Useful Guide To Fixing Loose Cabinet Hinges

The kitchen cupboard is probably one of the most used pieces of furniture in your house, and after opening and closing thousands of times it is not surprising that sometimes a hinge on the kitchen cupboard door could work loose. Here we consider some of the simple ways to fix a loose cupboard hinge.

Cabinet Hinges are most commonly supplied in two basic types - the traditional butt hinge, and the concealed clip-on hinge.

Traditional Butt Hinge

These simple folding cabinet hinges are very traditional and often specified on high-quality bespoke built kitchens.  The most likely scenario is that one or more of the screws has worked loose.  This may cause the door not to close properly or to drop a little in situ. 

The solution is usually simple and just requires you to retighten the screw.  However, if the hinge has been loose for a while, and you have continued to use the door, you may find the screw will have worn away some of the wood making the screw hole larger than it should be.  In this case you may be able to replace it using a slightly larger diameter screw to compensate, but be sure the head size is still the same.

Alternatively, you may need to remove the hinge altogether and repair the hole with some wood filler, adhesive or glue to give the original screw anew from setting again.

Concealed Clip-on Hinge

These concealed kitchen hinges are almost standard fit for all kitchen cupboards.  Available in different sizes and often with soft-close features engineered inside they are easy to fit and tested to give years of good operation.  They usually benefit from having a separate mounting plate.

Again if they appear to be loose it will likely be a simple fix by tightening or replacing the fixing screw.  As the hinges are concealed inside the cupboard, you should be able to change the original screw size without affecting the aesthetics.

These hinges also have additional screws for adjustment.  This can allow the door position to be micro-adjusted in all directions to ensure the perfect close.  A little gentle adjustment on the horizontal screws will allow you to get the position of the door just right.

In general if you find that a cabinet hinge has worked loose recent to the original fitting, you may need to consider if the door is too heavy for the chosen hinges.  In this case, you may choose to increase the size of the hinge, or simply add an extra hinge to the middle of the door to provide additional support in operation.

You asked, we answer!

Q: How do I know what kind of hinge I need for my cabinets?

A: If you're working with a joiner or furniture maker they will tell you, but if you want a high-end soft-close kitchen or cabinet then you'll need a soft close hinge. If you want something that matches your desired cabinet knob or handle finish, you may be more interested in a butt hinge.

Q: Do I have to paint my hinges to match my cabinets?

A: We don't recommend it! Not only could you end up with scuffed paint or mismatched shades, but you could also affect the functionality of the cabinet hinge. We've all moved into a new place to find our ironmongery painted over and needing to be replaced!

Q: Do cabinet hinges need to match cabinet knobs?

A: We recommend either matching your cabinet hinges to your chosen cupboard handles or cabinet knobs or the actual cupboards themselves. Think about whether you want metals to match or the cabinets and hinges to blend without distraction.

Click to shop!

If you would like any further advice on cabinet hinges and all things technical then call and speak to the team at More Handles who will be able to answer your questions and make some helpful suggestions on the huge range of choices available.

TEL - 01228 516516

WEB - morehandles.co.uk

EMAIL - sales@morehandles.co.uk