COLUMN: Michael D. Klimek

DEAR MIKE: My granddaughter, who is 2 years old, recently wanted to see what was in a kitchen drawer. She opened the drawer and pulled herself up to have a look. She put so much weight on the drawer that it pulled the back of the drawer out of the runner.

The problem is that the front runner is still in place and I can't pull the drawer out because it is now at a 45-degree angle and gets jammed. I have tried to muscle it out, but if I put too much elbow grease in it something is going to break. What can I do? -- David R.

DEAR DAVID: You can tell your granddaughter's parents to call a repairman. Home repair doesn't get much easier than that.

Chances are, you may end up breaking something, either the drawer or the roller guide. You could try getting access to the roller guides on either side, but you would have to remove the drawers underneath it or cut a hole in the top of the cabinet (if it is in a cabinet).

Once you have access to the rollers, you could try to pry the wheels back into the guides. I'll bet the drawer guides came out of the tracks easily enough, but they sure won't go back in that easy.

I think I would remove the drawer front. Depending on the quality of the drawers, the front may be screwed on to the drawer box, or it may actually be the front of the box.

The drawer box has four sides with a rabbet (a groove) cut near the base around the perimeter of the box. Into the rabbet slides the bottom of the drawer. It sometimes floats in the rabbet rather than being glued or nailed. The sides are stapled together and the front is screwed (and sometimes glued) to the front of the box.

Removing the drawer front may be as easy as unscrewing the two screws that hold it on from inside the box. If you have any other setup than this, you will have to pry the front of the box apart. Don't try to pry the glued pieces, rather pry apart the stapled pieces.

Use a standard screwdriver and ease the stapled sides away from the front of the box. You want to be careful since you don't want to rebuild the drawer. The bottom may also be stapled to the front.

Once you have the front off, you will be able not only to see inside the opening, but also to push the drawer back into the opening. In doing so, the wheels of the drawer guide should roll off the tracks and drop down to where you can slip them back into place from the rear of the tracks. Your drawer should now roll freely like it did before the pull-ups.

Remove the drawer from the opening and inspect the roller assembly for damage. You can try to bend damaged parts back into place or you may have to replace some parts. If you have to replace the roller assembly, take it off the drawer and buy a new one from a home center. Two screws will hold it in place.

Reinstall the drawer front to the box. You may have to perform a little surgery on the box to get it back to normal. Staples are difficult to install in wood without a gun, so use small finishing nails and glue. Smear glue along the edges of the box, push the surfaces together and nail them home.

Next time, have your granddaughter practice her pull-ups on your neighbors' cabinet drawers.

Michael D. Klimek is a licensed contractor and president of Pro Handyman Corp. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: questions@

pro-handyman.com. Or, mail to: 2301 E. Sunset Road, Box 8053, Las Vegas, NV 89119. His Web address is: www.pro-handyman.com.

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