Steps for Installing Soft Close Hinges
- Step 1: Remove Old Cabinet Doors and Hinges The first thing you need to do is remove your old cabinet doors and their hinges. ...
- Step 2: Drilling the 35mm Hole If your old cabinets have concealed hinges, there should be a 35mm hole already drilled in. ...
- Step 3: Install the Soft Close Hinges into Cabinet Doors
Full Answer
How to install soft close hinges for kitchen cabinets?
How To Install Soft Close Hinges 1 Remove Old Cabinet Door & Hinges 2 Drill A 35mm Hole (1 3/8″) 3 Install Hinge Into Cabinet Door 4 Install Clip-On Mounting Plate 5 Clip Hinges Into Mounting Plates 6 Test Out Your New Soft Close Hinges!
How do you convert a cabinet door to a hidden hinge?
Next, remove the old hinges from the cabinet door. If your old cabinets already had hidden hinges (also called concealed hinges) then there should already be a 35mm hole for the new hinges. When converting to hidden hinges for the first time, you will need to drill new holes using a 35mm adjustable depth Forstner bit.
How do I install a close hinge damper on a cabinet?
Start wood screw through the adapter before placing. Place soft close hinge damper adapter butted up in the top corner of the cabinet against the side wall and top of cabinet. Screw in with power drill and a Philips head attachment.
How do you cut a 35mm hinge on a door?
5) Put the 35mm hinge hole cutter on your drill. The spike on it is the centre locator, so line the spike up with the middle pilot hole. Now carefully drill into the door until the top of the circular hinge hole cutter is level with the surface of the back of the door.
How do you drill a hole in a cabinet hinge?
2:155:40How to drill hinge hinge holes in kitchen doors - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo out the three holes you want to put the spike into the center locator. Basically what you do isMoreSo out the three holes you want to put the spike into the center locator. Basically what you do is you drill deep enough that this bit is just inside the face of this doll.
How do you drill a door hinge?
1:462:45How to Easily Drill Hinge Cups in Cabinet Doors | Glass ImpressionsYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipHinge. It's the cup hold are drilled use a straightedge to align the hinges and pre-drill withMoreHinge. It's the cup hold are drilled use a straightedge to align the hinges and pre-drill with Rockler self centering drill bits then drive the screws home.
Can regular hinges be converted to soft close?
Yes! There is a simple little damper that can be attached to ANY type of cabinet. It costs less than $5 and can be installed easily and quickly! Plus they come in a full soft close conversion kit with screws, damper and spacer together in various quantities.
How do you attach a soft close hinge?
0:271:22Installing Soft Close Hinges on Existing Kitchen Cabinets - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSimply take your thumb and forefinger. And press on the backside of the mechanism. Snapping.MoreSimply take your thumb and forefinger. And press on the backside of the mechanism. Snapping.
What is a hinge drill bit?
0:333:46Hinge Bit Use - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe hinge wondersteam jig has an adjustable plate that allows you to slide the opening for the exactMoreThe hinge wondersteam jig has an adjustable plate that allows you to slide the opening for the exact size the hinge.
How do you route a door hinge with a Dremel?
1:388:01How to Mortise a Door Latch & Strike Plate With a Dremel Router BitYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIn to stabilize the dremel i'm resting the right side of the router attachment on the door jamb andMoreIn to stabilize the dremel i'm resting the right side of the router attachment on the door jamb and slowly pushing the bit down and routing out the area.
How do you retrofit soft close hinges?
Step 1: Remove Old Cabinet Door & Hinges. Start by removing the cabinet door from the cabinet. ... Step 2: Drill A 35mm Hole (1 3/8″) ... Step 3: Install Hinge Into Cabinet Door. ... Step 4: Install Clip-On Mounting Plate. ... Step 5: Clip Hinges Into Mounting Plates. ... Step 6: Test Out Your New Soft Close Hinges!
How do you convert to soft close?
3:117:36How to Upgrade to Soft-Close Cabinets | Ask This Old HouseYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThis plastic socket screws to the rear of the cabinet to hold the slides in. Place. Then i can screwMoreThis plastic socket screws to the rear of the cabinet to hold the slides in. Place. Then i can screw into the face frame to hold the front of.
Are soft close hinges worth it?
They lessen the stress on the hinges and hinge plates over the years. In turn, you will extend the life of your beautiful new kitchen cabinets. If you're going to spend a little extra money on a new kitchen, adding soft close hinges is definitely something you should consider.
Can you install soft close to existing drawers?
