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When I got home last night, my refrigerator door fell off.
I'd like to say I handled that well, going right to the solution. But -no.
In the end, though, I WON. Without needing to contact my landlord. Without having a wrench the right size, etc. Because I have me, and it was a good reminder that I am resourceful, creative, capable, and have value... all things my workplace and new boss have been chipping away from me.
The problem was the door hinge pin. Over thousands of open/close swivels, it had worked its way out. So what I had was a 1/2" diameter smooth cylindrical pin, with a thin top rim, 1/4"ish screw at the top of that, and a gap between the fridge top and door top of about 3/4". If the pin was properly in place, only the smooth section would show in that gap. As is was, all the smooth part had dropped down into the pin well.
I got it back in using a flat screwdriver (to pry up the pin), a zip tie (snugged around the smooth part after lifting), and my brains. To get the screw to thread into its hole, I needed to twist the pin while pressing down on the fridge top where the hole was. Once I got it going, it was just a matter of getting enough grip with the zip tie lasso against smooth metal. (I would have escalated to glue/tape sticky if necessary.)
And now the darn thing should be good for a thousand more door openings.
I'd like to say I handled that well, going right to the solution. But -no.
In the end, though, I WON. Without needing to contact my landlord. Without having a wrench the right size, etc. Because I have me, and it was a good reminder that I am resourceful, creative, capable, and have value... all things my workplace and new boss have been chipping away from me.
The problem was the door hinge pin. Over thousands of open/close swivels, it had worked its way out. So what I had was a 1/2" diameter smooth cylindrical pin, with a thin top rim, 1/4"ish screw at the top of that, and a gap between the fridge top and door top of about 3/4". If the pin was properly in place, only the smooth section would show in that gap. As is was, all the smooth part had dropped down into the pin well.
I got it back in using a flat screwdriver (to pry up the pin), a zip tie (snugged around the smooth part after lifting), and my brains. To get the screw to thread into its hole, I needed to twist the pin while pressing down on the fridge top where the hole was. Once I got it going, it was just a matter of getting enough grip with the zip tie lasso against smooth metal. (I would have escalated to glue/tape sticky if necessary.)
And now the darn thing should be good for a thousand more door openings.