How do I replace a broken kitchen cabinet hinge?

Swapping a snapped or seized concealed hinge, and what to do when the 35mm cup hole itself has broken out of the door.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 25 min
Read: 4 min

Short answer

Take the door off, unscrew the two cup screws and the plate, fit the matching new hinge into the same cup and the same plate holes, and hang the door. The only difficult case is a cup hole that has torn out of the door, which needs filling and re-boring rather than a longer screw.

Do this first

Which hinge do I need to replace a kitchen cabinet hinge?

Concealed hinges fail in three ways: the arm snaps, usually at the crank, when a door is forced past its stop; the cup screws tear out of the door; or the mounting plate screws tear out of the carcass. Only the first is genuinely a hinge failure, and only the first is a straight swap.

What you'll need

Matching replacement hinge and plate
Cross-head screwdriver
Bradawl (optional)
35mm hinge cup bit and a drill, only if re-boring (optional)
Two-part wood filler or epoxy, only if the cup has torn out (optional)

Step by step

Identify the replacement before you take anything apart.Overlay type, arm crank, plate height and opening angle all have to match. Photograph the fitted hinge from the side, then buy. Fitting a mismatched hinge means the door will not line up and no adjustment will bring it back.
Take the door off using the release, not the plate screws.Bottom hinge first, supporting the door. Lay it face down on something soft.
Unscrew the cup from the door.Two screws either side of the 35mm cup. Note how deep the cup sits and whether there were any packers under it.
Inspect the cup hole before fitting anything.It should be a clean 35mm round recess with sound material around it. Crumbling around the screw holes, or a crack running to the door edge, means the door needs repair before a new hinge goes in.
Fit the new cup into the hole squarely.Seat it fully, square the arm to the door edge by eye or against a rule, then drive the two screws. A cup fitted at an angle throws the door out and cannot be adjusted straight.
Fit the new plate to the same holes on the carcass.If the existing holes are sound, reuse them. If a screw spins, repair the hole properly before going further rather than hoping the new hinge will hold.
Hang the door and adjust.Clip on bottom first, then top. Then set the door with the three adjustments: side to side, depth, then height.
Repair a torn-out cup hole with filler, not a bigger screw.Pack the damaged area with two-part wood filler or epoxy, let it cure hard, sand flush, then re-drill the screw pilots. If the 35mm recess itself has broken through the door face, the door is finished — order a replacement door.

Tips

Replace hinges in pairs on a door. A new hinge working against a tired one gives a door that closes unevenly and drifts.
If several hinges have failed across a kitchen of the same age, they are all at the same point in their life. Doing the lot in one afternoon is far less annoying than doing one every three months.
Keep one old hinge after the job. It is the sample you will want next time, and it saves photographing everything again.

Common mistakes

Driving a longer or fatter screw into a spinning cup screw hole — Door material around a hinge cup is thin — often only 4 or 5mm of board behind the recess. A longer screw comes through the front face of the door.
Re-boring a 35mm cup freehand — The hole has to be perpendicular and at the right distance from the door edge, and a 35mm forstner bit wanders badly without a drill stand or a jig. Get a new door, or use a jig.

If it doesn't work

New hinge fitted, door now sticks out further than its neighbour

Cause: Wrong overlay type or wrong plate height — Fix: Compare the new arm's crank and the plate's height against the old parts. A half overlay arm on a full overlay door puts the door about 9.5mm out and no adjustment will recover it.

Hinge arm snapped again within months

Cause: The door is being forced past its stop, usually against a wall, a neighbouring handle or an appliance — Fix: Fit a door stop or a buffer, or fit a wider-angle hinge so the door reaches its limit before it hits anything.

Cup screws keep loosening

Cause: The board around the cup has been crushed by repeated fitting — Fix: Fill with two-part filler, cure hard, re-drill pilots. If it has failed twice, replace the door.

Questions people ask

Can I replace just one hinge on a kitchen door?

Yes, but replace both on that door if you can. A new hinge with a fresh spring next to a tired one makes the door close unevenly and it will need adjusting again in a few months.

My hinge hole has broken out of the door — can it be repaired?

If the damage is around the screws, yes: two-part filler, cured hard, re-drilled. If the 35mm recess itself has broken through to the front face of the door, no — the door needs replacing.

Do I have to buy the same brand of hinge?

No, but matching the brand makes the plate certain to fit and match. Different brands use the same 35mm cup and the same 32mm plate holes, so mixing usually works if the overlay and plate height are right.