Cabinet doors that sag, stick or will not close
Quick answer
Older site-built cabinets use surface or butt hinges that loosen over time. Tightening, filling stripped holes and adding catches usually fixes them. Newer cabinets with concealed hinges can be adjusted with a screwdriver.
Kitchens in older San Gabriel homes may have original site-built wood cabinets with inset doors and surface hinges, or later boxes with concealed hinges. Both sag eventually.
Inset doors
Inset doors sit inside the cabinet frame, so even small sagging makes them rub. Tightening hinge screws and shimming hinges can restore the gap.
Stripped holes
Glue and hardwood dowels or toothpicks restore the hole. We redrill and reset the hinge.
Catches
Old doors often lose their catches and drift open. Magnetic or roller catches hold them closed.
Concealed hinges
Painted-over hinges
Hinges painted many times stop moving freely. We strip or replace them.
Why older cabinets sag
Original site-built cabinets in older San Gabriel kitchens were often made from solid wood and painted many times. Each coat of paint adds thickness to the door and frame edges, so inset doors that once had an even gap now rub. Hinges loosen as screws strip out of old wood, and decades of humid summers and dry winters move the wood.
Paint buildup
If a door rubs only on one edge and the hinges are tight, paint buildup is a likely cause. We carefully remove excess paint from the edge, sand lightly, and repaint so the door closes freely. In homes built before 1978, we use wet methods and dust control because older paint layers may contain lead.
Hinge choices
Older kitchens may have surface-mounted butterfly hinges, butt hinges or offset hinges. Replacement hinges in matching styles and finishes are widely available. If you want soft-close action, some cabinets can be converted to concealed hinges, which requires drilling cup holes in the door.
Drawers
Older drawers ride on wood runners. Waxing the runners helps them slide, and worn runners can be built back up with a thin strip of hardwood.
Why doors sag
Kitchen cabinets in older San Gabriel homes may be original built-ins from the 1920s through 1950s, often made of solid wood with inset or overlay doors. Doors sag when hinge screws loosen, screw holes strip, hinges bend, or wood shrinks and swells. Heavy doors with glass panels sag more.
Tightening screws
Start by tightening every hinge screw. If a screw spins, the hole is stripped. Fill it with wood glue and toothpicks or a dowel, let it dry, trim flush and drive the screw again. A longer screw that reaches fresh wood also works.
Hinge types
- Surface-mount hinges: mounted on the face of the door and frame, common on older cabinets
- Butt hinges: set in mortises on inset doors
- Concealed European hinges: hidden, adjustable, common on newer cabinets
Inset doors with butt hinges are the trickiest to adjust; a sagging inset door rubs on the frame. Shimming behind a hinge leaf with a thin piece of cardboard or wood can tilt the door back.
Our steps:
- Tighten hinge screws
- Repair stripped holes
- Adjust or shim hinges
- Check that the door closes evenly
- Add a catch or bumper if needed
Catches and latches
Old cabinets often have friction catches, magnetic catches, or vintage latches. Replacing worn catches keeps doors closed. Earthquake latches prevent doors from opening during shaking.
See cabinet latches and earthquake safety.
Warped doors
Solid wood doors warp. Slight warps can be pulled flat by adjusting hinges or adding a catch. Badly warped doors may need replacing or remaking.
Painted cabinets
Many old cabinets are painted with layers of paint, sometimes with lead. Paint buildup at the edges makes doors stick. Careful sanding or scraping helps, with lead-safe practices.
Matching hardware
Original hinges and pulls in vintage finishes can be cleaned and reused. Replacement hardware in matching styles is available. See painting over old oil-based trim for painting cabinets.
Drawers
Old drawers slide on wood runners, which wear and stick. Rubbing paraffin wax or a bar of soap on the runners helps. Worn runners can be rebuilt with thin hardwood strips glued on.
Drawer bottoms that sag can be supported with a strip of wood or replaced with plywood. Loose drawer joints can be reglued and clamped.
Hinge alignment tips
Check that the cabinet face frame is square. If the cabinet itself is out of square, door adjustments only go so far. Shimming the cabinet or adjusting mounting screws can help.
Soft-close add-ons
Add-on soft-close dampers mount inside cabinets near the hinge side and catch the door before it slams, without replacing hinges.
Original built-ins
Built-in china cabinets, linen cabinets and ironing board cabinets in older San Gabriel homes have the same sagging and sticking problems as kitchen cabinets. The fixes are the same: tighten and repair screw holes, adjust hinges, and clean up paint buildup.
Original glass in those doors is often wavy old glass, worth protecting when working on them. If a pane breaks, salvage shops sometimes carry old glass.
Doors that sag right after adjusting usually have loose hinge screws on the cabinet side, not the door side. Check both.
What our visit involves
We adjust every door and drawer, fill stripped holes, replace hinges and catches, and add new pulls if you like. See doors, cabinets and hardware.
Kitchen days on the west side of town often end at Newport Seafood for shaking beef.
Want us to handle it?
Call or text (626) 684-3505, Mon–Sat 8:30 AM–7 PM. Send a photo and we will give you an upfront quote.
Call or text (626) 684-3505