It is absolutely possible to convert existing kitchen drawers into a soft close upgrade. Rather than purchasing an entirely new set of drawers, you can simply buy and install the hardware alone. This way, you can keep the paint and style of your current set of kitchen drawers.
How does a soft close hinge work?
A soft-close hinge is a type of hinge that features a hydraulic mechanism built into it. When you close the cabinet door, the hydraulics take charge and ease the door closed in complete silence in somewhat of a gliding motion.
How do you install hinge clips?
0:081:01How to Install BLUM Restriction Clips | #QuickTip from ShowplaceYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe angle restriction clip into the base of the hinge arm. Then open the hinge and apply someMoreThe angle restriction clip into the base of the hinge arm. Then open the hinge and apply some pressure to secure the clip in place apply a clip to at least the top and bottom hinges of each door.
What is a hinge cutter?
Hinge cutters are a power tool attachment used to cut clean, precise holes in wood suitable for fitting hinges. They can be used on hardwood or softwood cabinetry, furniture and interior fittings.
How do you install concealed hinges without a jig?
1:4413:40How to Install Concealed Hinges with or without Jigs - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSide and i do that with a jig but if you don't have that and you don't want to use those ones youMoreSide and i do that with a jig but if you don't have that and you don't want to use those ones you can just take those lugs off. And just screw your holes into those holes there ready for it to go.
How do you use a door hinge jig?
1:013:09Milescraft 1222 HingeMate150 Door Hinge Jig - How to Rout ... - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThickness. It's always a good idea to test this on a scrap piece of wood before cutting too deepMoreThickness. It's always a good idea to test this on a scrap piece of wood before cutting too deep into your new. Door.
How do you install a concealed hinge?
4:237:05How to Easily install Concealed Cabinet Hinges (35mm ... - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipOkay. So next you're gonna take your screws that came with your hinges. And switch your drill outMoreOkay. So next you're gonna take your screws that came with your hinges. And switch your drill out for a Phillips. And then you're just gonna set them right in there.
1. What is included in a pair of hinges?
A pair of hinges includes 2 complete hinges of your choice as illustrated below: Pair of Hinges Pair of Hinges If you need 3 hinges per door and ha...
What is our return policy?
Any item may be returned or exchanged within 30 days of purchase. A 20 % re-stocking charge will apply to all returns. Items must be returned in th...
When should I invest in stainless steel hinges?
One of the main questions we get asked at Hinge Outlet is should I purchase stainless steel hinges? This is a very good question. Customers living...
What is a Double Action Spring Hinge and what is it used for?
Other names for double action spring hinges are as follows: Café Door Hinges Saloon Door Hinges Double Swing Hinges Double Action Hinges Double act...
How do I select the right door hinges for my home?
If this is your first attempt at purchasing door hinges for you home, you may be in for a big surprise. Many times, customers call us and ask for t...
How do I measure a door hinge?
You need to understand how to measure a hinge. It is very easy. You start by measuring from top to bottom and then from side to side. Once you have...
How do I determine the size and hole pattern for my exterior residential doors?
Residential Exterior doors include the following: Entry doors Doors leading to your backyard Doors leading to and from your garage Most residential...
How do I determine the size and hole pattern for my interior residential doors?
Residential interior doors include the following: Bathroom doors Bedroom doors Closet doors Dining room doors Basement doors.
What is the difference between ball bearing butt hinges, standard plain bearing butt hinges, and spr...
Ball bearing hinges have two ball bearings in the knuckles of the hinges. The standard plain bearing hinges have no ball bearings. Spring hinges, a...
How many hinges do I need to purchase?
Now that you are educated on the hinge sizes, hole patterns, and types of hinges for residential use, you need to start counting your doors. Once y...
How to drill holes in a door?from rmghardware.com
Place your hinge on one edge of the line you drew and adjust it to make sure you are installing the hinge at the right position. Use a pencil to mark around the hinge. Then attach the 35-millimeter Forstner bit to your drill, position it so that it is on the center of the mark you just made, and bore into the door. Drill all remaining cup holes the same way.
How deep should a door hinge be?from kitchenwarehouseltd.com
Standard hinge holes for these hinges tend to be 35mm in diameter and around 10-12.5mm deep. They should be drilled or bored around 100mm from the top or bottom of the door and 22-22.5mm from the side edge of the door to the centre of the hole.
What is a hinge cup fix?from kitchenwarehouseltd.com
HINGE CUP FIXINGS – Screws are driven through these holes to secure the hinge cup to the back of the kitchen door.
