Let’s Repair a Kitchen Drawer!

This is an addition to my saga of our broken silverware drawer. If you haven’t read the post about the front of our silverware drawer falling off in my hand, you can find that here. When the drawer broke, I didn’t think I could build a new drawer that would actually work, so I shopped around to find a replacement. One of the reasons our drawer front broke, well probably THE reason, was because our cabinets are made with particle board. When I started looking for a replacement drawer, I wanted to buy a wood one; that is, until I saw that it would be over $50 and would need assembled once I got it. SO, I decided to try to find a drawer that would actually fit. Good luck, right? That’s what I thought as I headed to Habitat.

Table Of Content

Will I find a drawer that fits?
Should I go get that cabinet?
Can I actually repair the old drawer box?
Drawer repair Step 1 – remove damage
Drawer repair Step 2 – make new front
Drawer repair Step 3 – attach faceplate, handles, slides
Drawer repair Step 4 – Final step
Thoughts on this project
Supplied Used
Instructions
Silverware drawer: Before, during, after
For your convenience
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Will I find a drawer that fits?

Because I didn’t want to build a new drawer and didn’t want to spend the $ to buy a readymade one, I decided to try to find one at Habitat. They always have spare cabinet parts. It took a few trips before I found a little base cabinet with the exact drawer size that I needed!

The cabinet was $45. Not exactly cheap, but all I would have to do to the drawer was replace the faceplate! Since I didn’t need the cabinet, I convinced the Habitat employee to sell me just the drawer for $45. I did offer less, but she questioned if I thought someone would want to buy a cabinet without the drawer? so I paid full price.

When I got home and slid the drawer into place, I was SO thrilled that it was a perfect fit! Was it real wood? Nope. Particle board. BUT it was in new condition. I just needed to repace the faceplate with our original one and voila! we had a functioning silverware drawer again! YES!

Should I go get that cabinet?

After I was finished replacing the drawer, I wondered if I should go back to Habitat and pick up the cabinet. Hubby and I discussed the idea and decided that since I had already paid for it, I should go get it. I hadn’t measured the size of the cabinet, so we didn’t know if we would have room for it in the garage, but we could always use it in the storage shed.

Decision made. I headed to Habitat. When I got there, I saw the employee who had agreed to let me buy just the drawer. I told her I had decided to take the cabinet also, I think she was relieved.

When I got the cabinet home, I was thrilled to find out that we had a spot for it in the garage!

Can I actually repair the old drawer box?

The cabinet fit great in its new spot, but I had to admit, without a drawer, it would be less useful. I considered simply nailing the faceplate to the opening but then wondered if maybe, just maybe, I could repair the old drawer? If not, no big deal; but if so, this little cabinet would have a drawer again. Now I just had to figure out how to do it…

Drawer repair Step 1 – remove damage

The first step would be to cut away the damaged part of the front drawer. After considering all the different sawing options, I chose to try my miter saw. I removed the slides from the sides of the drawer before clamping it to the saw fence. Not knowing what to expect when the saw blade met the drawer, I wanted to make sure it didn’t shift. To my surprise, this worked beautifully! I cut the first 1/2 of the drawer front, flipped the drawer around, secured it with a clamp and cut the 2nd 1/2.

Drawer repair Step 2 – make new front

After the damaged particle board was removed, I cut a piece of MDF board that I had on hand and attached it to the front of the drawer box. I applied glue to the edges that would meet, then used my nail gun to further secure the pieces. I clamped the new piece in place and let it dry overnight. The next day, using a paintbrush, I applied a coat of drywall primer – just because I already had it in my paint stash – then 2 coats of exterior white water-based paint.

Drawer repair Step 3 – attach faceplate, handles, slides

The last step is to attach the faceplate and slides. The cabinet came without handles, so I added those as well. Before attaching the faceplate, I created a template with painter’s tape to mark the box for where to drill the holes. I transferred the tape to the box, drilled the holes, then attached the faceplate. I then used painter’s tape to measure the holes on the handle, transferred the tape to the faceplate, then drilled the holes and attached the handle. I don’t have pictures of attaching the slides, but that was super simple! I just put them back where they had been – same screws, same holes.

Drawer repair Step 4 – Final step

The drawer repair worked perfectly! I slid the drawer into place then addressed the door. The door opened from the left to the right which meant we had to work around the garage door support to get it opened. The cabinet was predrilled to have the door open either way, so I unscrewed it from the right side and attached it to the left. Once that was done, I drilled holes for the handle following the same method I used on the drawer.

Thoughts on this project

After making the repair to the silverware drawer, I wondered why I didn’t just try that in the first place. I’m sure it was because it felt overwhelming since it was something I had never tried before. I do know that I didn’t want to go through the effort, have it fail, then have to get another one anyway. I rarely feel that way about a project challenge. Being able to fix this drawer and have it work gave me a confidence boost! Now, we have a new silverware drawer AND a cute little garage cabinet!

Supplied Used

Instructions

Using miter saw, cut damaged area on drawer
Cut replacement piece using miter saw
Apply wood glue to front of drawer
Clamp new piece to front of drawer
Using nail gun, insert nails into front along the sides of the drawer
Apply 1 coat of drywall primer or regular primer
Apply 2 coats of water-based white paint
Attach faceplate to front of drawer
- Create a template with painter’s tape to mark the box for where to drill the holes
- Transfer the tape to the faceplate
- Drill the holes
- Attach the faceplate using screws
Add handle if desired

Silverware drawer: Before, during, after

For your convenience

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