Cabinet door, hinge and drawer repair

Doors that sag or gap

Most modern cabinets use European cup hinges with three adjustment screws: side to side, in and out, and up and down. A few turns can close an uneven gap or stop a door from rubbing.

When a hinge screw has stripped out of the cabinet side, we fill the hole and reset the screw, or move the hinge plate. Older face-frame cabinets with exposed hinges get new screws into solid wood or matching replacement hinges.

Soft-close upgrades

Slamming doors can be softened with soft-close hinges or small dampers mounted inside the cabinet. Swapping to soft-close hinges usually uses the same holes if the hinge type matches. We check your hinge style before you buy.

Drawers that stick or fall

Drawers ride on slides: side-mount ball-bearing slides, under-mount slides, or wood runners in older cabinets. Ball-bearing slides wear and bend; under-mount slides lose their clips; wood runners wear grooves. We replace slides with a matching length and type, re-glue loose drawer boxes, and fix drawer fronts that have come loose from the box.

Particleboard and water damage

Sink base cabinets swell from slow leaks under the sink. Once particleboard swells, it does not shrink back. We can replace a cabinet floor with a new panel or a waterproof mat, but the leak needs to be fixed first; see plumbing repairs and faucet repair.

Knobs and pulls

New hardware is one of the cheapest ways to refresh a kitchen. If the new pulls have the same hole spacing as the old ones, it is a quick swap. If the spacing changes, we fill old holes and drill new ones with a jig so every pull lines up. Backplates can cover old holes when the spacing does not match.

Refacing and full replacements

New doors and drawer fronts on existing boxes, or new cabinets, are larger projects. We handle hinge, slide and hardware work and small part replacements. For full cabinet sets, a cabinet shop is the right call.

Child locks

Under-sink and lower cabinets with cleaning products should have child locks. We install magnetic or latch locks during a cabinet visit; see our childproofing page.

Stuck lazy Susans

Corner lazy Susans slip off their pivots or bind as shelves warp. We reset the pole, replace worn bearings or clips, and level the shelves so they spin freely again.

Bathroom vanities

Vanity doors swell from splashes and humidity. Small swelling can be trimmed and sealed. Hinges loosen from frequent use. We fix both and check the shutoffs and drain under the sink while the doors are open.

Pull-outs and trash drawers

Pull-out trash bins and shelves ride on full-extension slides that take a lot of weight. When they sag or stick, we replace the slides with heavy-duty ones matched to the load.

Painted cabinets

Painted cabinet doors chip at edges and around pulls. We can touch up small chips, and new hardware covers some worn spots. Full repainting of a kitchen is a bigger project that a painter usually handles.

What to send

A photo of the hinge or the slide, and the cabinet door, tells us the part. Many hinges have a brand stamped on the arm.

Hinges that will not stay open

Upper cabinet doors that swing shut on their own usually have a hinge that is worn or a cabinet that is not level. We adjust or replace the hinge, and check that the cabinet is still fastened tight to the wall. Loose upper cabinets are a safety concern in quakes and get extra screws into studs.

Drawer fronts that wobble

Drawer fronts attach with screws from inside the box. When those loosen, the front tilts and rubs. We tighten or add screws, and realign the front so the gaps match the doors around it.

Older homes

Older kitchens in the valley often have solid wood cabinets with inset doors and exposed hinges. Parts for those may need to be matched from specialty suppliers. We look before ordering.

Scheduled around you

Small jobs like this are booked at a time that suits you. Text photos and we reply with a quote.

Glass cabinet doors

Glass-front doors with a cracked pane can often be reglazed rather than replaced. We remove the door and reinstall it after.

Hinge types we carry

We carry common concealed hinges in the usual overlay sizes, plus soft-close clips and standard drawer slide lengths, which covers many repairs. Odd sizes or older exposed hinges are ordered and installed on a short return trip. We tell you up front which kind of visit to expect after seeing your photos.

Rental kitchens

Rental kitchens take hard use. A turnover visit to adjust every hinge, tighten every pull, fix sticking drawers and add bumpers so doors close quietly makes a kitchen feel cared for. We note anything bigger, such as swollen sink floors, for the owner.

Bumpers and dampers

Small felt or rubber bumpers on door corners stop slams and rattles. They cost little and change how a kitchen sounds.

Quote

Send photos of each problem door or drawer.

Photo checklist