How many hinges are needed for a kitchen cabinet?from kitchenwarehouseltd.com
Our standard-sized kitchen units are 720mm high by 600mm wide, requiring 715mm by 596mm doors with two hinges each. However, you should always measure the existing doors before selecting replacements to ensure you get the exact same size to fit the unit, especially if your cabinets were made to measure.
What is a traditional cabinet hinge?from rmghardware.com
Traditional cabinet hinges are usually used for decorative purposes. This is because a traditional hinge is mounted on top of the cabinet door and is visible (or partially visible) when the door is closed.
How to tighten retaining screws?from kitchenwarehouseltd.com
After you push the hinges into place, use a screwdriver to tighten the retaining screws. Gently open and close the door to check that it fits well without gaps or rubbing against other surfaces. If you have difficulty opening and closing the door, or if it’s too easy, you’ll need to fine-tune the door using the adjustment screws. These will allow you to move the door slightly up or down, left or right, or closer to or further away from the cabinet frame. We also have a video guide showing you how to do this.
How many pilot holes are there in a cabinet door?from kitchenwarehouseltd.com
4) Repeat this process (steps 2 & 3) at the other end of the cabinet door, so that there are 3 pilot holes at each end where the hinges will be positioned.
How to get a hinge to fit in a hole?
Use your hand to nicely fit the hinge down this hole. If there’s however stubbornness with it, bring a rubber mallet. Use it for gently tapping over the hinge until it fits well. In case this rubber mallet also fails to put hinge inside the hole, then depth was not right. You need to drill the hole once again to make it deep enough.
How to adjust cabinet hinges?
You will need to do some cabinet hinge adjustment if it does not line up well with the mounting plate. Simply loosen one of the screws in mounting plate. And make the required adjustments. That way you can easily adjust soft close hinges and clip them into mounting plate with proper alignment.
Do you need a drill bit for Blum hinges?
Apart from the hinges, you’ll need drill bits and a power drill. Also, about the hinges, compact Blum soft close cabinet hinges are right now the ideal pick that I definitely want to recommend as these are proved to be a pretty convenient up-gradation choice. You can also try the self-closing cabinet hinges if you’d need that particular feature.
How to get a hinge down into a hole?from joyfullygrowingblog.com
You should be able to press the hinge down into the hole by hand. If the hinge is being stubborn, you can tap it with a rubber mallet. If the rubber mallet doesn’t do the trick, then the hole is probably not drilled properly.
How Do Soft Close Hinges Work?from joyfullygrowingblog.com
Soft close hinges have a mechanical device built into the hinge that prevents a cabinet door from slamming. It slows down the door and shuts it ‘soft’. These devices are also sometimes called self closing hinges.
What to do if your hinges don't line up?from joyfullygrowingblog.com
If the hinges don’t line up perfectly with the mounting plates, you may need to loosen the screws on one, or both of the mounting plates and adjust as needed. Clipping the soft close hinges into the mounting plates is easy as long as they are properly aligned.
How to clip a cabinet door?from joyfullygrowingblog.com
With a large cabinet door, it may be useful to have a second person to help hold the door and guide it into place. Slide the soft close hinge into the mounting plate, and then push it into the plate to clip it into place.
How to fasten Blum soft close hinges?from joyfullygrowingblog.com
Once it is aligned properly, you can fasten it into place. Use the small wood screws that are included with your Blum Soft Close Hinges .
Why is it called a clip on plate?from joyfullygrowingblog.com
It is called a ‘clip-on’ mounting plate because after installation, the cabinet door clips onto the mounting plate. This makes installation much easier compared to standard hinges where you have to hold the cabinet door in place while fastening the hinge to the cabinet!
What is compact soft close hinge?from joyfullygrowingblog.com
With compact soft close hinges, the hydraulic mechanism is inside of the hinge itself. This style of construction has an inherent space constraint for the hydraulics. Because of this smaller size, the performance suffers.
How deep should a door hinge be?
Standard hinge holes for these hinges tend to be 35mm in diameter and around 10-12.5mm deep. They should be drilled or bored around 100mm from the top or bottom of the door and 22-22.5mm from the side edge of the door to the centre of the hole.
Where do you put rubber buffers on door hinges?
Once the hinges are on, you can wipe off any dust and stick the rubber buffers on the door interior, on the opposite corners to the hinges.
How many hinges are needed for a kitchen cabinet?
Our standard-sized kitchen units are 720mm high by 600mm wide, requiring 715mm by 596mm doors with two hinges each. However, you should always measure the existing doors before selecting replacements to ensure you get the exact same size to fit the unit, especially if your cabinets were made to measure.
What is a hinge cup fix?
HINGE CUP FIXINGS – Screws are driven through these holes to secure the hinge cup to the back of the kitchen door.
