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How to Replace Cabinet Door Hinges

Do your cabinet door hinges creak when they open or close, or even cause the doors to hang crooked? If so, it's probably time for replacement cabinet hinges. After years of swinging back and forth, hinges start to wear out and perform poorly. The problems come on so subtly that many people don't notice, and even when they do, they dismiss it as a minor problem.

Considering that you use your cabinets every day, why put up with something that compromises their functionality and aesthetics? Replacing cabinet hinges is a low-cost project you can do in an afternoon without needing special skills or tools, so there’s no reason to put it off. Just follow these simple steps to learn how to replace cabinet door hinges in a matter of hours.

How To Replace Cabinet Door Hinges

Installing replacement cabinet door hinges is surprisingly simple—it just takes a little attention to detail. CabinetDoors.com has broken down the most important steps for installing replacement hinges for kitchen cabinets.

1. Pick Your Hinges

The first step to replacing cabinet hinges is choosing the right replacement hinges for your kitchen cabinets. You have a long list of options depending on what benefits you are looking for out of your hinges. Some of the most common replacement cabinet hinge types include:

  • Concealed hinges - These are installed inside the door and inside the cabinet box, making them invisible when the door is closed, providing a clean look.

  • Semi-concealed hinges - Semi-concealed hinges are mostly hidden by the closed cabinet door, but you can see them slightly when the door is closed.

  • Exposed hinges - Exposed hinges attach to the face-frame of the cabinets and can be seen when the door is closed.

  • Self-close hinges - Self-close hinges prevent the door from hanging open and slowly close on their own.

  • Soft-close hinges - Soft-close hinges are slightly different from self-close hinges and prevent the door from slamming against the frame, softly bringing the door to the cabinet face as they close.

At CabinetDoors.com, we highly recommend using soft-close Blum hinges. They offer the strength, durability, and longevity you want in your new hinges. Better yet, they keep your doors from slamming shut using a unique mechanism that "catches" the door mid-swing and brings it softly into contact with the cabinet.

2. Have the Holes Bored

If you're replacing your doors along with your hinges (as many people choose to do), have hinge holes bored in the doors by the supplier. This saves you a lot of work while ensuring that the holes are in exactly the right place. You're welcome to do this yourself, but it honestly makes the job a lot trickier, even for someone with carpentry or contracting experience.

If you want to install the hinges yourself, you can measure about two inches from the top or bottom edge of the door and set the hinge as a guide to mark the screw holes. If you are installing replacement hinges in your old doors, you can usually line up the hinges with the pre-existing holes.

3. Install the Hinges to the Door

Now you can do the important part—add the hinges to the door. Depending on what kind of replacement hinges for kitchen cabinets you choose, installing them on the door simply involves placing the hinge in the pocket, rotating it until it falls into place, and activating the locking mechanism that secures it tightly. 

Other hinges are easily installed by drilling a couple of small screws into the hinge plate. Concealed cabinet door hinge installation will look slightly different, so you can explore our concealed hinge installation guide to help.

If installing different hinges on your old doors, you might also need to fill in the old holes with epoxy.

4. Install the Hinges to the Cabinet 

The other half of the hinge hardware attaches to the cabinet boxes. To determine where to drill your holes, clamp a flat piece of wood to the cabinet frame where you want the bottom edge of the cabinet door. Next, set a door with a complete hinge installed on top of the wood and mark where it comes into contact with the cabinet.

Then simply drill holes where you marked and screw in the correct half of the hinge. If your cabinet hinges come in two parts, simply connect the two hinges together to hang the doors. Otherwise, you’ll have to screw the full door onto the cabinet boxes.

5. Observe and Adjust

Your doors are hanging, but are they perfect? After replacing your cabinet hinges, get a level to check for inconsistencies, and look for places where the edges of the doors don't line up straight.

If you need to make adjustments, it's incredibly easy with Blum hinges. Small screws in the hinges adjust the doors in multiple directions. The middle screw lets you move the doors up and down, the front screw moves them left or right, and the rear screw has them sit closer or further from the cabinet itself.

Find Reliable Replacement Cabinet Hinges at CabinetDoors.com

Replacement cabinet door hinges can make the difference between an outdated, worn kitchen and a functional, stylish one. Add a fresh touch to your home with our selection of high-quality, long-lasting cabinet hinges at CabinetDoors.com. Order your replacement cabinet hinges or kitchen cabinet doors today by contacting us at sales@cabinetdoors.com or calling 800-342-1010.

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