How to infill hinge hole in kitchen unit door

DB_SamX · 9 May 2022 at 21:59

So I replaced my under-counter integrated washer drier. Both the old and new ones have hinges to fix the kitchen unit doors which hide them.

Unfortunately the old and new ones have hinges in different locations.

I've used the supplied template to mark the two new hinge holes, 30mm diameter, in the door, unfortunately one of them overlaps the existing hole.

Any suggestions how I go about i filling the gap (it will be shape of a crescent) once i have milled the new hole (see pencil mark in photo)? Some sort of putty or mixture of wood and glue?

radderfire · 9 May 2022 at 22:05

My thoughts ... make a wooden circular plug that you can stick in the old hole with superglue. Then drill the new hole again.

LOAM · 9 May 2022 at 22:56

Use a decent 2 part wood filler on it, I would then re-drill it after it's filled.

dlockers · 9 May 2022 at 23:02

radderfire said:
My thoughts ... make a wooden circular plug that you can stick in the old hole with superglue. Then drill the new hole again.

This - if you cba (and gorilla glue not super glue)

LOAM said:
Use a decent 2 part wood filler on it, I would then re-drill it after it's filled.

This will work perfectly fine.

2004typer · 9 May 2022 at 23:19

LOAM said:
Use a decent 2 part wood filler on it, I would then re-drill it after it's filled.

Another vote for this, but make sure it's a 2 part as above and not pre-mix. 2 part will set rock solid within about 30 mins.

DB_SamX · 9 May 2022 at 23:22

Thanks all; good idea to fill it in first before re-drilling.

dlockers · 9 May 2022 at 23:24

Apparently you can get a tool specific to drilling these too, never bothered to look it up myself as I use a router.

ANDARIAL · 10 May 2022 at 08:35

dLockers said:
Apparently you can get a tool specific to drilling these too, never bothered to look it up myself as I use a router.

yup definately get the correct drill bit as a `standard`drill bit will come through the face of the door

DXP55 · 10 May 2022 at 10:53

I have used these with some success -just drill down till top of bit is level with surface of door.

Forstner Drill Bit Set 5 Pieces - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Carbon steel bit set for fast and effortless drilling of large holes in wood. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.

www.screwfix.com

SoliD · 10 May 2022 at 12:16

I used one of the 2 part mixes with some of the mesh stuff, can't remember what it was exactly, my dad had it in his shed, but it was absolutely rock solid as I had to rebore the mounting holes half in the existing hole, and unfrotunately I have to do it again after my washing machine died again.

Sin_Chase · 10 May 2022 at 14:27

Is the front facing design symmetrical? If so:

Flip door
Refix handle hardware in new positon, fill old holes/paint
Plug existing holes with colour matched plastic caps
Drill fresh 35mm hinge holes on opposite, but now correct, side.

Otherwise the advice about drilling an appropriate sized plug and glueing is fine. You will need a forstner bit to get a flat bottomed hole as mentioned above.

Drilling it straight is also helpful so use a pillar drill, guide or other method!

Mason- · 11 May 2022 at 13:13

If it were me I'd get a bit of OSB, and cut a piece to fit the hole with a correctly sized holesaw and wood glue it in. Then redrill your new holes with a forstner bit, as mentioned above make sure you drill as straight as possible and don't drill all the way through!

Outside Wickes there's often a little bucket with offcuts of wood for free.

theone8181 · 11 May 2022 at 19:56

Can't you just move the other side of the hinge that goes into the carcass?

JRJ · 12 May 2022 at 10:50

Typically you'd use a forstner bit but I'd try a hole saw with a template to remove the crescent and then glue the crescent into the bit that needs filling?

DB_SamX · 15 May 2022 at 18:00

Swapping the door around wouldn't have helped as due to the layout of the other existing door and handle positions.

In the end, all is done, but not without a few hiccups. My dad assured me he had the two-part filler so I wouldn't have to buy any. But he turned up with Polyfiller, as well as another two-part filler which is for metalwork. Polyfiller didn't set hard enough and the forstner bit I bought slipped when starting to drill - at least it's on the non-visible side of the door. We then tried the other two-part filler which was strong enough. However, he suggested we onlly fill in half the hole, which then meant we could not place the central point of the fortsner bit on a robust surface. The bit slipped again. Finally we filled the whole circle with the two-part filler, let it set, and managed to drill the new hole. Annoyingly, during these slips, the template slipped and we ended up drilling too deep, which caused a light bump/crack to appear on the visible side of the door. Not the end of the world though.

So in summary, a suitable two-part filler as recommended is indeed fine, fill in the whole hole before re-drilling, and check repeatedly that the template doesn't slip.