Kitchen doors-Soft Close or Push To Open? Why not both?!
Discussion
Blum is your friend, Tip On for drawers and doors, or the uber cool electrically operated Servo Drive system for drawers if you're feeling flush!
ETA just read the title, you can use both soft close and push to open for the Tip On door cylinders, although the door will only soft close onto the cylinder, which you then have to push manually.
ETA just read the title, you can use both soft close and push to open for the Tip On door cylinders, although the door will only soft close onto the cylinder, which you then have to push manually.
Edited by olly755 on Thursday 15th June 23:28
LaurasOtherHalf said:
Trying to design a nice handless kitchen and I've found the holy grail of a push to open with soft close drawer mechanism-lovely!
But they don't make the same for doors for some reason?!
So it's one or the other I guess-any thoughts from those who have either?
Sounds like a magnet for sticky finger pints!But they don't make the same for doors for some reason?!
So it's one or the other I guess-any thoughts from those who have either?
PositronicRay said:
Sounds like a magnet for sticky finger pints!
Sticky finger pints: they sound particularly unappealing 
I tend to agree though...could spend more than the average time wiping prints off!
OP: could you design the kitchen to not need many/any doors? We have lots of idling 1.2m wide: far more useful to get at things! Mind you, wall units could scupper that idea!
olly755 said:
ETA just read the title, you can use both soft close and push to open for the Tip On door cylinders, although the door will only soft close onto the cylinder, which you then have to push manually.
This is the problem, the way they usually operate, they're almost opposites. Or more precisely auto-close and push to open are. Push-to-open a force applied when closing to compress the spring enough to prime the latch so it can spring open when pushed (if that makes sense). This force can't be provided passively by the hinge, because it's what will open the door against the hinge after you push it. In practice push-to-open gives an element of soft-close in that you can't slam the door because it will hit the spring of the push-to-open mechanism rather than the frame (and then bounce open slightly, usually).
In order to have both working as you'd want them to, you'd need some sort of active components to either vary the spring rate on the hinge depending on whether it's opening or closing, or automatically prime the push-to-open spring and latch rather than using pressure on the door to do it. The latter would, I'd imagine, be easier but it would require a power source.
mikeiow said:
PositronicRay said:
Sounds like a magnet for sticky finger pints!
Sticky finger pints: they sound particularly unappealing I tend to agree though...could spend more than the average time wiping prints off!
!
I guess the answer would be to use your elbows.
A few points;
Potentially going for a matte painted finish to negate the "sticky finger pints"
The drawers I've found look terrific;
https://youtu.be/zXRPDT9dDDE
Go to 1:57 in the video.
We could design a lot of the base units around the drawer system but as you would imagine it would get expensive quickly and you really do need cupboards in a kitchen, especially around the sink/dish washer area.
We will also have a bank of 3 ovens in a similar layout to the below;
Now it's fine to leave a recess around all the doors to leave a grab area for soft close doors, but if you use push to open, you can get rid of that recess and create a lovely close finish to all the doors.
It's just you loose that soft close function that everyone likes.
Potentially going for a matte painted finish to negate the "sticky finger pints"
The drawers I've found look terrific;
https://youtu.be/zXRPDT9dDDE
Go to 1:57 in the video.
We could design a lot of the base units around the drawer system but as you would imagine it would get expensive quickly and you really do need cupboards in a kitchen, especially around the sink/dish washer area.
We will also have a bank of 3 ovens in a similar layout to the below;
Now it's fine to leave a recess around all the doors to leave a grab area for soft close doors, but if you use push to open, you can get rid of that recess and create a lovely close finish to all the doors.
It's just you loose that soft close function that everyone likes.
We use those exact soft close, push to open mechanisms on our kitchens if someone is wanting push to open drawers .
They are a great bit of kit as far as soft close push to open drawers go... however, I much preferred the old style non soft close PTO mech's, as they were loads more robust.
