Inside Consumer Reports Test Labs: Kitchen-cabinet organizers

“Top drawer” took on a new meaning when Bob Karpel (right), a Tech/Appliance Program Leader for Consumer Reports, and his team put a wide array of pullout drawers, refuse/recycling containers, and rotating lazy Susans through a series of grueling tests as part of our August 2008 report on kitchen-cabinet organizers. At prices ranging from $20 to $220, these add-ons can be a cost-effective upgrade to kitchen cabinets.

Here’s how we tested the gear:

Ease of Installation
One of the heavily weighted factors in our Ratings is ease of installation. Each of the 28 organizers we tested was installed in a typical kitchen cabinet. Those models with clear instructions and modest tool requirements (typically a screwdriver, ruler, and cordless drill) earned higher marks.

In general, bottom-mounting slide-out drawers and refuse/recycling containers were easy to install, but those with side-mounting rails proved difficult as a one-person job. Three of the refuse/recycling containers mounted directly to a cabinet door, which entailed the extra step of shimming out the side-mounted rails with wood blocks.

With the lazy Susans, centering and leveling the center posts and fitting all the needed large parts into a restricted cabinet also proved difficult. Note that if you have stone or composite counters, you’ll need to add a spacing block inside the cabinet to attach the lazy Susan’s top spindle mount.

Pulling-Force and Spinning Usability Testing
Bob added weight to each drawer component, then measured the force needed to pull it open. An alarming surprise: After durability testing, the stop mechanism on one low-priced unit worked only when its front section was heavily weighted; otherwise it just slid free of the rails.

Bob loaded each lazy Susan with some common kitchen items and turned each unit a set number of times to test for smoothness, stability, and sagging. Considering the installation also, the least-expensive model was best overall. And one model had a nice feature: an internal spindle with special grooved threads to allow quick shelf-height adjustments.

Durability Testing
Bob’s “pièce de résistance” for this project was a “durability rig” (right) that used a pair of electric motors and a couple of crank arms to pull the drawer components in and out thousands of times; it also rotated the lazy Susans back and forth. Bob felt this setup would simulate five to 10 years of use, depending on a family’s size and lifestyle. The testing machine was set to push each drawer unit against its stop.

Bamboo is growing in the home

Consumer Reports has tested bamboo towels, bamboo flooring, and even bamboo plates, many touting the claimed green aspects of these products. And last week we saw all kinds of bamboo offerings at the 2008 Kitchen/Bath Industry Show, including Rio Grande Imports' Zoom bamboo bath sink, Totally Bamboo's bamboo countertop panels for kitchens and baths, and Teragren's Studio bamboo flooring.

Learn about the latest green-themed bamboo products in the video (right) featuring Bob Markovich, Home editor of Consumer Reports.

A Porsche design speeds into the kitchen

It used to be that a man would buy a sports car to help him deal with his midlife crisis. But today’s man can bypass the Vette, Jag, or BMW for his garage and instead buy Porsche-designed cabinets for his kitchen when there is no substitute for coping with the tough times.

German kitchen-design company Poggenpohl has paired with Porsche Design Group on the P’7340 kitchen (shown). This line of custom cabinets, available in the U.S. next summer, features sleek, high-style components made of aluminum, glass, and wood and features a state-of-the-art audio-video system. Miele is to be the supplier of all fitted electric appliances in this modular kitchen.

The Poggenpohl-Porsche pairing is not the only competitor in the auto-inspired kitchen-style race. Italian company Snaidero offers two custom cabinet styles, Ola and Venus, which are designed by Pininfarina, the firm behind many famous Ferraris, including the F40 and the Testarossa.

(Consumer Reports has not tested any of the abovementioned cabinet lines.)

Whether or not these Euro options rev your engine, remember that no matter the style you choose, high-quality construction features are what keep cabinets looking good and working smoothly year after year.—Celia Kuperszmid Lehrman

Essential information: Watch this video to see how we test cabinets in our labs. If you’re considering a kitchen remodel, use our planning guide to help you make wise decisions throughout the project. And get an estimate of the cost of your new space with the RSMeans QuickCost Kitchen Remodeling Estimator. If you subscribe to ConsumerReports.org, you have access a custom version of the calculator.