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I've just moved into an apartment that has really nice IKEA-style (or possibly IKEA) kitchen cabinets, in great shape, but some of the holes to hold up the shelves are worn out. Surely this has happened to somebody else here before. I go to great lengths to not let this happen to my IKEA shelving units but the previous residents here have not been as cautious.

Worn out hole in side of shelving

To make matters worse, the supports for the shelves are a low grade plastic with rounded edges that just don't "stick" in the holes even when there's a decent fit. So they aren't much help.

Shelf support

Anyone have a solution for this? Can anyone recommend

a) a better type of shelf support anchor and b) a technique to do something with those holes to make them useful again?

I don't have the right to take down the cabinets but I could do something non intrusive or that would benefit the shelves in the long run like filling the holes with something and securing these pegs. Thank you!

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  • A picture of the holes, supports and shelves would be helpful. The supports I've seen are held in by the shelves, and don't care if the holes are loose.
    – Daniel Griscom
    Oct 24, 2016 at 1:00
  • I'll try to get a photo today.
    – tinpanalley
    Oct 24, 2016 at 15:46
  • I'm sorry, I've been reading and have no clue how to include a photo in a post.
    – tinpanalley
    Oct 25, 2016 at 19:50
  • Post the image on an image hosting service somewhere, and then add the URL to your question. Someone will be along to edit it in.
    – Daniel Griscom
    Oct 25, 2016 at 20:52
  • Fantastic. Here are the two shots. That plastic peg can't even hold itself much less a shelf of heavy plates, jars, or serving dishes. And whole the hole in the other picture doesn't look so bad, it's just worn out enough that a peg doesn't stay in. i64.tinypic.com/25a3sqx.jpg i68.tinypic.com/qqnwvl.jpg
    – tinpanalley
    Oct 25, 2016 at 21:19

3 Answers 3

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Google 'locking shelf support' and find something that looks like this:

enter image description here

As long as your shelves are approximately the right width, these will hold them securely.

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  • That is BRILLIANT! I do think unfortunately that some of these holes simply won't be small enough though. But for the others, totally. Thank you!
    – tinpanalley
    Oct 24, 2016 at 15:46
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Get shelf support pegs that look like this:

enter image description here

The shelf width tends to keep these in the holes. In addition you can choose to add a screw up into the bottom of the shelf for further security. These are made of metal which is way stronger than plastic.

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You can always drill fresh holes ~3/4 inch higher, and the shelf will likely cover the old holes. The locking option listed works really well without drilling.

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    This would be better as a comment. It doesn't answer the question asked by the OP.
    – JACK
    2 days ago
  • While I do appreciate the response, this was 7 years and 3 apartments ago. But thanks,
    – tinpanalley
    2 days ago

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