One of the biggest problems you have with soft close and push to open all in the same item is that as someone has already said, you're trying to defy physics. You need a stronger force to close the drawer than the one trying to push it open, when you're trying to close it and vice-versa, need a stronger opening force than the one trying to close it for when you're trying to open a door.
This means that they have to be basically set up very finely to ensure that it will work consistently for the drawer size and weight of what is inside it. if you decided to have a shuffle round in the kitchen as to what is in the drawers, the adjustment can end up needing tweaking for the new weight in the drawer.
IMO your best option is to go for "true handleless" which is where you have a cut out in the cabinet to allow for a rail system rather like in the picture you posted.
They are a great bit of kit as far as soft close push to open drawers go... however, I much preferred the old style non soft close PTO mech's, as they were loads more robust.
One of the biggest problems you have with soft close and push to open all in the same item is that as someone has already said, you're trying to defy physics. You need a stronger force to close the drawer than the one trying to push it open, when you're trying to close it and vice-versa, need a stronger opening force than the one trying to close it for when you're trying to open a door.
This means that they have to be basically set up very finely to ensure that it will work consistently for the drawer size and weight of what is inside it. if you decided to have a shuffle round in the kitchen as to what is in the drawers, the adjustment can end up needing tweaking for the new weight in the drawer.
IMO your best option is to go for "true handleless" which is where you have a cut out in the cabinet to allow for a rail system rather like in the picture you posted.
As above, you want Blum.
I just had a kitchen put in finished today, and one of my cupboards is soft close, and a push open. I asked the bloke who made the pop open part and he said Blum same as the hinges. The hinges are on the left and the popper thing is on the bottom right (the unit is above the oven). Easy enough to fit, just drills into the edge facing you.
He said its not on all the cupboards because its a handleless kitchen you just reach under to pull them open, but with this one you cant because theres an oven under it.
Of course because its a push open, it wont totally soft close by itself and you'll have to give it an extra push to close it fully, so its swings and roundabouts.
I just had a kitchen put in finished today, and one of my cupboards is soft close, and a push open. I asked the bloke who made the pop open part and he said Blum same as the hinges. The hinges are on the left and the popper thing is on the bottom right (the unit is above the oven). Easy enough to fit, just drills into the edge facing you.
He said its not on all the cupboards because its a handleless kitchen you just reach under to pull them open, but with this one you cant because theres an oven under it.
Of course because its a push open, it wont totally soft close by itself and you'll have to give it an extra push to close it fully, so its swings and roundabouts.
HotJambalaya said:
As above, you want Blum.
I just had a kitchen put in finished today, and one of my cupboards is soft close, and a push open. I asked the bloke who made the pop open part and he said Blum same as the hinges. The hinges are on the left and the popper thing is on the bottom right (the unit is above the oven). Easy enough to fit, just drills into the edge facing you.
He said its not on all the cupboards because its a handleless kitchen you just reach under to pull them open, but with this one you cant because theres an oven under it.
Of course because its a push open, it wont totally soft close by itself and you'll have to give it an extra push to close it fully, so its swings and roundabouts.
Interesting, you don't have a picture of the outside and one of the hinges do you-or could you take one? How much open does it leave it if you need to give it the extra push?I just had a kitchen put in finished today, and one of my cupboards is soft close, and a push open. I asked the bloke who made the pop open part and he said Blum same as the hinges. The hinges are on the left and the popper thing is on the bottom right (the unit is above the oven). Easy enough to fit, just drills into the edge facing you.
He said its not on all the cupboards because its a handleless kitchen you just reach under to pull them open, but with this one you cant because theres an oven under it.
Of course because its a push open, it wont totally soft close by itself and you'll have to give it an extra push to close it fully, so its swings and roundabouts.
HotJambalaya said:
Hopefully that works.
That's the pop open part, so when it closes it just rests against that.
Don't have one of the hinges, but will be over there tomorrow and will try and remember to get it one
-not sure why its upside down, but you get the idea
I know this might sound like a daft question (considering what I'm trying to achieve) but was does the soft close bring to the party? If the push to open popper stops it from closing?
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff