Installation guide
How to install a pull out trash can drawer
This guide is for the homeowner or cabinet shop with a trash pull out box on the bench, a pair of 21 in undermount runners and a cabinet door about to become a drawer front: the runners, the clips, the door, the retainer panel and the adjustments that line everything up.
Quick answer. Installing a pull out trash can drawer is four jobs: take the door off its hinges and clear the opening, screw a pair of 21 in undermount runners to the cabinet sides (or to the floor if the opening is wider than the box), press the locking clips onto the box and hang it, then screw the door to the tall box front from inside with four truss head screws. A Gritly trash box is the opening minus 3/8 in wide, so in a 12, 15, 18, 21 or 22 1/2 in opening the runners mount straight to the sides with no spacers. That is 1/32 in narrower than Blum’s 42 mm inside width rule (13/32 in with 5/8 in sides), inside Blum’s +0 / −1.5 mm inside width tolerance, so the runner seats the same. Plan on an hour or two the first time.
Ready to build it? The configurator prices every choice live and draws your box in 3D before you order.
What you need before you start
| What it is | |
|---|---|
| WE SHIP | The dovetailed box, the opening minus 3/8 in wide and 21 in deep, with an 11 1/4 in front in Baltic Birch or 14 1/4 in in Hard Maple (Select Grade); the loose 1/2 in Baltic Birch retainer panel cut for your cans; the 1/4 in divider on the single and side by side setups; Blum clips if chosen |
| YOU BUY | A 21 in runner pair (Blum TANDEM 563H, MOVENTO 763 or 769R, or a Blum waste/recycle set) from our undermount slides; T51.1901 or T51.7601 locking devices from clips and brackets if we did not fit them; cans and lids in your setup’s size; four #8 truss head screws, 1 1/8 in for a 1/2 in front or 1 1/4 in for a 5/8 in front; 3/4 in filler strips if the opening is wider than the setup |
| TOOLS | Drill driver with a 1/8 in pilot bit, tape, square, two clamps, double sided tape, a few thin shims |
Step 1: take the door off and clear the opening
Unscrew the door from its hinges, then take the hinges and their mounting plates out of the cabinet: on a frameless cabinet the plates sit on the side, exactly where the runner goes, and on a face frame cabinet on the stile, where the box would catch them. Pull the shelf and its pins.
Measure the clear width at the top, middle and bottom and keep the smallest. It should be the opening your setup names, 12, 15, 18, 21 or 22 1/2 in, with the box 3/8 in narrower. If it is wider, glue and screw a filler strip to each side, the full depth of the cabinet and flush with the front, to bring it down to the setup width: a 16 1/2 in opening with the 15 in setup wants 3/4 in a side. The trash pull out measuring guide covers the readings and the height check.
Step 2: mount the runners on the cabinet sides or the floor
Undermount runners rest on the cabinet floor and screw to the sides at the front and the back. Set each one flush with the cabinet front, or with the face of the frame on a face frame cabinet, and square to it; Blum allows a cabinet bottom recess of up to 1/4 in under its TANDEM 563H and its waste/recycle sets. Drive the front screws, check that the runner sits the same distance from the side at both ends, then drive the rear screws. Our undermount install guide shows the mounting on any cabinet.
Floor mount when the opening is wider than the box. Blum’s TANDEM 563H and MOVENTO 769R have floor mounting holes, and Blum’s TANDEM plus BLUMOTION waste/recycle sets (568R series, 21 in) are pre assembled floor mount sets for 12, 15 and 18 in minimum openings, rated by Blum at 125 lb static with a 1/4 in maximum bottom recess. The set screws to the floor on Blum’s template, so the sides can be wider than the box. Name the set or the 769R in the configurator; the trash pull out slides guide compares every runner.
Step 3: press on the locking clips and hang the box
The locking devices are the clips under the front corners that latch the box to the runners. If you chose “Install the matching Blum locking clips” they are on; otherwise press a left and a right device onto the underside of the front in Blum’s position, the T51.1901 for a TANDEM 563H or the T51.7601 for MOVENTO, from our clips and brackets category. Pull both runners out, set the box on them with its back over the runner hooks, and push it in: the hooks enter the holes we drilled and the clips snap over the runners with a click. Run it a few times with no door on; if it binds, fix it now with the adjustment guide, because a door hides the problem.
