In my book, there’s nothing worse than saggy drawers!  

I hate them on my teenage son and I hate them in my kitchen!   

You know the ones!  I’m talking about those drawers where you pull it out and something is just not right.  It falls off to one side.  It leans too far forward or it leans too far back.  My kitchen is old(ish) and so I assumed that I’d have to get new cabinets to resolve the problem.  Turns out, I was wrong!

Fixing a sagging drawer is super easy and usually pretty cheap.  This repair cost only about $6!

For this fix you WILL need:

Screw driver

New drawer slides

Measuring tape

Pen and paper

You MIGHT also need:

Rear mount

Flashlight

The problem:

When I open this drawer is tilts up, causing everything to slide to the back of the drawer.  The drawer doesn’t close smoothly and never seems to sit straight when closed.  Other problems you might notice: the drawer seems loose, won’t close entirely or won’t open entirely.

Removing the drawer:

Pull the drawer out as far as it will go.  To remove the drawer from the cabinet you may have to press down on the metal drawer stop that is inside the cabinet.  Press both drawer stops at the same time to remove the drawer.

Troubleshooting:

Inspect the old slides and mounts.  The slide is the metal piece that is mounted to the side of the drawer.  There is another slide mounted inside the cabinet.  The mount is the piece that attaches the slide to the back of the cabinet.  You might not have mounts.  Use a flash light to check the back of the cabinet for mounts. 

There should be 1 slide mounted to each side of the drawer and 1 slide mounted inside on each side of the cabinet.  You’re checking to see if screws are missing, if a slide is missing, bent or broken.   A missing or broken mount may be causing the problem.  [In my case 1 of the slides from inside the cabinet was missing entirely!]

The fix - Measure:

If you determine that a defective or missing slide or mount is the problem, measure the length of the slide attached to the drawer.  Write down your measurement.  Now measure the length of the slide that is mounted inside the cabinet.  Write it down.  Keep in mind that the 2 measurements may not be the same.  If possible, take the old slide or mount with you to the hardware store. 

At the store do your best to match the new parts you buy with the old parts.  Keep in mind that styles and colors change.  If you can't  find an exact match don’t panic.  Just do your best and save receipts in case you need to make a return or exchange.

Installing new parts:

Generally speaking, this is a simple screw driver job.  Using a cordless driver makes it even faster.  Unscrew old parts and install the new.  Make sure that the part you took off matches the part you put back on. 

PRO TIP:

Use your camera phone to photograph the old part before you take if off.  Use the picture as a reference guide for how to install the new part.

 

SUPER PRO TIP:

Because our drawer was loose for so long, the drawer handle was used to lift/reposition the drawer a lot.  The extra pressure on the handle caused it to fall off.  Inspect your drawer handle to see if it’s showing extra wear.  It may need to replace the handle or install a new screw.  Take the old handle and screw to the store so that the replacement matches perfectly!