Kitchen cupboard hinges loose.

inogen · 20 Jun 2019 at 12:02

toothpicks are miles better than matches for this kinda thing. They're proper hardwood. Wood glue and toothpicks are a good filler.

If you want to do a proper fix, hardwood dowel that's of a larger diameter than the the crap hole and a drill bit of the same diameter as the dowel. Decide how deep you want to go. Cut dowel accordingly. Tape on bit to mark desired depth. Drill hole, glue dowel. That will be stronger than the chipboard door.

The other thing is to put wood glue on the screw before you screw it it. When it hardens it gives some proper grip to the thread. This works extremely well when screwing into chipboard or mdf.

Mark A · 21 Jun 2019 at 22:36

I have never seen those type of screws used there before. Usually they are stubby little M6 bolts, with a course thread. The holes are usually pre-drilled from the factory.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SCREWS-KITCHEN-CABINETS-WARDROBES-CUPBOARD/dp/B01MSQDT11

If the holes are 5mm in diameter, then these screws should go straight in with no messing. Just need to measure the length.

As a precautionary measure, you could dab in some wood glue into the holes before inserting these screws and it should just help to sure up the loose fibres.

platypus · 24 Jun 2019 at 09:20

psd99 said:
what do u mean by wooden plug? is it like cutting a bit of wood for that hole, ramming them in and then screwing into the wood?

how will I cut a round with of wood like that though

Put some wood glue into the holes, put a few matches in until the hole is filled, snap the matches off in the holes, leave 24 hours, file off the excess.

Oh nm teach me not to read the thread, already suggested.

thenewoc · 24 Jun 2019 at 09:48

Why not just use the repair plates that have been linked already in this thread, instead of making a harder job of it?

Burned_Alive · 24 Jun 2019 at 09:56

Not to speak for the OP, but the repair plates are ugly and personally I'd rather use the existing holes if they can be salvaged.

Mark A · 24 Jun 2019 at 21:58

thenewoc said:
Why not just use the repair plates that have been linked already in this thread, instead of making a harder job of it?

Or even easier and cheaper would be the bolts I posted. It doesn't really need repairing as it just looks to me like they used the wrong sized screw.

psd99 · 25 Jun 2019 at 08:25

fixed it with the wooden dowel method
it was a ba** a*** in the end!

3 out of the 4 screws are now strong, 1 of them at the bottom is still loose but I had to take the cupboard door out and that weakened the screws at the bottom

the problem I found was lining up the holes to match my pilot holes, next time I will draw a line on top of each hinge so I know exactly where it fits

I blame the installer one of them was about as useful as a one legged man in a bum kicking competition!
he was best skilled with hoover only he's clearly not drilled good pilot holes and I fear more fixes coming up!

Mark A · 25 Jun 2019 at 15:30

psd99 said:
he was best skilled with hoover only he's clearly not drilled good pilot holes and I fear more fixes coming up!

As I said before, the pilot holes in the carcass are usually drilled from the factory with 5mm holes. They just used the wrong sized screw for the hole. You could have just used the correct screw and saved all that messing about.

psd99 · 25 Jun 2019 at 16:04

Mark A said:
As I said before, the pilot holes in the carcass are usually drilled from the factory with 5mm holes. They just used the wrong sized screw for the hole. You could have just used the correct screw and saved all that messing about.

but they have used that exact same screw on EVERY single hinge!

so you are sure that these are the correct screws?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SCREWS-KITCHEN-CABINETS-WARDROBES-CUPBOARD/dp/B01MSQDT11

Semple · 25 Jun 2019 at 16:24

Can the hinges not be offset slightly? Would mean drilling new pilot holes on both the door and the cupboard carcass. But at least would mean it's got a much better fix.

Mark A · 25 Jun 2019 at 16:53

psd99 said:
but they have used that exact same screw on EVERY single hinge!

so you are sure that these are the correct screws?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SCREWS-KITCHEN-CABINETS-WARDROBES-CUPBOARD/dp/B01MSQDT11

I'm not 100% sure, but if you measure the hole diameter and it's 5mm then those screws should do. I have fitted a few kitchens being a joiner and have never seen the small pointed screws in your pic used on the cabinet before. For the price of a pack of 10, its worth a try and will be far easier if it does work as you could just replace all the screws in a few mins.

I'm thinking those hinges are more designed for a custom build, like a built in wardrobe, where you would pre-drill your own holes. Do the screws come out of the hinge? If they do then it should be possible to swap the screws over with the chunkier ones.

thenewoc · 25 Jun 2019 at 17:55

The 5mm screws probably wont work if larger screws have already been used which is why I suggested the fixing plates. Those allow the plate to be screwed to the carcase with new holes and I believe the holes that the hinge should attach to will take on the thread of your existing screws as I don't think the holes in the plate are threaded to start with. Once a hole in chipboard is mullered I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope for it without using the repair plates.

Holst1981 · 25 Jun 2019 at 18:22

Mark A said:
I'm not 100% sure, but if you measure the hole diameter and it's 5mm then those screws should do. I have fitted a few kitchens being a joiner and have never seen the small pointed screws in your pic used on the cabinet before. For the price of a pack of 10, its worth a try and will be far easier if it does work as you could just replace all the screws in a few mins.

I'm thinking those hinges are more designed for a custom build, like a built in wardrobe, where you would pre-drill your own holes. Do the screws come out of the hinge? If they do then it should be possible to swap the screws over with the chunkier ones.

We use these screws in exhibition builds.
You can use them without pilot holes (not recommended) and put them in fast with an impact.

A proper chippy would use a self centering drill for the pilot holes (or an accurate template) and the correct screws.

Those 5mm ones might not fit through the holes/slots in the hinge. But they will hold fine.

Small rawplug might work....

I would get the hinge repair plates painted/powdercoated so they are less obvious and that fixes the problem.

chaparral · 25 Jun 2019 at 21:55

I would drill 5mm holes right through the cupboard and use M5 threaded Screws with nuts

darreny · 27 Jun 2019 at 22:13

Easiest fix for this is to use a rawl plug with a bit of superglue on. If the holes were done at the factory they will be 5mm so drill it with 5.5mm insert a red plug and screw hinge back on with a 4.0 x 20mm screw. Trust me I'm a shopfitter

azazl187 · 27 Jun 2019 at 22:27

Snap a match off into the hole and rescrew. That should do it