One way to stop the accidental opening of drawers or cabinet doors is to install latches such as safety hasps, barrel bolts, and childproof locks. It’s a relatively easy task that will solve your cabinet woes, especially the frequent unintentional opening of your cabinet doors. If you are up for some DIY project to solve this problem, we’ve rolled out an easy guide on how to install cabinet door latches that will definitely help you fix that stubborn cabinet door.
Tips on How to Install Cabinet Door Latches
Before we discuss the easy step-by-step guide on how to install cabinet door latches, here are some quicks tips for you to remember.
- Do not store or place breakable or heavy items in overhead cabinets (such as solvents, bleach, etc.)
- Do not rely on pinch-grip or magnetic or latches to hold your cabinet doors closed, particularly on overhead cabinets or those that contain heavy, breakable, or dangerous items.
- Install cabinet door latches according to the manufacturer’s regulations. For example, use everything that was provided with the latch and don’t substitute small screws or bolts for those that were provided.
Easy Guide on How to Install Cabinet Door Latches
Here’s a quick and easy guide on how to install cabinet door latches.
- Plot the location of placement. The latch should be installed on the shelf or cabinet frame opposite the hinge side of the cabinet door and can be placed either at the top or bottom of your cabinet. You can install it vertically or horizontally.
- If possible, place the latch near the door handle. If the handle of the cabinet is on the bottom of the door, then install the latch at the bottom. This will allow you to apply enough force against the latching mechanism.
- Place the latch in the marked location and label screw holes using a pencil. Many latches have elongated holes to allow adjustment after the installation.
- Remove the latch and indent pencil marks with a bit. It will help hold the screws centered and prevent them from slipping when you’re screwing them in. Pre-drill the holes if you have larger screws.
- Realign the latch using the screw holes and install them with the screws provided by the manufacturer. If there are no screws supplied, you can look for or buy appropriately sized screws. The hardware store employee will be glad to assist you in picking the correct size of screw.
- Close the cabinet door and mark where the latch meets the door. Set the strike plate inside the door and mark the place of the screw holes with a pencil.
- Use the awl to indent the pencil marks where the strike plate will be located.
- Realign the strike plate with the holes and screw them to the door.
- Close the cabinet doors and test the latch mechanism. Make some forward or back adjustments to the latch mechanism by slightly loosening the screws and adjusting the location.
Estimated Cost
The cost of installing latches to your cabinet doors depends on the type you buy and the number of cabinet doors you want to secure. Most latches cost between $2 and $5. So, if you do the DIY project yourself, the cost of installing latches to all the cabinets and drawers of a medium-sized kitchen can range from about $60 to $100. If you hire a professional or a handyman to install these latches, you will have to pay for additional time and materials as well, which will be more costly than doing it yourself.
Conclusion
Installing a cabinet door latch is comparatively a very simple task that will solve your cabinet door problems. Cabinet latches come in a wide range of designs, and some are designed to be placed inside or outside your cabinet or drawers. These latches will only solve your cabinet doors from opening frequently. This will also protect you and your family when a sudden disaster like an earthquake occurs, saving you from falling objects that are inside the cabinets. Installing these latches need not be expensive. Thus, we are sharing with you these easy tips on how to install cabinet door latches so you can do the work yourself. It will be a fun DIY project, plus, it will save you extra bucks from calling a pro. Here’s how to learn more about Cabinet Locks.