Step 4: turn the cabinet door into the drawer front
The door becomes the drawer face, screwed to the tall box front from inside.
Deal with the hinge holes
The 35 mm cup holes stay in the back of the door: the lower one hides behind the box front and the upper one faces the inside of the cabinet. Leave them or press in 35 mm caps, and keep every screw clear of them; only about 1/4 in of wood is left behind a cup.
Set the reveal
Close the empty drawer, hold the door against the box front and shim it until the gaps match the doors beside it. Two strips of double sided tape on the front hold it while you check.
Screw from inside
Pull the drawer open with the taped door, clamp it, and drive four #8 truss head screws from inside the box through the front into the door, two high and two low, clear of the cups: the front thickness plus about 5/8 in, so 1 1/8 in on a 1/2 in front or 1 1/4 in on a 5/8 in front, and never longer than the front plus the door minus 1/8 in.
Add the handle
Drill through the door; where a hole lands on the box front, drill through both and use a longer screw. With push to open hardware there is no handle; see the push to open guide.
Square the door to its neighbors with the hardware, not the screws: Blum’s runners have tool free height and tilt adjustment and the locking devices move the front side to side; our guide to adjusting undermount slides shows all three.
Step 5: set the retainer panel and test fit the cans
The retainer panel is a loose 1/2 in Baltic Birch panel that rests near the top of the low back section of the box, with an opening cut for each can. Set it in, drop the cans through so they stand on the drawer bottom, and close the drawer. The rims should clear the countertop or the rail above by a finger’s width: the 20 in of opening height 35 qt cans need and the 24 in for 50 qt cans, plus 1 in with lids. The panel lifts out to clean under the cans; on the 12, 21 and 22 1/2 in setups the storage compartment, about 4 1/4 in deep, sits in front of the cans. A can that rubs its opening is the wrong size; the bins and lids guide lists the three.
Face frame or frameless, overlay or inset: what changes
| Face frame cabinet | Frameless cabinet | |
|---|---|---|
| CLEAR OPENING | Between the frame stiles, not the cabinet sides | Between the cabinet sides; a 24 in cabinet is usually 22 1/2 in inside |
| RUNNER FRONT AND BACK | Front screwed to the frame, flush with its face; back on the side if it is flush with the frame, otherwise a rear bracket (Blum 295.3750 on a 563H or 763H) or blocking | Front screwed to the side, flush with the cabinet front; back on the side |
| BOX WIDTH | Frame opening minus 3/8 in | Side to side opening minus 3/8 in |
| DOOR | Overlay, box front flush with the frame face; or inset, box front and runner set back by the door thickness, with Blum’s inset locking devices (setback figures on our Blum drawer box guide) | Overlay, box front flush with the cabinet front |
| FLOOR MOUNT | When the sides sit back and you would rather not block them out | When the opening is wider than the setup |
The face frame vs frameless guide maps our six openings onto common cabinets.
What to pick in the configurator before you install
The install goes fastest when the box was ordered for the hardware you will use. In the trash pull out configurator, these choices decide install day.
| Field | Choose | Why it matters on install day |
|---|---|---|
| “Trash can setup” | The setup named for your clear opening, for example “Two 50 qt cans, front to back, 18″ opening” | Sets the box at the opening minus 3/8 in, so the runners screw straight to the sides |
| “Slides” | “Blum TANDEM, 21″ (our standard)” for a 563H on the sides or the floor; “Blum MOVENTO, 21″” for a 763 | Sets the rear notch and the hook holes |
| “Slides”, for a waste/recycle set or a MOVENTO 769R | “Other undermount slide (name it below)” and type the part number into “Your slide brand and model” | We cut the notch and holes for that exact model |
| “Locking clips” | “Install the matching Blum locking clips” | The box arrives with the clips pressed on |
In the live 3D preview the Back view shows the notch and hook holes for your runner, and Add to cart is held while the preview shows a red warning, so a box we cannot build never gets ordered; our configurator guide covers every field.
