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I recently moved into a new apartment, and I've noticed that four of the cabinet doors "rock" when I open them. It's subtle, and I didn't notice it at first, but then one of the screws actually fell out of one of the hinges! This is because the screws that go into the hinges are loose, and as the hinge rocks, it pushes the screws out.

Here's a GIF of it: https://imgur.com/a/R0BcF8O

What can I do to fix this? I'd prefer to fix it myself just to learn, but please tell me if the risk of damaging the cabinets further is significant because I can just notify the landlord instead.

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  • The screws are backing out of the metal parts, or the screws mounting the hinge to the cabinet?
    – Evil Elf
    Commented Dec 7 at 15:18

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The two horizontal screws that attach the door part of the hinge to the frame part of the hinge are lose. They should be pretty easy to tighten up with a Phillips or a slotted screwdriver. Some of the screws on that hinge are not standard issue so it might be good to let the landlord fix it. If the wood or metal has been striped, you don't want to be blamed for doing it. Just watch the repair for your learning experience.

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  • Thanks. So I actually already tried re-screwing in the horizontal latches, but they just came undone. Makes me think the hole threads are no good or the screw is too small? But yeah, maybe I should tell the landlord
    – jds
    Commented Dec 7 at 21:19
  • So for one cabinet, the bottom screws just fell out due to wobbling. So I just re-screwed them in, and even when they're fully into the hole, the horizontal latch wobbles back and forth (horizontally). Maybe I need bigger screws?
    – jds
    Commented Dec 7 at 21:24
  • @jds Those screws probaby came with the hinge. The screw on the left might move the door back and forth with the right screw locking it in place. You might have to unscew them all to see how the hinge works...
    – JACK
    Commented Dec 7 at 22:02

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