We Know: All About Replacing Cabinet Hardware

Why replace cabinet hardware?

Replacing drawer pulls, handles, even hinges, can transform the look of cabinets. They can tie in your cabinets with the room's decor or create a new room theme. All too often stock cabinets come with unappealing or outdated stock hardware. New hardware can enhance the cabinet's look as well as add value. When you replace the hardware on newly refinished or cleaned cabinet exteriors, your worn cabinets can look brand new. Even better, replacing cabinet hardware is easy and you can do it yourself in just minutes. This is especially true with discolored or rusty hinges. It's much easier and less time consuming to replace them than it is to clean them.

How do I remove the old hardware?

Handles or pulls are the easiest. On the inside of the drawer or cabinet, you'll see the screw that fastens the hardware to the outside. Use whichever screwdriver it requires to remove the screw. It's a good idea to immediately insert the screw back into the handle when you remove it. That keeps the screw from getting lost.


Removing hinges is a little trickier. The screws tend to be stubborn and before you remove the hinges, you'll need to support the door to keep dropping it and possibly damaging the woodwork. For that, it may be easier to have an extra set of hands to help you.

How do I know what size the new hardware should be?

Cabinet hardware comes in standard sizes, and for the most part, there aren't many of them. The easiest thing to do is bring one of each kind of the old hardware. At the store, you can hold the new ones up to the old ones for comparison. You can also measure between the posts where the screws go in. Single pulls are the easiest because you don't have to measure anything. Make sure the screws with the new hardware are long enough to reach through the wood surface, though that's rarely a problem unless your woodwork is substantially thick or extra thin. You can usually use the old screws if necessary.



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