Cabinet Hinges

Most modern cabinet hinges comprise two pieces, the hinge itself which is fixed to the door by insertion into a pre drilled 35mm dia hole and then screwed. This can then be attached to the cabinet by means of a mounting plate which is screwed in the appropriate position on the cabinet. The 'old' way of linking the hinge and mounting plate was by screw but more recently a clip on mechanism has been developed which is much more user friendly and allows the door to be quickly removed without disturbing the adjustment.

When replacing cabinet doors it is best, if at all possible, to retain the hinge positions. If the existing hinges are satisfactory these may be used again and swapping doors becomes a simple matter of unscrewing the old door and screwing the hinges to the new door.

Most kitchen size doors have only two hinges, (top & bottom). You need to measure the distance of the CENTRE of the top hole from the top of the door, likewise for the bottom, see picture.

The positions of the holes from the door side are constant, therefore do not worry about this. We suggest that you make a small pencil mark at the centre of each hinge to make measuring easier. It is not unknown for every door to be drilled differently therefore you should measure each one to be sure. More hints and measuring tips may be found at our comprehensive

Measuring Guide

The most common type of hinge, usually described as standard, allows the door to be opened up to an angle of about 100 degrees which is sufficient for most applications. In tight corners this may not be enough to gain access and in these cases 170 degree hinges, which allow the door to almost double back on itself are used. Both of these hinge types are usually fitted with springs which allows them to self close when the door is only partially open. Learn more about cabinet hinges on our website.

Cabinet Door Sizes

Cabinet, carcase, cupboard, unit etc are often used interchangeably to describe the box like storage items in conventional fitted kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, office furniture. These have doors and/or drawer fronts which are 'overlayed' on the front of the cabinet. For the purpose of this article the term 'door' will be used to mean door or drawer front.

When discussing refurbishments with prospective customers it is clear that many are confused by the apparent mis-match in sizes between the cabinet and it's door. It is commonly thought that the doors have been made to the wrong size as they are usually 4-5mm smaller than the cabinet. There is a good reason for this as when cabinets are installed 'side by side' if the doors were the same size as the cabinet it would not be possible to open without rubbing against the adjacent door. See the gaps around the doors in the picture which illustrate they are smaller than the cabinets thus allowing each door to readily open without touching it's neighbour.





















In the UK alone there have been and still are very many cabinet manufacturers, most adopt a policy of using standard widths of 300mm, 400mm, 500mm, 600mm etc but few use the same cabinet heights. Therefore when considering a refurbishment which requires new doors it is essential to choose a supplier who is able to provide 'Made to Measure' or 'Bespoke' sizes.
Kitchen Refurbs Ltd have probably the widest choice of competitively priced Replacement Cabinet Doors available in UK.

When specifying a door size for quotation purposes it is helpful to be aware of the way most suppliers price their doors. Prices are usually based on a range of standard sizes with 'in between' sizes attracting the price of the next standard size up. For example if a door size of say 715mm x 496mm is priced at £20.00 and 715mm x 596mm is priced at £25.00, if you specify a door size of 715mm x 500mm this will be priced at £25.00 (the price of a 715mm x 596mm door) although the actual size that you need is 715mm x 496mm.


All of this may appear to be confusing and daunting but please do not let it put you off as help is at hand with our comprehensive Measuring Guide