How to Adjust Cabinet Doors

Over time and due to everyday wear and tear, our cabinet doors can become misaligned. This may mean that your doors bump and scrape together or they may not be level any longer. To adjust your cabinet doors you will need to adjust the hinges with a screw driver. You can follow these steps:

Locate Your Hinge

The first step to getting your hinges adjust is to head over to your cabinet box and inspect them. You will need to see what type of screw driver you will need for the project.
While you are inspecing your hinges, also take note if there are small arrows. These correspond to the screws and the direction they adjust the door.
Using the screw driver, turn these screws to the left and right to raise and lower the door. You may also have an option to adjust the door's distance from the cabinet box.
Finally, grab a level and ensure that your cabinet door does not need any further adjustment.

Sometimes, the movement of the hinge over time will loosen its hold to your cabinet box. If you have a framed cabinet box, you will find these on the face frame. For frameless or full-access cabinets, the mounting plates will be on the side walls. Regardless of where your hinges are mounted, you will need to remove them to correct this issue. Once you have your hinges off, you can use a wood filler to close back up the holes where the hinge was. After the wood filler is fully dried, you can re-mount your cabinet hinges.

Other Quick Cabinet Repairs

If you are already taking your cabinet doors off the hinges to adjust them, you can take advantage of this time by performing a few other quick repairs and maintenance tasks. Check out the list below!

Clean Your Cabinets While this may sound like a no-brainer, having your cabinet doors off of the cabinet boxes will make it much quicker for you to give your cabinets a need clean.
Upgrade Your Hardware Having your cabinet doors already off of the box will also make it easier to install new hardware. Whether it be shiny gold pulls or matte black knobs, upgrading your hardware can have a major impact on your kitchen design.
Go for Soft Close Soft close hinges are a great way to quickly give your kitchen a more luxury feel. Soft closing hinges are also available in models where a switch can be flipped to disable the function. This style of hinge is ideal for someone who wants the functionality of both self and soft close hinges.
Fresh Coat of Paint Getting the site prepped for painting can be a hassle. If you are already taking your cabinet doors down, it can be a great time to schedule to paint. A new coat of paint is one of the fastest ways to completely change the look and feel of your kitchen. Depending on skill level, available time, and resources, a fresh coat of paint could make your old cabinets look good as new, provided you still get those hinges adjust!