****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
When I moved into my house several years ago, there was a cavernous, shelf-less cabinet above my oven and microwave. My move was hurried due to a spontaneous work transfer, so when I moved into the house my kitchen items became sorted based on immediate usefulness. Because of the cavernous cabinet's height, eyebrow-level to me, and lack of shelving, it became the depository of third-tier kitchenware that just got stacked upon each other over time. Ugh!As I have acquired new kitchen items, I have longed to put shelves into that cabinet, but other priorities won out, until it recently became a necessity. The cabinet space is 30.5"W x 25.25"D x 27.75"H, with an opening of only 25"W. When shopping on Amazon I liked the style of this and another popular brand, and was poised to purchase the other brand because it fit my cabinet space a little better. However, several reviewers of the other brand complained that the brackets that hold up the shelving are made of plastic, and were very prone to breaking. This ROOMTEC shelving unit is all metal, including the brackets that hold the shelving. Roomtec won based on best design, so I purchased these shelves.Due to the available size range of these shelves, I ended up getting the 2-tier 22½"W x 21½"D version. The width of the next size steps up to 25.5", just too big for my cabinet's opening. I lamented the inability to select a wider version to best fit the 25" cabinet opening, but that has worked in my favor. The weighty package arrived with the shelving components very well secured, wrapped in plastic and sheets of foam wrap, with all components included, and fairly good instructions. Even a few extra screws were included. Out of the box I could tell that the shelves, the slide rails, and other hardware were well made and very sturdy. The lightly oiled bearings within the slide rails allow them to glide effortlessly, and each rail has a black rubber bumper on the back end that serves to semi-lock the shelves in their closed position with nuanced "click" - a nice feature.I've seen reviewers complain about the instructions, but they seem fine to me. In fact, I found these shelves to be very easy to put together, mostly without need to follow the directions, although I had watched several reviewer's videos before ordering these. The instructions can be a bit confusing in that they mention that the back panel mounting brackets for the upper slide rails are included separately, but they actually come already installed onto the upper slide rails - a design improvement. It is noteworthy to mention is that while putting the unit together, I noticed that one of my fingers was bleeding from two cuts obtained during handling of the slide rails. I didn't feel the cuts when they occurred, but when I looked down I had blood all over my shorts and tee shirt, so I had to pause the project to bandage my wound and wash my clothes before the blood set in. A lesson I'll pass onto would-be purchasers, handle those slide rails with gloves, they have some sharp internal edges.I also found installation of the assembled brackets within my cabinet to be relatively self-explanatory. I didn't use the template provided because it didn't fit my situation; my cabinets are deeper than the template is designed to fit. I placed the assembled bracket (no shelves yet) into the center of the cabinet (measured) and I marked drill spaces in my cabinet with a Sharpie through the bracket holes. Once the screws were inserted, I snapped the shelves into place and they were held quite firmly. The glide action of the shelves is excellent, and they provide good extension to the outside of the cabinet, thanks to two-level extension.With regard to the shelf width, as it turned out, the extra spaces to the left and right of the shelves are ideal for long flat items, so the space isn't wasted as I thought it might be (see photos).Overall I'm very happy with these slide-out shelves, as they finally allow me to use the cavernous cabinet effectively. Acquiring them also inspired me to sort through all of those third-tier pieces of kitchenware, most of which is now boxed up and ready for donation to a nearby charity. When I turn my attention to my other kitchen cabinets I'll definitely consider Roomtec shelves again.
