Cabinets are about more than just function–they contribute to the overall look of your kitchen, giving it a pop of color, a sleek finish, or an elegant touch. But that’s all moot if your cabinet door hinges aren’t doing their jobs properly. Anyone can adjust cabinet door hinges with a screwdriver and some grit; all you have to do is determine the problem, then make screw adjustments or cabinet realignments, and you’ve got kitchen storage that’s as good as new as those slab kitchen cabinets for sale in fancy home design stores.
Understanding Cabinet Door Hinges
When you’re installing hinges on cabinet doors, you’ll soon realize that the type of cabinet door hinges that you choose affects the movement and look of your kitchen cabinets. Ultimately, though, their purpose is the same: to ensure that your cabinets open and close properly.
Anatomy of Cabinet Door Hinges
Cabinet doors have two vertical fixed screws that attach each hinge to each door and two horizontal screws on the inside for each hinge. The leftmost screw is the adjusting screw, while the screw on the right is the locking screw. Remember this as these will guide you when you adjust your cabinets.
Cabinet Door Hinges Adjustments
Before you begin adjusting your cabinet door hinges, it’s important to understand these key cabinet elements. Most modern cabinets have fully adjustable hinges, which allow you to make three basic directional adjustments:
Up and Down
The up-and-down adjustment is primarily visual, allowing you to adjust the height of your doors to match your cabinets.
Side to Side
The side-to-side (or left-and-right) adjustment affects the smooth operation of your cabinet doors. You can adjust the upper or lower hinge (or both) to tilt the doors for aligning the space between the doors.
In and Out
The in-and-out adjustment involves the depth of your cabinet doors. This adjusts how they strike the face frame as they’re closed and how they rest in that position.
What You Need to Adjust Cabinet Door Hinges
If your cabinets are loose, misaligned, or not closing properly, chances are the hinges just need a bit of adjusting. You don’t have to read up on the steps to replace cabinet doors just yet–adjusting cabinet doors is a simple task; in fact, you only need a standard Phillips-head screwdriver to do it.
How to Adjust Loose Cabinet Doors
To adjust loose cabinet doors, tighten the locking screw (the horizontal screw furthest to the right) using a screwdriver. This is typically enough to fix any looseness, but if your doors are still a bit wobbly, then proceed with tightening the rest of the screws starting with the fixed door screws and then the adjustable cabinet screws. Your cabinet doors should be tight by now, but they may be slightly misaligned, so you may need to do other adjustments after.
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How to Adjust Misaligned Cabinet Doors
When adjusting misaligned cabinet doors, you’ll be adjusting everything except the screws that hold the hinges to the doors or the inside of the cabinet. Start by tightening the horizontal adjusting screws, turning them clockwise with a screwdriver to move the door closer to the cabinet’s edge (and vice versa to move them further away). You may have to slightly loosen the locking screw to be able to do this.
Next, loosen the adjustable screws in each set of hinges to adjust the door up and down. You don’t have to remove the screws completely–you can also turn one of the adjustable screws to realign the angle. Align the door, then tighten the screws again and close the door to check if everything is symmetrical.
If there are still parts that are misaligned, try doing one adjustment at a time until you get it exactly right.
How to Adjust Cabinet Doors That Don’t Close Properly
To adjust cabinet doors that don’t close properly, check if the doors are binding or touching the frame as it closes. Tell-tale signs are if the doors are too tight or if there are any creaking noises. Loosen the locking screws (the horizontal screws on the part of the hinges closest to the back of the cabinet) and adjust the doors, pulling them towards you to create a gap, ideally no more than one millimeter. Tighten the locking screws again, then check if the problem has been fixed. If not, repeat the process until it is.
Get the Best Cabinet Doors From 27estore
If you find that your hinges aren’t the problem and need to replace or redo your cabinets, you can find the best choices from 27estore. Choose from a wide variety of distinctive materials and styles to suit your taste, leaving you with the kitchen of your dreams! Find the perfect cabinet doors from 27estore today.