How to tighten retaining screws?
After you push the hinges into place, use a screwdriver to tighten the retaining screws. Gently open and close the door to check that it fits well without gaps or rubbing against other surfaces. If you have difficulty opening and closing the door, or if it’s too easy, you’ll need to fine-tune the door using the adjustment screws. These will allow you to move the door slightly up or down, left or right, or closer to or further away from the cabinet frame. We also have a video guide showing you how to do this.
How many pilot holes are there in a cabinet door?
4) Repeat this process (steps 2 & 3) at the other end of the cabinet door, so that there are 3 pilot holes at each end where the hinges will be positioned.
What is the pivoting section of a door?
HINGE – The pivoting section that allows the door to open and close, which connects the hinge cup to the mounting plate.
Where do soft close adapters sit?
The soft close adapters to can sit in line with the cabinet frame or on top of the frame. It depends on how your door closes.
What is soft close?
What is soft close? Well, it’s simple little damper that reduces the force at which your cabinet door closes.
Do you need a spacer for an inset cabinet?
If you have an inset style cabinet, then it’s likely you won’t need to use the spacer attachment provided .
1. Remove the cabinet doors
First, this job is best when you have two people. But if you’re by yourself, take your time removing the cabinet doors. Make sure you have a good hold on the cabinets as you take them off, so you don’t damage anything.
2. Get rid of the old hinges on your kitchen cabinet doors
Once you get all the kitchen cabinet doors removed, place them on the flat surface. Then, remove the old hinges out of the door. I reused the hardware because the new Blum hinges did not come with new hardware, so I took my time and made sure I didn’t strip any of those screws.
3. Cut the plastic lip
This is where the side cutters come in handy. When I tried to install the new hinges, the little plastic plug for the old screw mounting points got in the way. If you find yourself in the same situation – get a sharp side cutter and trim off the plastic lip. This will get you to a flush surface for the install of the new concealed hinges.
4. Align the Blum soft-close hinges & start to drill
Once the plastic lips are off – you should see a nice flat surface. Then you’ll use a speed square to make sure the hinge is aligned before drilling the holes with the centering drill bit. As soon as you have everything lined up – get a good hold on both the square and the hinge. Then, start to drill your hole again.
5. Hang the doors on the frame
The next step is to hang the doors on the frame. If you do have somebody who can lend you a hand – this is a great time to ask them to hold the door up while you get these screws screwed into the frame. That said, I did it myself. So if you’re doing this solo – it requires a bit of a balancing act, but it is doable.
6. Soft-close kitchen cabinet adjustment & final touches
Check to make sure the left and right are both in the same vertical position. If they’re not, you can loosen up the main mounting screws and make the adjustment vertically up or down – and then tighten it back up.
The Wrap Up
Overall, I’d estimate adding soft-close hinges to kitchen cabinets takes about 10 to 15 minutes per cabinet. For these types of hinges, it was $12 per cabinet to get them upgraded to a soft close. I’m really happy with how this project turned out – the cabinets are smooth and they don’t take too long to shut – but they get a nice smooth soft close.
How Do Soft Close Hinges Work?
Soft close hinges have a mechanical device built into the hinge that prevents a cabinet door from slamming. It slows down the door and shuts it ‘soft’. These devices are also sometimes called self closing hinges.
How to fasten Blum soft close hinges?
Once it is aligned properly, you can fasten it into place. Use the small wood screws that are included with your Blum Soft Close Hinges .
What to do if your hinges don't line up?
If the hinges don’t line up perfectly with the mounting plates, you may need to loosen the screws on one, or both of the mounting plates and adjust as needed. Clipping the soft close hinges into the mounting plates is easy as long as they are properly aligned.
How to clip a cabinet door?
With a large cabinet door, it may be useful to have a second person to help hold the door and guide it into place. Slide the soft close hinge into the mounting plate, and then push it into the plate to clip it into place.
What is compact soft close hinge?
With compact soft close hinges, the hydraulic mechanism is inside of the hinge itself. This style of construction has an inherent space constraint for the hydraulics. Because of this smaller size, the performance suffers.
Where are Blum hinges made?
The winner: I recommend using Blum Hinges – particularly their BLUMOTION soft close hinges. These Blum hinges are made in Austria and you can feel the quality! The BLUMOTION hydraulic soft close mechanism is perfectly smooth and functions exactly how it was designed to. In my opinion, Blum hinges offer the best value because aren’t super expensive, and had the best overall feel.
What are the downsides of compact hinges?
The biggest downside associated with compact soft close hinges is slow recovery time.
