How to adjust door hinges
Help & Advice > Project Guides > Door furniture
If you’re having trouble with one of your doors, whether it’s internal or external, the cause may be the hinges. Often, it is assumed that the door hinges have worn out, but they may just need adjusting.
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In this project guide, we have outlined the different ways in which you can adjust your door hinges, to ensure the door is working smoothly and looks its best.
Sometimes the top hinge of a door is only installed with short screws. If this is the case, over time the hinge will begin to pull away from the frame due to the weight of the door. This will result in the door sagging, and the top edge of the door may rub against the frame, resulting in the door not closing properly.
On some doors, the mortice is too deep or too shallow. The mortice is the cut-out into which the hinge fits. If the mortice is too shallow, it is likely that the door won’t fit into the opening correctly. If the mortice is too deep, the door will have a gap on the strike side, and be too tight to the opposite side of the door frame. This will result in the door not closing properly.
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Another issue that can occur with door hinges is that the hinge sizes do not always match the insets and backsets of the door frame. If the inset is too large, the door may not close properly, as it is too close to the frame. If there is too little inset or backset, there will be a gap between the door and the frame.
If the door does not straighten after you’ve tightened the screws in the hinges, try replacing a screw in the top hinge with a longer screw, eg 3 inches. Try to always change the screw in the middle of the hinge first – this will help to pull the weight of the door back towards the door frame, straightening it up.
If the mortice is too deep, you can pack out a hinge. This simply involves using one or more layers of cardboard underneath the hinge to raise the hinge level. Which ensures the door fits into the opening properly with no gaps on either side. Simply loosen the hinge, and insert one piece of cardboard at a time into the gap behind the hinge, until there is sufficient lift to ensure the door is hanging correctly. Once you’ve found the optimum number of pieces of cardboard to pack out the mortice, screw the hinge back into the mortice.
If there is no gap at all between the door and the door frame by the hinges, and the door doesn’t close properly, your hinges may not be sitting properly within the mortice. To find out if this is the case, unscrew the bottom hinge, to see if there are any compression marks along the edge of the mortice – if there are compression marks, the hinge hasn’t been sitting properly. Cut along the edge of the marks, using something similar to a utility knife, and create a mortice that is large enough for the hinge to sit in easily. Then use a chisel to remove the excess wood, and screw the hinge back into the mortice. Once you’ve done this, check the other hinges to see if the same issue is occurring. If so, repeat the above steps.
At the end of this process, the door should sit better within the mortices. Meaning that it can open and close more easily.
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Sometimes cupboard door hinges will need adjusting if they are sitting poorly, or sagging over time. Cupboard door hinges are often slightly more complex than normal door hinges, so we’ve created a quick guide to issues that may occur with poorly fitting cupboard hinges, and how to adjust them.
If the cupboard doors are poorly aligned, unscrew the two screws that directly connect to the cupboard vertically. Generally, these screws are in a slotted hole to allow for adjustments. So once the screws are loosened, move the hinge up or down slightly, and then simply tighten the screws up.
If the cupboard doors are slightly off-centre, they can be moved horizontally. This is done by turning the adjusting screw – which is the screw in the middle of the hinge. If needed, you may also need to loosen the locking screw, which is the screw towards the outer edge of the hinge. Don’t forget, this will need to be done on both hinges on each door.
If one of the cupboard doors is at an angle, it can be adjusted with the adjusting screw. However, in this case, it should only be done to one of the hinges in the cupboard door. If it cannot be fixed by turning the adjusting screw on the one hinge, try turning the adjusting screw on the other hinge the opposite way.
If the cupboard doors are making a creaking sound when they open and close, this could be because the cupboard doors are too close to the cupboard itself. To move the door slightly away from the cupboard, the locking screw needs to be loosened – this is the outer screw on the cupboard. Once this has been loosened, slide the door out slightly before tightening the screw again.
If you have any questions or queries regarding adjusting door hinges, or would like some advice on doors, hinges or other accessories for your latest project, call our team on 01752 547 265 or use the live chat and they will be more than happy to help.
Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Kitchens
This post was last modified on 05/11/2023 09:55
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