How do I adjust kitchen cabinet doors so they line up?

Almost every kitchen cabinet uses the same concealed hinge with three adjustments. Once you know which screw does what, aligning a whole kitchen takes twenty minutes with a screwdriver and nothing else.

What you'll need

• Screwdriver
• A ruler or your eye (optional)

Step by step

1. Identify the three screws on the hinge.One at the front on the hinge arm, one behind it, and one on the mounting plate. Between them they move the door in all three directions.
2. Use the front screw for side-to-side alignment.This is the one that closes an uneven gap between two doors. Small turns — a quarter turn moves the door noticeably.
3. Use the rear screw for depth.It moves the door towards or away from the carcass, which controls how it sits against the frame and how tightly it closes.
4. Use the mounting plate screws for height.Loosen them slightly, slide the whole hinge up or down, and retighten. Adjust both hinges together for height.
5. Adjust one screw at a time and check.Close the door and look after each change. Adjusting several at once makes it impossible to tell what did what.
6. Work on the top hinge for the top of the door, bottom for the bottom.A door leaning at an angle needs opposite adjustments at each hinge, not the same one at both.
7. Line doors up against a reference.The worktop edge, or a straight edge held across several doors. Aligning to each other rather than to nothing is what makes a kitchen look right.
8. Tighten any loose mounting screws first.A hinge coming away from the carcass cannot be adjusted into alignment. Fix the fixing before adjusting.

Tips

• Soft-close mechanisms sometimes have their own adjustment for closing speed. If a door slams, look for a small lever or dial on the hinge.
• Stripped screw holes in chipboard carcasses can be repaired with glued matchsticks or a proprietary repair plug.
• Take a photo of the whole run before adjusting. It is easy to lose track of what looked right originally.

Common mistakes

• Turning several screws at once — You cannot tell which change did what, and you often end up further from alignment than when you started.
• Making large adjustments — A quarter turn moves the door noticeably. Full turns overshoot and you end up chasing it back and forth.
• Adjusting a hinge that is coming loose from the carcass — It will drift back out of alignment. Fix the mounting first, then adjust.

Questions people ask