another question on Kitchen Cabinets

[mx2]

...I have cheap cabinets (laminated MDF) in a Europeean style (europeean hinges)...problem being, thwe weight of the doors are pulling the hinges out of the particle wood. I've had 5 doors fall off...literally. I tried filling holes with wood putty and re-screwing which originally worked but one just fell out again.

I can of course relocate the hinges and leave the old gaping holes in the laminate (on inside of doors)...but I'm rather certain eventually these doors will pull the hinges out again. Aside from getting new cabinets altogether, is there a better way to attach these doors to MDF?

My first thought is to buy all new hinges...which is not cheap (about 100 hinges), my second was to buy a 3rd hinge for each door (they currently have only two) but if they don't align perfectly I'll have more headaches, and my third thought was to burn the house down....



I hate developers!

mx2.5

[birgco]

Hi Mx, Don't burn down the house, it's illegal in all 50 states and Guam.

I would try using a good two part epoxy on the existing holes in the MDF/laminate. Sometimes there is a primer to use to saturate the fibers and make a stronger bond with the epoxy. Let it dry well, sand and touch it up with a little matching paint.
Now here is the important part, make sure you pre-drill each screw hole you are making with 1/2 or 2/3 rd sized smaller diameter drill bit and try using slightly longer screws for a better grip. You might also dip each screw in freshly mixed expoxy before screwing it into the newly drilled hole. If the cabinets have side reveals, you could also take thin wedges of plywood (about 1/4 inch) and tap them into the space between the cabinets. This will also help give the screw better holding power.
Now if this doesn't work, take the cabinets off the wall, open the window, yell look out below and at least you won't have to look at the offending objects anymore.

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[mx2]

Ha! Good stuff...funny thing is, now the IRS just keeps sending me the bill anyway.

Thanks birgco! I will try the primer and two-part epoxy. Of course I will pre-drill and I like your idea of paint to match (help keep it looking clean when done) Because of the "europeean" style I unfortunately have no wiggle room whatsoever and can't use longer screws, nor add plywood or whatnot. The doors are far too big and heavy for the screws used to attach them to the 3/4" mdf divider and they just keep falling out. I'm averaging about 3 doors per year now....like 1 every 4 months. Anyway, I'll try this weekend and let you know.

mx2.5

[mx2]

as promised I'm following up Birgco...I found a wood filler made for drilling. It was very messy and in retrospect I should have enlarged the existing holes...regardless I filled the holes, let it dry, came back and sanded, painted and pre-drilled...which had a weird feel to the drilling as if I were drilling putty, literally. I didn't think it would work at that point but the new screws took. And best of all, it looks as if nothing had ever happened but honestly...I'm still skeptical. Crappy construction these days...never know what's gonna fall off next.

anyway, thanks for good tips I hadn't considered (it's good to get outside ideas...)

mx2.5

[birgco]

Mx, Glad to hear it worked out for you but keep that epoxy ready just in case.

[SDR]

I use a coarse-thread screw in MDF, not a "tapping" (sheet-metal) screw or an ordinary tapered wood screw -- it leaves more material intact between the threads. And, be sure to use all three screw holes in the hinge plate when available. . .

A design mistake that occurs more often than it should: doors more than 1.5 times as wide as they are tall -- with hinges too close together, in the case of doors 12 to 15" tall. This puts too much strain on the hinges -- and whatever they're attached to.


SDR

[timada]

I would try to look for the exact appliance parts that I need to make this work, and I then call a specialist to fix my problem – I would blow up all the neighbourhood if I would attempt to do it myself.