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I don’t know about you, but around here we always have lingering tasks that just get pushed to the bottom of our to-do list over and over again. We’ve had a few broken items around here for the last couple of months now that I’ve been meaning to fix and just never got around to them.

However, I took one afternoon and set aside the time to finally fix these things. Let’s take a look at these broken nuisances…

Our Broken Floor Register

We have a wood register in the floor of our living room near our table. At some point,  I think someone sat in the nearby chair and the weight of the leg cracked one of the wood vents. It split into two pieces and we’ve probably glued it back on there three to four times now. But it would inevitably break again. Ugh.

Now that Rory has free reign of the first floor, she loves going over to this floor register and sticking her hand in the large broken gap. Nope! This needed to be fixed ASAP.

Our Broken Cabinet Drawer

Onto the main bathroom. You recently saw me transform the bathroom vanity with some paint. It looks so much better, but functionally, there was still one drawer giving me a hard time.

In this photo, you’ll notice that the bottom right drawer is slanted and sticking out. And that’s because the plastic piece that attached the slider to the drawer itself broke in half. I use this drawer every single day and it’s a huge pain in the butt to pull in and out since it’s not on its track.

Again, another lingering task on my to-do list.

A Broken Family Heirloom

This last broken item is a handpainted plate made by my great-grandmother. As I’ve shared here on the blog before, my great-grandmother was an amazing artist and handpainted so many items that I like to display throughout our home, like the plate in Rory’s nursery gallery wall.

My mom was recently going through some boxes and found this broken plate. We both hated the idea of just tossing it, so I told her I would do my best to put the pieces back together to salvage it.

Trying Out RapidFuse Fast Curing Gel with Gel Control Applicator

DAP sent me their new RapidFuse Fast Curing Gel with Gel Control Applicator to try out. It’s meant to bond virtually everything in thirty seconds, with a full cure in thirty minutes. It’s two times more durable than a typical super glue and it forms an impact-resistant bond that won’t grow brittle or break over time. I figured this super glue would be the perfect product for those first two broken items around my house.

Fixing the Wood Vent

First up – the wood vent. The wood piece that fell off split into two, so I had to do this in two parts.

I glued the bottom piece on first and did my best to hold it in the right position. It can be repositioned within three minutes, which is really nice if you don’t get it in the perfect spot. I had a paper plate nearby, just in case things got messy, but the gel control applicator doesn’t drip and it’s very precise, so I didn’t even need it. And with this glue, a little goes a long way!   

I applied pressure to the back for thirty seconds to get it to set and then let it dry for thirty minutes. Then, I came back and did the same thing with the second piece on the front of the wood vent.

After another thirty minutes of curing, I placed the register back in and it looks like new. Well, maybe not “new” because there is a small chip still missing. (Can you spot it in the above photo?) But it’s so much better and Rory can no longer fit her hand down the large hole. Thank goodness!

With this task off my list, I was motivated to tackle the bathroom drawer.

Fixing the Bathroom Drawer

From bonding wood to bonding plastic – I was eager to see if this glue would work just as well on this broken piece. I followed those same steps – applying a small bit of glue, applying pressure, and letting it cure for thirty minutes.

The plastic piece was officially back together, but the ultimate test would be putting this back in place and actually using the drawer. Would the weight of the drawer break the bond?

I attached it to the vanity and things were looking good and it felt so much sturdier. Then, it was time for the heavy drawer…

Boom. It worked! I can now actually use this drawer without it falling off of the track every single time. It’s no longer a daily annoyance for me when I’m getting ready in the morning and I’m so happy I took the time to fix this!

Trying Out RapidFuse Ultra Clear

For the plate, I ended up using this RapidFuse Ultra Clear All-Purpose Adhesive. I chose this glue for the plate because it creates a crystal clear bond to create a really clean result. Plus, it won’t yellow as it ages.

Since I wanted the pieced together plate to look as seamless as possible, I figured this super glue was the way to go!

Fixing the Plate

The plate was broken into five pieces and I decided to start by bonding the two largest pieces.

I put the clear adhesive on the edges of one side and pushed them together. I applied pressure for a few minutes and then let it dry for thirty minutes.

I kept a paper towel handy so I could wipe up any excess glue that seeped through to the top of the plate. With the big pieces together, I then went piece by piece, adding on each one, holding it together with some pressure, and then allowing it to set for thirty minutes.

In the end, it came back together nicely!

You can’t even see the bond line for the two big pieces. It looks seamless. I think it made a nice clean break there and the glue really holds it together well.

The other pieces all formed together, but I think a few tiny chips were missing here and there. But that’s okay, I like the character it brings. I ended up placing the plate on my office built-ins, using this plate holder, and I love how it pops against the navy.

Now, I have a little piece of my great-grandmother in my home office and I can glance over at this beauty while I’m working away!

So if you have items around your house that need fixing  – don’t we all? –  I highly recommend keeping the RapidFuse Fast Curing Gel with Gel Control Applicator and the RapidFuse Ultra Clear All-Purpose Adhesive in your toolbox. I know they’ll come in handy around here for many future projects.

Casey