Kitchen Fittings

Sometimes, your kitchen fitting issues can be easily solved with a bit of technical know-how. For example, if you’re suffering with a door that creaks every time you open it, a bit of oil can cure that in seconds. If the problem is a bit more severe, however, like if the cabinet door was poorly fixed initially and is now at risk of falling off, you might need some concentration and some specific tools to right it yourself.

Cabinet Door Falling Off

Your kitchen cupboards undoubtedly receive a lot of use, and each use will put a little bit of strain on the hinges. In the long run this strain is negligible, but over time it can affect its usability. In one case recorded on Money Saving Expert, one mum’s young daughter exacerbated the strain on her cabinet doors by pulling down on the handles as she opened the cabinets. Things like these occur for all kinds of reasons, but it’s our mission to help you to fix it.

Firstly, you should check if you can fix the hinge by making some basic adjustments. This will help you to find out whether you will need to replace the entire hinge. With a screwdriver, loosen the hinges a little on the problem door, then attempt to realign it so that it is square with the cabinet opening. Once this is done, re-tighten the screws and see how your door fairs.

If this fails to work, you may have a faulty hinge that needs replacing, or it could be an issue with how the hinges are fixing to the cabinet door. If the door has been re-used a few times, the screws may have born deep holes into the wood, and now the door will no longer support hinges there because the integrity of the wood has been compromised. On the other hand, this is typically fairly unlikely, and a replacement hinge from our selection of kitchen fittings will likely finish the job for you.

Stuck Drawers

A broken or stuck drawer could be down to a number of reasons. For example, if there is an issue with the drawer shutting properly, it might be simply that something has fallen down the back. Alternatively, it could be that something has caught on the rails and needs removing. Both of these issues are easily solved by removing the drawers, having a sort out and cleaning the fixtures.

On the other hand, sometimes the problems run a little deeper than a wandering teaspoon trapped behind a drawer. On occasion, long term use of your drawers or a factory fault on the production line could mean that there is a more serious issue with the rail of your drawers that requires a little TLC.

If the issue is that the drawer is so stuck that you can’t remove it in the first place, then you have another issue. It is likely that there is something stuck in the drawer runners, and you may be able to remove it by twisting a metal coat hanger into the opening and moving the offending object. You may also be able to create a little extra wiggle room by removing the drawer below it – if there is one – and jiggling it around a little. If there is a drawer above, remove that too – you’ll be able to look straight into the problem-drawer and remove the obstacle.

Broken Glides

Drawer runners can cause problems in other ways, too. If the glide is damaged or broken, the drawer won’t perform as you expect. For example, it might not catch when it has reached its maximum extension and instead keep going – spilling your belongings all over the floor if you fail to catch the drawer in time.

Generally, a broken glide is either the result of an errant screw, or the glide itself has been broken. Screws can be easily replaced but trying to bend a glide back into place probably isn’t going to work as it’s quite a precise tool. If you are struggling with a broken glide, we recommend that you consider our replacement fittings for drawer runners.

One of the most important things to understand about DIY is to know when you’re in over your head and need to call an expert. Sometimes, trying to tackle a difficult issue without the right knowledge can lead you to make the problem worse, which will increase the cost of getting an expert to fix it.

With the right research and patience, however, a bit of DIY can be very fulfilling and help you to feel like you’re fully in control of your home. We supply our products to expert tradesmen, so please contact us for more information regarding our services.