A common problem in the home is occasionally having to adjust some closet door. This is especially necessary if the doors become misaligned over time and through heavy use. For many people without prior professional knowledge, this can seem like a challenging household task. However, there are some simple steps you can follow to realign cabinet doors by adjusting the hinges. Most cabinets have similar hinges that are easy to handle. So, the tips listed here can help you regardless of whether it is kitchen cabinets, bathroom furniture or storage cabinets. Just read on to find out more about it.
Why should you adjust a closet door?
Daily use can loosen and misalign cabinet doors over time. In addition, the repeated opening and closing causesfor example in kitchen furnitureConstant slight movements in the door hinges or loosening of the screws. This can cause a noticeable difference in the visual congruence of your cabinet doors or how the cabinets are used. Another factor for such problems can be drastic changes in humidity or temperature. This will also allow you to notice any changes to the alignment of your cabinet doors. In such cases, routine seasonal adjustments that prevent such natural temperature-related door movements would be recommended.
Additionally, misaligned cabinet doors can begin to rub against each other or against the cabinet box. This can also cause functional problems when using the cabinets and can cause chipping or scratching of the surfaces. Therefore, it is important to learn how to adjust a closet door without having to call a professional every time. However, adjusting door hinges is one of the easiest repairs you can make to your kitchen and living room or bathroom. Even homeowners who cringe at the sight of a screwdriver and hammer can quickly take care of this frustrating everyday problem.
What you should know before doing the work
Before you start adjusting, you should check the type of your hinges. On most modern cabinets, the door hinges are adjustable, with three directional adjustments: up and down, side to side, and in and out, or in depth. In addition, these also have mechanisms for windage and depth adjustment. However, you will need to move some of these up and down with the screws that attach the hinges to the cabinet when adjusting your cabinet door. Others also have a mechanism for this and you don't need to loosen the mounting screws.
In the past, this type of adjustment was only found on contemporary or modern style frameless cabinets. Nowadays almost all cabinets now have adjustable hinges. If each of your door hinges has two or more screws in addition to the mounting screws, they are called fully adjustable door hinges. The adjustment does not require any particularly special tools. The only thing you need is a normal Phillips screwdriver, usually with a No. 2 screw tip, although there are different sizes. However, do not use a power drill with a screwdriver as the force of the drill can easily tear off screw heads or strip the material.
Follow simple steps and adjust your closet door
First, you should tighten any loose mounting screws. To do this, you can open the cabinet door and look at the part of the hinge that is attached to the side of the cabinet. The two screws located at the top and bottom of the hinge secure the hinge to the cabinet. Make sure the cabinet door is screwed tight by turning these screws clockwise. It often happens that the cabinet doors are loose rather than misaligned, which can quickly solve the problem. However, if this is not the case, you can move on to the next step.
First, you can try adjusting the door up or down. If it is still hanging too high or too low, you can look for screws on the door hinge that will allow you to adjust the cabinet door by moving it up and down. You can recognize these by two oval holes on the door hinge. They allow some play between the hinge and the screws. In this case, you can follow the next steps:
- First you should only slightly loosen the two fastening screws on both hinges. It should be enough to turn the screw a quarter turn counterclockwise. This will loosen the screws enough for you to be able to move the door. In addition, it is advisable to keep the screws on the door too tight rather than too loose.
- You can then carefully close the cupboard door.
- First, you should be able to adjust the cabinet door to the desired height when it is closed.
- Then try to open the door again, being careful not to knock it out of position.
- Now tighten the screws again by hand.
- Finally, check the cabinet door's position by closing it again.
This means you can adjust a cabinet door to the right or left
If your closet doors are out of balance, you will need to center them by moving them left and right. For this you can use the side adjustment to properly align the doors. The horizontal adjustment screw is usually located closest to the front of the case.
- So you can first turn the depth adjustment screw to move the door in and out with respect to the cabinet box.
- However, a wooden door can easily separate from the box if there are seasonal fluctuations in humidity. This means it won't hit the cabinet flush when you close it.
- If the top of the cabinet door does not meet the box, you can align the top hinge towards the cabinet. Adjust the bottom hinge away from the cabinet, and if the door has a gap at the bottom, you can do the opposite.
- Finally, make sure the door moves properly by closing it after each small adjustment. This will also help you determine if any further adjustments are required. This testing phase usually requires fine-tuning.
As you turn the screw clockwise, the door should move closer to the center of the cabinet. As you turn the screw counterclockwise, it should move further away from the center. You can adjust both the top and bottom hinges on the cabinet door by trying side-to-side movements. Move both if you need to adjust both sides. If only the top or bottom needs to be moved to one side, you can only treat the corresponding hinge. Additionally, you should remember that such adjustments do not have to be too drastic. Do not turn the screw too much to see a significant difference. When readjusting, always make sure to close the door and check the alignment.
More tips for customizing closet doors
If your cabinets have old, attached cabinet hinges, you have very few adjustment options available. This is the case with most surface mount hinges, which mount to the front of the cabinet rather than the inside edge of the cabinet face frame or the inside of the cabinet box. There are also hinges on the base that have up and down adjustment. In such cases you can only adjust them using elongated screw holes for the fastening screws. Otherwise, non-adjustable hinges can be moved to reposition the doors, which may leave a mark in the hinge's old location. However, since the hinge is on the inside of the door, this is not as noticeable.
If there is a gap along the edge of the door, this reveal is normal. When checking a door for proper alignment, you should usually also check the joints, as they form the dark, noticeable lines between cabinet panels. The width of the reveal is your choice, but is usually limited by the capacity of the hinge. It could also be that an entire group of cabinet doors doesn't look right together. When adjusting multiple cabinet doors, your goal should be to get them looking right as a whole. However, the doors do not necessarily have to be perfectly vertical or level or otherwise returned to a factory-new position. This allows you to make all cabinet doors look good both with each other and with surrounding cabinet elements, such as cabinet edges and drawer fronts. Also use a level to draw temporary vertical or horizontal lines that will run across multiple cabinet doors at once.
