Securing a hinge to a chipboard panel

In a property we rent out,the hinge holding a door on the cupboard under the sink has become loose. The cupboard is made of chipboard and the hinge is held by 2 coarse threaded screws which are now loose in their holes. Does anyone have any suggestions how I can attempt a repair that is likely to last and can be done in 1 visit ?



I was thinking of filling the holes with some wood paste (plastic wood ?) before putting the screws back in and telling the tennant to leave the stuff to set before using the cupboard.



Steve

Thanks Jo.

I need to get access to the house and have another look before making a final decision

I think wood chipboard furniture is so difficult to fix I’d be more inclined to go to Emmaus or a brocante/vide-grenier to see if there’s a cheap replacement for it.

Those wood pastes are finefor filling gaps but they dont really work well on fixings and on woodchip the most likely scenario is that it wont bind evenly and will come away from the rest of the material surrounding it…

If you really cant stand the idea of changing it I would try to use 1 or 2 (1 on either side. depends on how much damage the screws have made)thin strips of metal to reinforce the area if possible and then drill with a strong metal drill and secure with bolts instead of screws, right the way through the door. the bolts will be visible but at least the door wont keep falling off.

I have used the dowel method before and it worked for me. Careful when you are drilling. Try to use a normal bit (metal drilling) then you don’t run the danger of the point as with a wood drill.

From memory I don’t think I can change the position of the hing but thanks for the suggestion. Looks like it will have to be a dowel

Redrill the hinge a little further up or down and fill the old hole with sawdust and pva mix or filler.

Hi Steve,
… and the chevilles are 30mm and would stick out. In which case you could use nylon chevilles and trim them or use plastic rawlplugs and trim them flush; both methods would need you to make good the door front - maybe plastic screwcaps of the sort you fit to cross-head screws, fixed with a little impact adhesive?
I’ve tried to avoid any solution that involves drilling a limited-depth hole - too prone to error!

Drill out to a larger dowel size of 6mm or even 8mm. Plug it as Stephen said glueing the dowels in, sand flush then pre-drill for new screws.

I’ve had very little (in fact no luck) with plastic wood. What I have seen work (though the 15mm is potentially an issue) is to drill holes which are then filled with a tight fitting and glued dowel piece into which you then put the screw (after the glue has dried of course

Thanks for the reply and taking the time to find that link but the problem is that the door panel is perhaps only 15mm thick.

Steve

To avoid the setting time of glues or pastes, why not use a plasterboard fixing such as these.
You will need to screw them into an accurately-positioned hole. To do this, clamp the hinge in position and drill pilot holes of the same diameter as the holes in the hinge. Remove the hinge and drill out these pilot holes to a diameter slightly smaller than that of the chevilles’ minor diameter. Screw in the chevilles with a big cross-head screwdriver and fix the hinge with the associated screws.

If the plasterboard fixings are too big for the hole spacing you may be able to make an adequate job by adopting the same procedure but using plastic rawlplug-type masonry fixings instead.
HTH,
Ian
La Vie en France