works for a cabinet manufacturer, so we were able to get them at cost. But still, that seems so high.) I understand having to have them custom-made for your cabinet. I get that. 

I think you need a few more estimates. And I do agree with mickNsnicks2mom, to see if there are any Amish/Mennonites in your area (I'm not sure where you live). They do such beautiful work and they're not overly expensive at all.

Do you know your neighbors in the building well enough to talk to them about how they deal with their cabinet?

I know where you're coming from about the depth issue. Before we did the kitchen over, we had this closet in the kitchen. That closet made me spastic. The shelves were so deep and there were no lights in there. I had to remove a dozen things just to get to the item I wanted. I was constantly moving things around on those shelves to get to what I wanted. And it seemed that no matter what I wanted, that was at the back of the shelf.

Even now, I need the step-stool to get to the top shelf of that cabinet. So no matter what, sometimes it's a losing proposition. I just try to store items up there that I don't use that often.

I wish you luck with what you do.....and please, take some pictures. I love to see pictures of kitchen stuff.

good luck!

What about baskets and trays? Someone suggested that to me. It's a non permanent solution and won't leave holes in the cabinet. And easily swapped out for new baskets / trays if needed. I'd probably still need to completely remove a basket or tray to get to items that somehow made their way to the back

What about something like this for the bottom?
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/30326177/
You could take a few shelves and fit it in. That way you could have pull-out drawers without drilling holes. Downside is they're a lot smaller than the cabinet.

Or if drilling holes then you can do this:
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.11-inch-soft-close-wood-drawer-box.1000751852.html
http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/pull-out-organizer-12-in-1423399p.html

I put in four pull-out wire drawers in our base cabinets. There was nothing but shelves, and getting stuff in and out was very annoying. I love the drawers. They were $35 each, but mine only measure 18"deep x 11"wide. You'd have about 4" wasted space at the back. I'm trying to find other ones for you because I know I've sen options at Home Depot before, but I can't seem to find it online.

ETA: This from Home Depot is a bit bigger:
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.multi-use-basket---12125-inches-wide.1000751300.html

This style of drawer is very easy to install. You just need to drill four holes in the shelf and screw the frame onto the shelf (much easier than the sides of a cabinet which you need exact measurements for). The basket inserts into the frame, and you're done.

I was lookng at a similar item at The Container Store: http://www.containerstore.com/s/bat...elfa-mesh-bath-drawers/12d?productId=10021432 I think for dry goods it would be fine. Not sure how it would hold up to stoneware dishes and mugs and various other heavy things. I suppose I could rearrang the placement of everything in the cabinet: dry goods in the bottom section and dishes etc in the top section.

Also these:

http://www.containerstore.com/s/elf...00&green=6B00C3F6-4802-5DEC-B122-A0496024B850

http://www.containerstore.com/s/kit...l-out-cabinet-drawers/123d?productId=10017298

I think a glide out shelf would be able to clear the lip at the bottom shelves. It's not very high:


The lip on the very bottom shelf. Bottom shelf of top section is the same.

I'm going to try to go to the Container Store next weekend and do one of those consulation / design things. And check out their selection of decorative baskets.

Here are the clips that are on each shelf:


Anyone know how to remove the clips? Judging by the holes in the side of the cabinet the shelves must be movable  

You should be able to pull those clips right out.. but I can't tell if the top and bottom part of the clips are one piece.. and if so, you'd need to slide the shelf out, and I am not sure how you can do that with the door jamb there. Can you tap one side of the shelf from the bottom and push it upwards off the clips?

Looks like the gliders may be able to pass over the lip on the shelf. If not, you can get a thin piece of plywood to level it out.

You've gotten a lot of great ideas on this thread. I can't see what you decide on!

The clips are one piece. There's a slot in the middle of each clip that the shelf sits in.

I should have Googled it Looks like I just need to press in the tab on the top part of the clip and ease out a shelf corner and then repeat for the next clip

LTS3 said:

The clips are one piece. There's a slot in the middle of each clip that the shelf sits in.

I should have Googled it :doh3: Looks like I just need to press in the tab on the top part of the clip and ease out a shelf corner and then repeat for the next clip :doh3:

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Ha! I couldn't tell if there was a button tab on the clips. Glad you got it figured out!!

I didn't know there were tabs either It just looks like the top part of the clip holds the shelf in place while the bottom part supports it. Well it's good to know that my shelves are adjustable now

I measured the cabinet again. The top half is 27 inches and the bottom is about 48.5 inches. Maybe I can remove the upper shelves and put in a lower height drawer in the space (@Draco like this one? Only 17.5 tall so can probably keep a shelf or two above it) to contain most of the dry goods and keep the shelves / add in some glide outs to the the bottom part for the dishes, reamining dry foods, and other stuff The one problem of a drawer is that it's not as deep as the cabinet so I'm going to have a few inches of wasted space.

Random thought here - I do have 3 other upper cabinets, 10.5 inches deep and with two shelves  each. The one to the left of the stove and microwave has plastic food storage containers. The one on the other side of the stove and microwave is mostly canned cat food and treats and cat-stuff. The one next to the pantry cabinet has glasses and miscellaneous other thngs I rarely used. Maybe some of this stuff can swap places, like the plastic containers into the pantry and the spices moved to the stove area (not athat I cook much).

Oh, and there's a cabinet over the fridge which is just as deep as the pantry cabinet but twice as wide. I use that for baking pans and colanders and to store BJ size boxes of snacks. There's a cabinet above the microwave but it's a pain to access so I don't use it. Plus the electircal outlet for the microwave is in there and I'm paranoid about a fire starting in there