Broken Hinges on IKEA pantry doors

HI, after a few years of use, the plywood (or MDF or whatever it is but solid wood) on the pantry doors, where the hinge holds, got destroyed. I have seen plates that can be put there and make an easy and quick fix to get by without having to replace the doors, (in my case it would be 6 of them, too much $). So I got the plates that seems to match the hole of the IKEA hinge (see pics) BUT there is no Screws! to attach the actual hinge to the door. I have them installed by a handyman long time ago and he is not around anymore. I have no idea what model they are, so I can't figure out how do they attach to the actual door and now how would the attach to the repaired door that has now the plate. Any ideas or tips? Thanks.

 

I'm sure you now see that you get what you pay for.

Looks like countersunk wood screws were used but a pan head screw, probably a #8 x 3/8 or 1/2 long (depending on the door thickness) would be better

Door material is probably MDF, not something that will be around for the kids to enjoy!

 

I do not have much experience with IKEA furniture, but from what I know of their instructions, I would not be surprised if the hinges are just press-fit. If the holes in the repair plates line up with hinge holes you could use screws but they might have to be self-threading sheet metal screws. Construction adhesive might be another alternative.

 

Marq 1, how is this helpful? :
"I'm sure you now see that you get what you pay for."
I knew back in 2015 when I remodeled the kitchen what exactly I was getting into., 8 years later with daily abuse of a family of 4, they reached their life, I am trying to extended that and reached out to the smart and creative DIY community, I am sure there is a fix to this that will allow me to continue extending the life of these doors that otherwise look fantastic.

There are no countersunk screws, this particular IKEA hinge system seems designed to be attached to the door somehow by pressure AND without screws and with obvious no much repair or maintenance in mind. SO again anybody have ideas about fixing this?

 

2john02458,
Right..looks like it was just press fit. I am sure I am not the only one in need of repair for this particular hinge system. I have seen lots of youtube videos about hinge repairs but they all have screws to attach to the door.
I tried to line up the holes with the plate but they don't match.
Thanks

 

These are inserts for 5/16" holes, then you can use screws.

They also have a 3/8" insert, and not sure what size you would need since you didn't say.

And if you are asking about screwing to the metal plate it looks like you need a short self tapping machine screw with a pan head. No more than 5/8" long.

 

Hi Xsleeper,
the door is 11/16 deep. What is a self tapping machine screw? I am not sure if the inserts will hold, the holes on the hinge are tiny and don't seem designed to withstand the weight and pressure. This door is almost 6 feet tall and it uses 4 hinges. Thanks

 

IDK, those sure look like countersunk screws to me, the pan heads would be better option, that is what your asking about right, how to attach the plate?





And just making the obvious comment, cheap furniture/tools/appliances/cabinets just dont last, quality is the long term low cost solution but many fail to comprehend. Not being negative, it's a life learned experience!

 

It looks like the door bracket will accept flat head or oval head screws. 5/8" length would leave margin to not break through the front of the cabinet. Mark the hole locations in the door. Then put a piece of tape around a small (1/16", 3/32" or 1/8") drill bit 1/2" from the tip of the drill. Pilot drill the hole locations you marked using the tape as a depth gauge so you don't drill too deep. Then screw on your hinge.

If you want to make it even stronger, install the hinge and screws. Then remove the screws. Put several drops of thin CA (cyanoacrylate, Super Glue) glue into the hole and let it set for 15 minutes. The super glue will soak into the wood fibers binding them and make the screw area much stronger. Then re-install your hinges and screws.

 

Hi Marq, all good. I know how to attach the plate. fairly easy (see pic) the problem is the hinge system does not have any screws, its just press and set. The plate simply creates a strong point to re-screw over damaged area but that not solve my problem of how to re attach a hinge that does not have screws to hold,

 

Pilot Dane, thanks problem is to pass screws from the hinge. the hinge has no screws, only two tiny holes that wont pass a thick enough screw (the short ones needed for this application need to be a bit wide, I would say at least 2/16) the Super glue may help. good tip.I need to reverse engineer this particular hinge from IKEA or find some other creative solution. The Place provides a strong support from the door, now i need to solve the hinge

 

Look at your pictures 6, 7 & 8. Do you see that the hinge has a hinged cover plate that swings up? Underneath are screw holes. You put the screws in to hold the hinge in place. Then close the cover to make it pretty. The cover even has pockets to allow room for non-flathead screws.

 

You also have 2 auxiliary holes for screws. You need to use a head small enough that the circled part can cover the screw head.

buy some #6 x 5/8 screws and either predrill pilot holes for the screws (using a drill bit one size smaller than the screw is) or get self starting (self tapping / self drilling) ones. Just dont drill through the face of the door.

 

Also they are not "press fit" that cover plate moves a section of the insert. When you close it, it expands in the hole. That's what holds it in when the hole is new.

 

Blum calls that the Inserta hinge. Not sure what Ikea uses.

Vix bits work good for predrilling holes. Self centering, spring loaded and no danger of drilling too deep.

 

XSleeper, "You also have 2 auxiliary holes for screws. You need to use a head small enough that the circled part can cover the screw head" YES, but they are small and more importan do not align with the plate that fixes the door issue.

Uhclem42, "Also they are not "press fit" that cover plate moves a section of the insert" I don't understand what are you saying underlined here.

XSleeper: Blum?? thanks for the tip on teh Vix Bits

 

You've been told several times to drill pilot holes.

 

XSleeper "You've been told several times to drill pilot holes" you can say it as many times as you want but the plate does not align with the micro holes on the hinge, therefore the plate is not a solution to this problem nor the pilot holes Again the hinge is designed to press and hold the hole of the brand new door as Uhclem42 pointed out. The plates I got are designed to fix the issue of partially destroyed MDF doors and provide support for a hinge with screws build into the design. I was looking for help from someone experienced in this particular IKEA hinge which is very popular: UTRUSTA, in this case the damper 153 degree version. Time to look elsewhere. thanks for the comments.

 

If you can't get the gusset plates to work I've "fixed" hinges like that by epoxying them in place. I mix up some epoxy and coat the entire pocket and any damaged area. I also paint the part of the hinge that will go into the hole. Then I insert the hinge while wiggling it a bit. Once it's in position I fill any missing MDF around the perimeter with epoxy and let it harden. It's a good one time fix because the hinge may never come out again without destroying the door.

 

Wow. 3rd time is a charm? Let me make it so simple a 1st grader could do it. Put the hinge over your gusset plate. Drill pilot holes through your steel gusset plate that align with the holes in the hinge (blue arrows in your hinge that I drew in post #13). Then screw it down.

 

Yes, it is OK to drill new holes in your gusset plates.