Refitting kitchen wall cabinets

[askanotherone]

I recently had to remove kitchen wall cabinets to have new wiring put in. I'd like to fit the same cabinets again, but the handyman who helped me remove them said that the holes with the screws that held them on the wall are weakened now and it wouldn't be possible to fit them again. If anyone knows of a way to get around this I'd really appreciate your help

Sure I can

Does he mean the holes in the wall, or the cabinets?

Post some photos if you can.

Do you know what the wall is made of? Knock it, does it sound hollow? How old is the house?

Hi, thanks for the wall. He meant the holes in the wall. I'm not sure whether you'd be able to see from the photo, but you should be able to make out the holes that had the screws to hang the cabinets. The builder said that area would be too weak now to hold the cabinets again.

Knock the wall. Does it sound hollow? How old is the house?

We are trying to find out if it is plasterboard or plastered brick.

Please photograph the inside corners of the cabinets which attach to the wall.

Hi there. The walls are brick. It's the party wall in a Victorian property. Not sure if you can make out the fittings inside the cabinet there.

If the walls are plastered brick, the cabinets can easily be rehung. One method is to drill new holes two inches below (or above) the old ones. The other is to clean out and reinforce the holes (thus is good practice anyway in walls that are crumbly, which lime mortar often is)

You remove the old plasplug. This will pull out some of the crumbly old brick or mortar. You clean out remaining dust using the hose of a vacuum cleaner. You put the nozzle of a tube* of builders adhesive of the "no more nails" variety deep into the hole, and inject it, starting at the back side there is no air bubble, until it is almost full. You then press a long plasplug into the hole, using a screw a couple of turns into the plug as a handle, pressing it below the surface of the plaster and smoothing off the adhesive. You leave it to set firm (will take a day or so). When set, you remove the "handle" screw. You will hang the cabinet on a long screw, which passes through the plaster (which has no strength) and at least an inch into the brick beneath. Although the adhesive is not very strong, the screw will cause the plasplug to expand. Since the hole is completely full of adhesive, the plaster cannot expand, or crack or break, it simply transmits the expansion force to the brick in which it is deeply embedded. Thus there must be no air gap. The plug and the screw need to penetrate the wall by at least two inches. To position the screws accurately, measure the horizontal and vertical positions in advance, and rule pencil lines, leaving a cross at each screw position, which will be visible after the drilling and filling. Decorators filler or plaster are totally unsuitable.

• builders adhesive comes in large cylinder, and is applied using the same type of "gun" as silicone sealant round a bath, or decorator's caulk.

There is a similar, but better and more expensive, method for outdoor or structural fixings, injecting a plastic resin into the hole

There is a different method for cabinets that have an adjustable hanging hook inside, that hangs onto a metal strip screwed to the wall.

Thank you very much for the detailed explanation, really appreciate it. When then chasing in the wall for the electrical wires were covered the handyman filled the holes where the cupboard screws were with plaster, but I can see now from your post that will not be strong enough and the method you described above needed. Really appreciate your help!

I mostly use these brown plugs, which are 40mm long. Some people complain they are needlessly strong, but I don't bother with red or yellow ones to save a few pence. There are sample holes included to choose suitable screw and drill sizes. It is best to tap plugs below the surface of plaster to avoid cracking.

www.screwfix.com/p/plasplugs-solid-wall-solid-wall-fixings-10mm-x-40mm-50-pack/3947k

Exceptionally long ones are sold as "frame fixings" which are used for window frames and door frames, but it probably isn't worth you keeping those.

You can sometimes get them in long lengths that you cut to size required, but I haven't seen them recently,

Thank you very much! That's really useful