Have your numbers? Build your trash pull out and see the price as you choose, built to order in our Las Vegas shop with a lifetime warranty on the wood box. Not sure your cabinet is a standard width? Send us a photo and your measurements and we will tell you what fits.
Trash pull out installation questions
Can I keep the door hinges on a trash pull out?
No. The door stops swinging and rides on the drawer box, so the hinges come off and the mounting plates come out of the cabinet; left in place, they sit right where the runner or the box needs to go. Keep them in a bag in case the cabinet ever goes back to a door.
What do I do with the hinge cup holes in the door?
Leave them. The holes are on the back of the door: the lower one hides behind the box front and the upper one faces the inside of the cabinet. A 35 mm plastic cap presses in if it bothers you. Keep the door screws clear of the cups, where only about 1/4 in of wood remains.
What screws attach the door to the drawer front?
Four #8 truss head screws driven from inside the box through the front into the back of the door. Use the front thickness plus about 5/8 in: 1 1/8 in for a 1/2 in front, 1 1/4 in for a 5/8 in front. The screw must stop at least 1/8 in short of the door face, so measure your door before you buy.
Can I mount the slides on the cabinet floor if my opening is wider than the box?
Yes. Blum’s TANDEM 563H and MOVENTO 769R have floor mounting holes, and Blum’s waste/recycle sets (568R series, 21 in) are pre assembled floor mount sets for 12, 15 and 18 in minimum openings, rated by Blum at 125 lb static. Screwed to the floor at Blum’s spacing, the set does not need the box to reach the cabinet sides; name it in the configurator.
Does the drawer front need to be as tall as the door?
No. The box front is 11 1/4 in tall in Baltic Birch and 14 1/4 in in Hard Maple (Select Grade), and the door covers the whole opening, usually 20 in or more. Four screws across that front carry a door with no trouble, and the door above it is stiff on its own; the cans stand taller than the front, which is why the opening height decides which cans fit.
What if the cans hit the countertop?
The opening is too short for the can and lid you chose. A 35 qt can needs 20 in of clear height, a 50 qt can 24 in, and a lid adds 1 in. Take the lids off, change to the shorter can, or check that the runner’s height adjustment is not holding the drawer up. If a stretcher or drawer rail crosses above the opening, that rail is the number that counts.
How do you turn a cabinet into a pull out trash can?
Take the cabinet door off its hinges, screw a pair of undermount runners to the cabinet sides, hang a dovetailed trash box on the runners, then move the same door onto the tall drawer front. Gritly’s trash pull out is built for 12, 15, 18, 21 and 22 1/2 in openings.
How do you install a pull out trash can?
Mount the undermount runner pair on the cabinet sides, switching to the cabinet floor only when the opening runs wider than the box, then set the trash box onto the runners until the front locking clips engage. Gritly notches every trash box for Blum TANDEM or MOVENTO at no extra charge, so you add only the runners and their locking clips. Test fit the cans before you screw the door on.
How do you attach the cabinet door to a pull out trash can?
Pull the trash box out on its runners first, hold the old cabinet door against the tall drawer front with an even gap on both sides, then fasten the door from inside the box, driving each screw through the front so it bites into the door behind. Doing this after the box already hangs on the runners, not before, makes it easier to true up the gap by eye while the drawer is open.
Related reading
- How to measure for a trash pull out: width, height and depth for a 21 in runner.
- Best drawer slides for a trash pull out: TANDEM, MOVENTO and the floor mount waste/recycle sets.
- Trash pull outs in face frame and frameless cabinets: finding the clear opening and blocking out to the frame.
- Trash pull out drawers: the six setups, what is included and the warranty.
Hang the box, hang the door, and the trash disappears
Pick the setup for your opening and the runner you will install, and we build the box notched for it in our Las Vegas shop, with free retail shipping. Build yours in the configurator; every option shows its price as you build it.