Update your kitchen cabinets by replacing hinges and hardware.
Brand new cabinets arrive with the doors already in place. If youre planning to renovate your kitchen cabinets, installing new hinges and hardware takes some time, but its a simple update. Keeping your base cabinets and replacing only the cabinet doors saves money and labor if you want to revamp your kitchen. Go from rustic to contemporary with new hardware, or retain the charm of older cabinets by purchasing hinges designed to mimic vintage metalwork. Besides eliminating saggy, crooked doors, new hinges will make the doors operate smoothly and quietly.
Prepare Cabinets and Doors
Count the exact number of hinges you need and check the size of hinge currently on the cabinets. Cabinet doors that are up to 24 inches tall typically have two hinges per door, spaced about 5 inches from the top and bottom edges of the door. Taller doors and heavy wood cabinet doors found in older homes should have a third hinge centered between the top and bottom hinges. Buy new hinges that are the correct size to support the type of doors on your cabinets.
Unscrew the existing hinges from the cabinets and lift off the doors. Unscrew the old hinges from the doors.
Fill the old screw holes by gluing a small dowel or toothpicks into each hole and trimming the surface flush. After the glue dries completely, sand the area smooth. Finish the area to match the original, or if you are refinishing or painting the entire cabinets and doors, do that now. Filling the old screw holes and redrilling new ones assures a tight fit for the new installation.
Attach Hinges and Doors
Place a hinge temporarily on the front or back of the door, depending on the type of hinge. Align the hinge with the edge of the cabinet door. Align the top and bottom hinges, using a tape measure for accurate spacing. Mark the position of the hinges by etching through the screw holes with a pencil, awl or small nail. Measure the center point to position and mark a third hinge, if required. Remove the hinges after marking.
Drill guide holes for the screws partway into the cabinet door at the marked points, using a drill bit smaller than the screw. Do not drill completely through the door. Screw the hinges to the doors.
Measure the door placement positions on the cabinets using a level across the bottom of the doors for horizontal alignment. Clamp a straightedge narrow board along the level-line as a temporary placement marker. Use a stepladder to safely reach upper cabinets. Let the doors rest on the edge of the clamped board for support while you mark the guide holes and screw the hinges into place. For doors that dont meet in the center closed position, cut a scrap of wood the width of the space required between the closed doors, and use it as a jig between each pair of doors to achieve even spacing. Hold each door in place and mark the screw hole positions on the cabinet face with a pencil, awl or small nail.
Move the doors out of the way. Drill guide-holes for the screws into the cabinet face at the marked points. Reset the doors on the clamped straightedge, align the hinge holes, and screw the doors into place.
Things You Will Need
- Cordless screwdriver
- Wood glue (optional)
- Dowel or toothpicks (optional)
- Sandpaper (optional)
- Paint or refinishing supplies (optional)
- Tape measure
- Pencil, awl or small nail
- Drill and bits
- Level
- Wood scrap
- Saw
- Long straightedge board
- Clamps
- Stepladder
Tip
- Keep the hinges from slipping out of place on the cabinet doors during the marking step by taping them with blue masking tape. The blue tape wont leave sticky residue or peel off a new finish when you remove it.
- Steady the doors when they rest on the clamped board by taping the tops in place with blue masking tape.
Warning
- Its a good idea to have a helper when its time to position the doors on the cabinets. Have a stepladder for each person when working on the upper cabinets.
About the Author
Fern Fischer is a freelance writer with more than 35 years' experience. Her work has been published in various print and online publications. She specializes in organic gardening, health, rural lifestyle, home and family articles. Fischer also writes about quilting and sewing, and she professionally restores antique quilts to preserve these historical pieces of women's art.
Photo Credits
- Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
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