Built in cabinets in older homes often need to have the hinges replaced. Hinges may be missing or broken causing doors to close incorrectly, or previous replacements were incorrect. Identifying the type of hinge you have is the first step to finding a correct replacement.
At the turn of the 20th century, family homes did not have built in cabinetry. Kitchens had open shelving and freestanding cabinets for storage. However by the 1920's homes were being built with built in cabinets. Most cabinetry was made with inset, or partial inset doors. These doors were either fully recessed into the cabinet frame when closed, or partially recessed with a stepped edge along the side of the door. The cabinets were built in place and the doors fitted into the frame. Surface mounted hinges were a common choice and were often decorative. However, butt hinges or half surface hinges, were also used.
How much of the hinge you see when the door is closed is a good way to narrow down the type of hinge you have:
Butt Hinge: When the door is closed you will
only see the barrel or knuckles of the hinge.
Full Surface Hinge: When the door is closed you will see the entire
hinge mounted on the face of the frame and the face of the door.
Half Surface Hinge: When the door is closed you will see
half of the hinge on the face of the door, the other half
of the hinge will be mounted on the inside edge of the frame.
If your hinges are missing entirely, look for old screw holes in the wood and how the door sits against the frame. That should give you clues as to how the hinges were mounted.
By the Post War/Mid Century era cabinets were being massed produced and wooden cabinets would usually be fitted with partial inset doors or full overlay doors. Partial inset doors have a stepped edge (known as a rabbet) that allows part of the door to recess into the frame and a lip of wood that covers a portion of the frame. Overlay doors are doors that are flat on the back and sit over the face of the cabinet opening. The most common type of hinge was a Semi-Concealed hinge, it mounted to the face of the frame and the back of the door. With these types of hinges, when the door is closed you will only see half of the hinge mounted to the face of the frame.
Semi-Concealed Hinges: When the door is closed you will
see half of the hinge on the face of cabinet.
Pivot hinges were also common. Pivots, either mount above and below the door, or if they are side mounted they may cut through the edge of the door, leaving a minimal amount of the hardware showing. Steel cabinets from around the 1950's often have pivot hinges made by the cabinet manufacturer to fit within the metal framework. For most pivots, when the door is closed you will only see a portion of the hinge.
Fully concealed hinges, or European hinges, have been on the market since the 1950s. In the last 40 years they have become more and more common, and are now the standard hinge on new cabinetry. For this type of hinge, when the door is closed you will not see any part of the hinge.
To review, take a look at your hinges: do you see all, part, or none of the hinge? When closed, does the door recess completely into the frame, only partially, or does it sit on the outside of the frame?
Finding the right hinge
Once you have identified the type of hinge you have, now you will need to narrow down a size or style. It is important to remember that newly manufactured hinges are going to be made differently than the original hardware. Screw holes will likely need to be re-drilled, and some modifications to the cabinet may need to be made for the hardware to work correctly. When replacing hinges, replace all the hinges on the door. Do not mix a new hinge with an old hinge, if the pivot points do not line up exactly you will have issues with the door.
Butt Hinges: Butt hinges are measured when laying open like a book. The "Height" of the hinge is measured along the barrel (or knuckles) of the hinge, and the "Width" is left to right, all the way across, when the hinge is laying open like a book. If the original hinge has been cut into the wood (mortised), you will want a hinge that is not any taller than the existing hinge (Height), or you will need to cut out more of the wood. You will be able to use a hinge that is slightly wider or narrower, as long as the screw holes in the new hinge will fit into good wood (away from old holes). When the door is closed the barrel of a wider hinge will protrude out a little more from the face of the door, a narrower hinge will not protrude as much.
The thickness of the hinge is also important, especially if you are replacing a hinge that was mortised into the door and/or frame. Replacing the hinge with one that is thinner may prevent the door from closing all the way, or a hinge that is too thick may push the door over to the opening side, again preventing the door from closing. You can shim a thinner hinge or re-mortise a thicker hinge if needed. If the original hinge was not mortised, then using a thicker or thinner hinge will move the door over within the opening; too thick of a hinge may prevent the door from closing all the way, so take a look at how much space you have to work with.
Full Surface Hinges: There are 2 types of surface mounted hinges, Flush and Offset. Flush mounted hinges are for cabinet doors that when closed are flush with the surrounding frame, the door is completely recessed into the frame. If it is an Offset application, the door will sit proud of the frame (it is raised above the face of the frame when closed). This type of hinge will mount to the frame and then come up and over the face of the door.
For Flush mounted hinges, make sure the hinge will physically fit on the frame and door (it will not interfere with any trim or moulding). The barrel of the hinges should sit aligned with the gap between the door and the frame. For offset hinges, you will need to measure the amount of offset. This is the amount of the door that protrudes from the face of the frame. A common size is 3/8" offset: meaning the hinge comes up 3/8" from the face of the frame and over the face of the door.
Half Surface Hinges: Make sure the hinge will physically fit on the frame and door. Half of the hinge will mount on the inside edge of the frame and the other half will mount across the face of the door. Make sure that screw holes will hit good wood, away from any old holes, and the hinge will not interfere with any trim or moulding.
Semi Concealed: There are a few things to look at when selecting a Semi-Concealed hinge. Does the hinge mount with screws into the wood or does it have a slot cut in the wood that the hinge slides into? Semi-Concealed Hinges that mount into a cut-out (either in the door or frame or both) are called Demountable Hinges. Look at the edge of the door, does it have a straight 90 degree angle or does it have a beveled edge? Beveled edge doors are a little unique and you may need a Reverse Bevel hinge. Is the door simply flat on the back or is there a stepped edge allowing the door to partially recess in the frame? Then an Overlay Hinge, or a Partial Inset Hinge are what you are looking for.
Demountable hinges: Mount into a cut-out in
the door or frame or both.
Reverse Bevel Hinges: Work with doors that have a
beveled edge along the back of the door.
Partial Inset Hinges: Are for doors that have a
stepped edge that recesses into the frame
Overlay Hinges: Are for doors that overlap the
opening of the cabinet.
Some Semi-Concealed hinges are made to mount to the face of the cabinet, and some are made to wrap around the inside edge of the frame instead of just mounting on the face. The wrap around type can only mount on one place on your frame, for this you will need an Overlay Measurement. The Overlay is simply how much of the door overlaps the frame when the door is closed. It will determine where on the face of the cabinet the door will sit.
Partial Inset Hinges: For these hinges you will need to measure the Lip and Inset dimensions. The lip is the amount of the door that overlaps the frame, the inset is the amount that recesses into the frame.
Pivot Hinges: Look to see how the hinge mounts. Do the hinges mount above and below the door, or are they mounted on the side of the door? Has the door been notched to accommodate the hinge? Check to see if there are any numbers or a brand name stamped into the metal, that may help to narrow down a type.
Pivot Hinges, like this Youngdale Hinge are mostly
concealed when the door is closed.
European Hinges: European hinges are available for almost all cabinet applications and come in a wide variety of sizes and functions. For a guide in selecting the right European hinge, click HERE.
It is important to understand there are very few industry wide standards when it comes to the manufacture of cabinet hinges. Screw hole placement, overall sizes, material thicknesses and finishes will vary among different manufacturers. Especially if you are replacing hardware that was made 50, 75, or 100 years ago. You should however, be able to find something that will work for the cabinet.
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