Ham fisted kitchen fitter.... how should I remedy?

[Jimk]

Rawlplugs or equivalent, matchsticks in holes with drop of PVA, screws in whilst glue wet.

[items4sale]

Some years ago we had a new kitchen fitted.

The carcasses are MDF which in turn is veneered with real wood which in turn is then oiled/waxed.

The doors and drawer fronts are solid wood though.

The fitter used a battery powered screwdriver to attach the hinges to the carcasses.

Some of the screws have now worked loose and the hole in the carcass no longer holds the screw. The thread within the hole is clearly stripped.

So the doors now wobble as we can no longer tighten the hinge screws up.

How do I fix this?

[items4sale]

P.S.

Without replacing the carcass obviously..... ?

[Jonathan]

Fill the holes with car body filler P45 and refit.

Jonathan

[newshound]

Several options.

But first, what type of hinge? The sort with a cylindrical "boss" on it that fits into a cylindrical hole cut in the door or carcase using a face cutter?

If not, if the type where both sides are screwed directly into the door and the carcase, then often the easiest option is to move the hinges up or down slightly, and fill the holes. If the hinges are also getting tired (cheap ones wear out, quality ones do not) it is an opportunity to replace them).

Same option is there for the "cutter" ones, but more work obviously. You will need to get a cutter and it is best to drill the holes with a pillar drill. You can get plugs to cover the old cutter hole.

Otherwise you can clean out the expanded hole, fill with epoxy and put the screw back in while soft, and clamp until set. Or TNP will say fill with car body filler, allow to set, then drill a new pilot hole.

[Brian Reay]

Or drill out holes and insert dowels. While screwing into the end grain isn't normally recommended, I've found this technique works rather well. I've used it on melamine coated chipboard carcasses and my theory is the chipboard compresses the dowel so the end grain doesn't split. Either way, it seems to hold. (Glue the dowel and trim flush, be careful not to drill too deep!) I had some very cheap kitchen units in a former shed and used on them. I've even used matchsticks if the holes were only a gnats over size. They held for several years- they could even still be in place!

[charles]

Gorilla glue - done that - it works

[Tricky Dicky]

If the bit that has loosened is the part that goes on the cabinet side there is a repair plate that fits over the holes and allows that part of the hinge to secure to the plate, a lot less hassle than moving over hinges etc.

Richard

[The Natural Philosopher]

Car body filler in the holes, then re-drill.

Done it many times. It works very well

[Alan]

Hafele metal plate repair:

Available from Toolstation for £1.98 a pair.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

[e-mail] formulated on Thursday :

Make up a mix of slow set Araldite and work it well into the hole in the carcass, apply a little grease to the screw on the hinge, so it doesn't stick to much, then with hinge removed from door - screw the hinge gently in place. It might be worth trying to push the screw in, so it forces the Araldite deeper into the carcass. Leave for 24 hours to allow it to set.

That should be good as new and the grease will allow the screw/hinge to be removed/adjusted.

[The Natural Philosopher]

You can do the same but at half the price in half an hour with car body filler.

It is THE goto solution for mangled wood and wood-like products - chip, mdf, rotten wood - etc. as long as it can be covered up by paint or a hinge.

I have used it where 'no more nails' failed to stick. It is a massively good gap filling adhesive at a really low price.

I have used it to replace painted render that has fallen out, too.

[John]

The fitter is probably still doing it - stripping the thread by applying too much torque. A lack of skill akin to giving a power drill a waggle before withdrawing it.

[Jim GM4DHJ ...]

super glue and baking soda......

[Andrew]

Garages up and down the country do the same with compressed air guns for tightening wheel nuts and in fact anything suspension - related.

[Andrew]

Before cars neded MOTs, second hand cars were routinely fixed by filling rusty holes in chassis sections with concrete.

[Martin Brown]

Rawlplugs are more convenient and quicker.

The OP should perhaps investigate if there is some water leak or other dampness causing the MDF to degrade. The only time I have had kitchen cabinets fall apart is after a flood in the VH or a couple of decades as garage drawers in my not entirely dry garage.

Rust swelling ultimately destroys the screws and they drop out.

[GB]

My preferred method is to remove the hinge in the neighbouring cupboard, and remove the fixing screws from both hinges. Drill through both carcasses. Then bolt the two hinges together through the carcasses.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

Andrew explained on 23/04/2020 :

It might be just too much fun, trying to push concrete into a 6mm hole in a carcass :-)

[Fredxx]

Two good way have been presented, the strongest being to drill through the carcass into the neighbouring unit. Some end units will have a facing panel you can remove.

Another way: