- Homestead Cabinet Design - Custom Kithens / Cabinet Refacing in MA Cabinet Hinges – Best Replacement Soft-Close Hinges

Question 1

What are Concealed Hinges

Accepted Answer

Concealed hinges are hinges that mount to the backside of a cabinet door to give a more modern sleek look. Also known as European hinges.

Question 2

What are European Hinges

Accepted Answer

European hinges are fully concealed hinges that mount to the backside of a cabinet door and the inside of the cabinet to give a modern sleek look.

Question 3

What is a hinge self-closing mechanism

Accepted Answer

The self-closing mechanism on a hinge simply snaps and holds a cabinet door Closed without the use of magnets. This is not the same as a sof-close mechanism. Soft-close hinges are the better way to go!

Question 4

Cabinet Door alignment

Accepted Answer

You can align most cabinet doors by using the 3 way adjustment screw, up/down, left/right, and in/out.

Question 5

What are inset doors

Accepted Answer

Inset Cabinet doors sit inside the frame of the cabinet and are flush with the face frame.

Question 6

What are hinge cups

Accepted Answer

Hinge cups are the part of a European hinge that press into a 35mm hole drilled into the back side of the cabinet door.

Question 7

Cabinet Hardware

Accepted Answer

Cabinet hardware includes your choice of hinges, drawer slides, handles, and pulls.

Question 8

What are soft-close dampers for cabinet doors

Accepted Answer

Some earlier models of European hinges did not include a soft-clost mechanism. These could be purchased seperately and added the hinge arm.
If your particular hinge does not have a soft-close attachment available, you can purchase a small soft-close damper that can be mounted to the inside of the cabinet, so when the cabinet door closes, it ill close against the small pop-out cylinder and close softly.

Question 9

What are face frame cabinets

Accepted Answer

Frace frame cabinets are typically made of a cabinet grade veneer core box with a solid wood face attached to the front. The faces usually vary in widths by brands from 1 1/2" to 2" widths.

Question 10

What are frameless cabinets

Accepted Answer

Frameless cabinets are typicall built with either 3/4 veneer core, or melamine. Some are built with 5/8 materials. These cabinets simply use either a wood or laminate edge-banding instead of a face frame.

Question 11

What are hinge mounting plates

Accepted Answer

Mounting plates are used in most frameless cabinets that use a clip-top hinge. The hinges simply clip to the mounting plate making the doors easy to remove.

Question 12

Hinge Boring Jigs

Accepted Answer

You can purchase hinge boring jigs with the correct bits for drilling the cup holes necessarry to mount European style hinges. One small handy jig good for small projects is the Kreg hinge boring jig. For larger projects, consider a drill press or hinge boring maching.

Question 13

Are Hinges adjustable

Accepted Answer

Most European concealed hinges hav 3 way adjustment, up/down, left/right, and in/out.
Some types of hinges can only be adjusted up and down with a slotted hole where the mounting screw attaches the hinge to the cabinet face.

Question 14

What are clip-on hinges

Accepted Answer

Clip-on hinges are a type of European hinge that mounts to the inside of a cabinet box. Typically these are found on frameless cabinets. These hinges require a separate mounting plate for the hinge to clip to. These are attached to the inside of the cabinet and the doors simply clip on top of the plate, hence they are called "clip-top" hinges.

Question 15

What are wrap-around cabinet hinges

Accepted Answer

Wrap-around cabinet door hinges are a simple hinge that mounts to the face of the cabinet and wrap around to mount to the back of the door. These are typically a semi-concealed hinge.

Question 16

What are Full Overlay cabinet doors

Accepted Answer

Full overlay doors cover most of the face of the cabinet to give a more modern sleek look.

Question 17

What are partial overlay cabinet doors

Accepted Answer

Partial overlay cabinet doors usually have a lipped edge, so part of the door sets inside the face of the cabinet and the lip overlays the face (usually around 1/4").

Question 18

What are zero protrusion hinges

Accepted Answer

The Blum 155° zero protrusion hinges allow rollout drawers to slide behind doors without interference, as the hinge doesn't protrude into the cabinet space - a unique feature to Blum.

Use these where you need to maximize the space for rollout drawers. (Some rollout drawers, like the lowest one, will still need to be spaced out if you need to clear the hinge arm.)

Question 19

What are Blumotion hinges

Accepted Answer

Blumotion hinges are Blum's compact hinges with the soft-close mechanism integrated right into the hinge itself

Question 20

What Concealed hinges are used for bi-fold doors

Accepted Answer

Blum has some hinges made just for this. The door mounting to the cabinet typically gets a 170 degree hinge and the second door gets  the bi-fold hinge mounted right to the door (these are typically drilled out differently than a normal hinge).
You can also use a simple piano hinge between the 2 doors, and the 170 degree hinge to mount to the cabinet.

Question 21

Heavy duty hinges

Accepted Answer

Blum makes some of the best hinges in my opinion. Make sure to add the correct number of hinges based on the height and weight of the cabinet door.

Question 22

Three-way adjustment

Accepted Answer

Most of the new European hinges have 3 way adjustment. Up/down, left/right, and in/out.

Question 23

Cabinet Door thickness

Accepted Answer

Most cabinet doors are 3/4 inch thick. Some doors like the slim-shaker may be up to 1" thick.

Question 24

Cabinet door Mounting screws

Accepted Answer

Use a 1" flat head screw to mount a face frame hinge. remember to predrill a pilot hole.
Use 5/8 tapered head screws to attach the hinge to the door

Question 25

What is a hinge arm

Accepted Answer

Most clip-top hinges used on frameless cabinets are made to attach to a mounting plate installed inside the cabinet. The hinge arm is the piece that extends into the cabinet and clips to the mounting plate.

Question 26

Cabinet door weight capacity

Accepted Answer

Most cabinet doors up to 42" will only need 2 hinges, and over 45" add anther in the center of the door. Full height cabinet doors should have at least 4.  Solid wood or MDF slab doors are much heavier and should probabaly get 3 hinges over 36", and at least 4 or 5 for full height doors.

Question 27

What is the recommended cabinet door clearances

Accepted Answer

Cabinet door hinges will determine the clearances needed. Frameless cabinet typically get around 1/8" clearances, while compact hinges requires 9/32" reveals.
Use greater clearances in corners as well as cabinets in tight spaces agains a wall etc.

Cabinet Hinges – Best Replacement Soft-Close Hinges

Blum Concealed, Soft-close hinges

Replace your older cabinet hinges with concealed European Style Soft-close hinges

Search Our Cabinet Door Hinge FAQ Content Here

Door Hinges, Cabinet Hinge Overlay, and more

FAQ – Type in your search above or Click on the tabs below to find answers to common quesitons asked about cabinet hinges

Notice! Still Under Construction! Thanks for your patience!

Like this: