UKC

There are some MDF wall cupboards in this place we've moved into and the doors are all wonky! :0(

Investigation has revealed that whoever put the cupboards up either didn't know how to use a spirit level or couldn't be bothered to use one. The steel brackets screwed to the wall and on which the cupboard hang are out of alignment with each other(by as much as half an inch)

I therefore need to reattach these brackets after first filling the screw holes and re-drilling. The other problem is that some of the hole have become enlarged and, ultimately I'm going to have to drill new(smaller) holes where some already exist. What's the best "filler" for a patch into which you're going to have to drill new holes. Is Polyfilla strong enough?

Thanks for any advice.

In reply to mypyrex:

The cupboards won't (hopefully) be hanging on the plasterboard. There will be a wood stud behind the plasterboard, and that's what you need to drill into. You can probably get away with just drilling a new hole half an inch away, but an inch would be better (maybe you could just raise all the cupbards a bit?)

That said, if the cupboard is hanging on a metal rail, it may well be adjustable anyway. Have a look inside the cupboard, and look in the top back corners. There may be a plastic cover you can pop off to reveal screws which allow you to adjust the height.

In reply to Nutkey: There are "lugs" in each top corner of the cupboard which hook on to the steel brackets. The brackets in turn have to be mounted fairly precisely relative to the ends of the cupboard so are not necessarily going to correspond with the position of any studs.

These are the type of lugs/brackets:

http://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/Products/Cabinet_Furniture_and_Hardware/...

In reply to mypyrex:
The brackets you have linked to are adjustable. The steel hangars dont necessarily have to be exactly level. Have you tried adjusting the brackets to level the cupboards?

In reply to birdie num num: They're only adjustable horizontally.

In reply to birdie num num:
Have you tried adjusting the brackets to level the cupboards?

Some are so far out that I've effectively got to start from scratch

In reply to mypyrex:

Are you sure? The bracket inside the cupboard has a screw on the bottom of it that lifts the end of the cupboard up or down when turned.

In reply to mypyrex:

Is this an interior or exterior wall?

I hope the original fitter didn't just use plasterboard fixings or spring toggles to put them up, as that wouldn't be strong enough!

If it's interior, then, as someone already said, there should be a wooden stud behind the plasterboard to drill into. Depending on the position of that stud and where you need to put the screws, you may have to screw another board over the top of the plasterboard and studs and then screw the units to that.

If it's exterior, then you should be able to drill through the plasterboard and then secure the cupboards into the masonry behind that with long screws - don't do the screws up too tight, or you'll just crush the cupboards through the plasterboard.

In reply to mypyrex: What do the cupboards hold? If not too heavy than plasterboard fixings will work but the boards must be properly secured. If there's any weight in the cupboards you will most likely need to fix through the board into what lies behind i.e. wall or stud.

Patching with polyfilla will do just that, patch; Polyfilla won't hold anything. If you really did have to re-drill in same spot and re-fix with board fixings then you'd probably need to remove a section of board, say 10-15cm2 and replace with new board. A bit fiddly (you have to fix new board in place by inserting it in the newly created hole then pulling it tight onto the back of the original board [i.e. the new board needs to be larger than the hole if that makes sense] and securing with dry wall adhesive) and a bit of a bodge but can work well if there are no other options.

In reply to mypyrex:

I take it these cupboards are in the kitchen?

How old is the house?

If you can, see if there's a patrice behind the plasterboard, you can do this by punching holes through the plasterboard with a bradall. If there are no patrices then you would be as well putting some in thb, not a big job.

If you need some info on how to fit them then just get back and i'll go through it step by step for you.

In reply to JSA:

Oh, and are they hung on an internal wall or one of the external walls?

In reply to ksjs:

I done my own kitchen in my last house and all the cupboards were put up using heavy weight hollow wall anchors. Those things take a lot.

In reply to JSA: Internal wall, bedroom

In reply to ksjs:

Yeah I do this regularly. I make a rectangle to fit a square hole so the two sides can have glue applied. I then drill two small holes in the middle and feed a piece of string/cord through one and back out the other and tie to a bit of bamboo wand. By twisting the wand round in circles it twists up the string and winds the wand against the wall and pulling the plasterboard the other direction keeping a nice secure fixture and once the glue has set I can fill in the hole

In reply to mypyrex:

Assume your cupboards will take a lot of weight, better safe than sorry right?

Get a pencil and just roughly mark the top of the cupboards, then using an old hand saw, cut the plasterboard horizontally from stud to stud, then vertically down(these cuts will be hidden behind the cupboards but can easily be filled afterwards!) about 12 inches, then again horizontally across the bottom, (the cuts you make don't have to be square or in a straight line). mark up and remove this piece of board, keep it safe, you'll need it later!

You now need some 18mm ply or OSB the same width as the stud work and about 18" taller than the hole you've made. Slot the ply/OSB into the cavity centre the board so you have the same amount of board above the hole as you do below the hole and screw through the plasterboard into the ply/OSB both top and bottom, this will pull the ply tight up to the back of the plasterboard(use plenty of drywall screws), then replace the piece of plasterboard you removed earlier using the drywall screws again, making sure they are sunk just below the surface of the wall. Now using whatever filler you like, fill to flush the heads of the screws and fill the saw cuts you made and hey presto, you have something strong to fix to.

Hope this all makes sense, it's a lot easier to do than to explain.

First of all - an apologu to Birdie Num Num. The mechanism can be adjusted vertically, I found the screw.

Secondly, I don't think the weight loading in the wall brackets will be too critical as the cupboards actually form part of an "overbed" unit. There are two end units with a horizontal rail upon which the back edge of the cupboards sits.

In reply to mypyrex: or mark tops of cupboards and padsaw across and down 100 mm and slot in a batten (4"x1") across the width of cupboards. Fix batten to the upright studwork and cupboards to batten If cupboard sits proud, pack out the bottom.

In reply to shaggypops: Thanks but no need - see my last comment.