One of the features that attracted me to our house was its beautiful kitchen. Having gone through the time and expense of a kitchen remodel in our old house, we didn’t have the resources or inclination to take on that project in our new home. So, when I saw the ergonomic open setup, counter space and canned ceiling lights, I knew this was the kitchen for me. And for the past two and a half years I’ve been very happy with my kitchen expect for one small thing, the hinge faceplates on the corner cabinets.
The first one broke about a year ago. Mind you, we’re not talking about the mechanism of the hinge failing; we’re talking about the bit of metal that holds the hinge to the cabinet which snapped at the screw holes. I called a friend and he was able to replace it in short order. A couple of months ago, the top hinge on the other corner cabinet snapped in the same place. Again I called my friend, but repairing kitchen cabinets isn’t even close to being on his top ten lists of things to do in his life and undoubtedly if it does it’s because his wife is having an issue in their kitchen. I can’t say as I blame him, the hinges on my cabinets don’t rank all that highly on my “to do” list either. Consequently, here I am, about six weeks later, with an gapping corner cabinet by my stove since I removed the door entirely to avoid damaging the lower hinge.
After a few weeks of no response from my friend, I sent him another text. Having heard nothing from him, I decided to take the broken hinge to Lowe’s to see if they carried a replacement. The salesman in the kitchen remodeling department was busy closing a sale when I approached him with my baggie of hinge parts. Without even looking he sent me to Hardware. The fellow in hardware was impressed by the caliber of my hinge but admitted sadly that they didn’t carry anything that nice and referred me back to the remodel department. When I explained they had sent me to him, he looked at the hinge again and seeing the manufacturer’s name and a skew number, suggested I do a Google search. I thought that was a grand idea. After all, I can certainly search on Google and definitely know my way around a screwdriver!
After lunch I sat down with my hinge and Googled the Grass Cabinet Hinge # 3906 and found it in short order. I also discovered it has been discontinued. When I clicked on the “find replacement” I was shown parts that didn’t look anything like my hinge or its faceplate. Clearly I will need to do more research and make a few more calls.
In the meantime, I have tacky yet admittedly easy access to my pots and pans. How annoying!