Cabinets
Kitchen Cabinet Doors That Do Not Close All The Way
- There are two main causes of kitchen cabinets not closing properly. The cabinet door is actually warped or there is a problem with the door hinges.
- If your cabinets are fairly new and the wood door actually warps, it happens, contact your kitchen cabinet supplier. Quality kitchen cabinet companies will replace warped doors. One of the benefits of dealing with a quality kitchen cabinet designer and supplier.
- If the wood is not warped, before moving forward inspect the hinges carefully checking for loose screws or bent or broken hinges. The problem could be a simple fix.
- Over time the screw holding the hinge to the cabinet could become loose or even pulled out form the cabinet. Especially when little kids are around who tend to pull down on cabinet doors.
- If the screws were just loose have someone hold the cabinet door in the correct location and retighten the screws. If the screw has been pulled out visit your local hardware store to either get a longer and fatter screw or some epoxy wood filler to repair the damaged hole.
- Firmly attaching the door hinges to your cabinets should make your cabinet doors plumb. Did that fix the problem? If not, now for level.
- Most modern cabinet doors with concealed hinges, the type of hinge you do not see from outside the cabinet, have an adjustment screw to help you move the cabinet left or right. With the door hinge secure to the cabinet use these screws to adjust the cabinet door.
- When using the adjusting screws, go slowly, frequently closing, the cabinet door and checking the spacing between the adjoining cabinet door or around the outside, bottom, and top edges of the cabinet. Adjust the screws until you have uniform spacing and the doors are level.
- With level and plumb doors your cabinets should now be closing properly.
- If your inspection found a bent or broken hinge first remove the cabinet door and then remove the damaged hinge. With countless cabinet hinges available take your broken cabinet hinge down to your local hardware store to match it up with a new one. Reinstall the hinge and then the cabinet door.
- For older cabinets that have non adjustable hinges it may be necessary to remove the hinge, repair and reuse the old holes or slightly move the hinge up or down and install new screw holes.
- When all done if you have any doors that do not close perfectly after adjusting, or replacing, the hinges you can install a simple magnetic or mechanical catch to help keep the door closed. These catches are installed inside the cabinet and come in different colors to blend right in with your cabinets.
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Over time the screw holding the hinge to the cabinet can become loose, or even pulled out, especially when used by little kids, who tend to pull down on cabinet doors ...
Read more: See Vince quoted in Better Homes & Gardens on line: 10 Clever Fixes for Common Kitchen Problems