Four Different Hinge Choices for your Kitchen Cabinet Remodel

By Rob Sabo
RefacingCabinet.com Columnist

Doubtless you've spent a great deal of time planning your kitchen remodeling project, picking out new kitchen cabinets or hashing out the best ways to reface your old cabinets. But did you spent any time picking out new cabinet hinges? A wide range of styles are available to complement different kitchen cabinet styles--but first you need to know what type of cabinet box you have.

Kitchen Cabinet Styles

The type of cabinet box you have determines your choice of cabinet hinge. Face-frame kitchen cabinets have a frame around the front of the cabinet box with doors that slightly extend over the edges of the door opening. Hinges can be hidden or revealed. Frameless cabinetry has doors that completely cover the structure of the cabinet boxes with little or slight reveal. These types of kitchen cabinet designs offer the most cabinet area and usually requires hidden cabinet hinges.

Cabinet Hinge Choices

Choosing the correct cabinet hinges is important because the hinges affect the motion of the doors and look of the cabinetry. You can reuse your old hinges or plan for new ones. Check the Hardware Hut for a look at these four popular hinge styles:

• European or concealed hinges: Best for frameless cabinetry, but concealed hinges also are used on face-frame kitchen cabinets as well. These hinges are entirely concealed on the inside of the door. They are often self-closing so the door shuts itself if you leave it open.
• Face frame or semi-concealed hinges: Hinge plates that have a portion of the hinge concealed behind the door frame. Only the hinge pin is visible. The hinge wing is mounted on the inside of the door.
• Flush-door or wrap-around hinge: These are mounted on the outside of the cabinet door and to the side of the cabinet box. They are completely exposed, so make sure you choose a style that complements your kitchen cabinets
• Full-extension hinges: Used when cabinet doors need extra opening room.

Determining How Many Hinges You Need

The number of cabinet hinges you need to properly secure a door depends on the weight of the door. A rough guide:

• Doors up to 40" tall, weighing up to 11 pounds: two hinges
• Doors up to 60" tall, weighing up to 20 pounds: three hinges
• Large doors up to 80" tall, weighing up to 33 pounds: four hinges

Be sure to accurately space hinges for optimum weight distribution.

 

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