Inspired by a Wickes DIY guide. This walk-through is based on "How to Fix a Broken Drawer" from Wickes, the UK home improvement retailer. It covers the most common drawer failures and gets to the point quickly - useful if you are not sure which problem you are actually dealing with.
1. Work out what is actually wrong
Pull the drawer out fully and have a look before you do anything else. The issue is usually one of four things: the runners have worn or bent, the base panel has warped or dropped, a corner joint has opened up, or the drawer front has come away from the box.
Each one has a different fix. Diagnosing it first saves you messing around.
2. Fix a drawer that sticks or won't close straight
Remove the drawer and look at the runners. Modern soft-close runners are adjustable - there are usually small screws on the runner that let you raise, lower, or angle the drawer slightly. A few turns can cure a sticking drawer in minutes.
If the runner is physically bent or broken, it needs replacing rather than adjusting. Take the old one to a hardware shop to match it up - runner sizes are not standard.
3. Re-glue a joint that has come apart
If a corner of the drawer box has opened up, the joint needs cleaning and re-gluing. Scrape off any old glue with a chisel, apply fresh wood glue to both surfaces, clamp it square, and leave it overnight.
Check it is square before the glue sets - an out-of-square drawer box will not slide properly no matter how good the runners are. A couple of small clamps and a steel rule across the corners is all you need.
4. Sort a warped or sagging drawer base
Most drawer bases are a thin sheet of hardboard or MDF that sits in a groove around the inside of the box. They warp when they get damp - under the sink is a common one.
If it is slightly warped, you can often weigh it flat overnight. If it has dropped out of the groove, use a thin bead of wood glue to reseat it and tack it with a couple of panel pins at the back. A badly warped base is easier to cut a replacement from a sheet of 3mm hardboard than to fight with.
5. Re-attach a loose drawer front
Drawer fronts are usually screwed from inside the box through two or four adjustable clips. Open the drawer and look for the screws inside the front face - they let you adjust the front up, down, left, and right before locking it tight.
If the clips have snapped or the screw holes are stripped, you can drill fresh holes slightly further in and use longer screws with a washer behind them. A dab of wood glue behind the front before tightening adds a bit of extra grip.
6. Replace worn-out runners
If the drawer box is sound but it drags on every pull, new runners will transform it. Side-mounted undermount and soft-close runners are all widely available from timber merchants and online. Measure the length carefully - most standard kitchen drawers take either 400mm, 450mm, or 500mm runners.
Fitting them is straightforward: remove the old runners, screw the new cabinet-side pieces in first, then clip or screw the drawer-side pieces on and test the action before fixing everything tight.
When to call a handyman
If the cabinet carcass has shifted and the drawer opening is out of square, or if several drawers in a kitchen all need sorting at the same time, it is often quicker to have Richard come and work through the list in one go. Single drawer repairs are very doable as DIY - a whole kitchen of sticking drawers is a different afternoon.
Need kitchen repairs or fitting help?
The Sandwich Handyman can help with drawer repairs, cabinet adjustments, worktop fixing, and general kitchen maintenance jobs across Sandwich and East Kent.
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