How to Update Kitchen Cupboard Hardware
Kitchen cupboard hardware is available in many styles and finishes to match the design of virtually any kitchen. Cupboard hardware includes handles and knobs that are installed on the outside of your kitchen cupboard to aid in opening and closing the doors. New hardware for your cupboards is available at your local hardware store, or from many specialty websites online. Prior to purchasing your new hardware, measure the distance between the screw holes to ensure that the correct hardware is purchased, as the new hardware should be installed into the existing screw holes. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Remove the old hardware from the kitchen cupboards. To remove, hold the front of the hardware, then remove the screw on the inside of the cupboard door.
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Attempt to screw the old screws into the new hardware prior to installation. If the old screws do not fit, and the new hardware did not come with its own screws, you must cut new screws to fit your cupboards.
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Insert a new 2-inch screw into the screw hole on the cupboard door, starting from the inside. Hold the screw tightly in place, then wrap plumbers tape around the screw from the outside of the cupboard, to indicate the thickness of the cupboard door.
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Insert a different 2-inch screw into the new hardware until it reaches the back of the hardware screw hole. While inserting, count the number of full turns required to reach the back. Once the back has been reached, back the screw off one-third of the number of turns required to reach the back. For example, if six full turns are required to reach the back, back the screw off two full turns. Wrap a piece of plumbers tape at the base of the screw where it meets the hardware to mark the length of the screw.
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Place the first screw that was marked beside a third screw and align the heads together. Place the second screw that was screwed into the hardware between the two screws with the head on the opposite side. Align the tip of the screw with the edge of the plumber's tape closest to the screw head on the first screw. Wrap a piece of plumbers tape around the third screw in line with the plumber's tape of the second screw. The bottom of the tape indicates the point at which the screw must be cut.
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Thread the third screw into the appropriate screw-cutter hole on the wire cutters. Be sure the compensate for the width of the wire cutters when inserting the screw to be cut.
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Place the wire cutters flat against a board, allowing the screw to hang over the edge. Mark the location of the tip of the screw on the board using a pencil. This mark allows you to avoid having to measure each screw, as each screw can be lined up to this mark.
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Squeeze the wire cutters to cut the screw.
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Unthread the screw from the wire cutters to remove.
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Screw all of the additional screws into the wire cutter, lining them up to the mark on the board and then cutting.
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Align the door cupboard hardware with the screw holes, then insert the screw and tighten using a screwdriver.
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References
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