How to Fix a Kitchen Cabinet Spice Rack

By Mark J. Donovan

Well for the second time in as many years I fixed the kitchen cabinet spice rack in my home. This time I fixed it for good!

As usual we paid an arm and a leg to have so-called professional kitchen cabinet installers hang the kitchen cabinets in our home several years ago. As is fairly typical with remodeling contractors, the work was sub-par, and in particular the installation of the spice rack. To begin with the spice rack was installed too low in the kitchen cabinet. Second, the spice rack itself was racked, meaning it was not a perfect rectangle. The weight of it caused it to sag on the outside edge furthest from the hinges. Consequently the spice rack rubbed up along the bottom inside of the kitchen cabinet.

A couple of years ago, I adjusted the spice rack by loosening the hinges and sliding the rack upwards. The holes for the screws were slotted to allow for this type of adjustment. However, even with the slotted holes it was insufficient to significantly raise the spice rack.

So today I chose to remove the spice rack altogether and re mount the hinges another ¼ inch higher. I also squared up the spice rack using a very small thin strip of wood (actually a 2” length of a new paint stick). While holding the outside corner of the spice rack up, I screwed and glued this small piece of wood to the back upper corner of the spice rack. By doing this I was able to keep the spice rack square. I also made sure the screws were of such a length that they did not penetrate all the way through the spice rack paneling.

So with the strip of wood installed, and the spice rack itself reinstalled in the kitchen cabinet, my kitchen cabinet spice rack now works properly and does not rub along the bottom of the kitchen cabinet.