How To Fix A Broken Refrigerator Door Shelf

This is how I repaired the shelf on my refrigerator door. The hook on the right side busted off and spilled my soy sauce! No need to buy a new part when this is easily fixed.

Materials
broken shelf
plexiglass or other plastic
sand paper
two part epoxy

Tools
clamps
saw

1. clean and rough up (with sand paper) the broken shelf peice
2. cut out a peice of plexi or plastic to fit in the broken area
3. rough up the plexi with sand paper
4. mix epoxy and apply to the area the needs to be fixed
5. add clamps and let it cure

Thats it, It's a very simple fix. With the epoxy and plexiglass you can't even tell it was broken and it is now much stronger than before. Plus there was no money wasted in buying a replacement part!

Comments

[The Rambler]

Recently someone I know fixed a door shelf with a crack through the bottom by merely glueing it together. Sure enough it broke again no more than a week later. I've been meaning to do him a favor and fix it with a reinforcing piece of plexiglass like you used but just haven't had the time.

[caitlinsdad]

Smart to bridge the gap with an external brace to epoxy on. In addition to the stress of the weight on the shelf, repairs to stuff put in the cold or heat makes the materials expand and contract eventually causing failure. Being of those food contact surfaces, plastics used are usually tough to glue since they are smoother and resist liquids so weaker bonding unless you really prep it well.

[desertsniper]

Yeah I thought the same thing about the smooth surfaces, thats why I used sand paper to score and rough up those surfaces. It's held up this far and it been almost 2 months. The epoxy has a pretty good cood resistance rating, I will update this if the fix fails though. Thanks for the kind words.

[CementTruck]

I may need this 'ible soon.

My wife crams so much stuff in the shelves that I can almost guarantee that there's no air flow between the items, thereby nullifying the refrigerators ability to cool.

One of two things is going to happen eventually. Either the shelf will break, or the hinges on the door itself will fail. I just can't get through to her. I try my best to help out by eating as much as I possible can, but she just buys more stuff. It's a vicious cycle.

[desertsniper]

As you can see I suffer the same problem! so I may have to fix these other door parts soon.