# Painted Double Cabinet doors rub at middle - would changing overlay of hinges help?



## Richard Zellmer (Sep 8, 2018)

I have some cabinets that I repainted where a few of the cabinets with double doors and no center stile and they rub together. I think a few were rubbing before as I just bought the house but adding paint on door and frame I am sure made it worse. I have the hinges adjusted outward the max amount of both sides but they still rub when they come together. 

Would getting a similar hinge with a larger overlay help me? I am trying figure out what changes on the hinge with a larger overlay? Does the offset between the cup hole and the bracket that connects to the frame actually change. ie... will getting the same hinge with a different overlay shift the door inward/outward? I was thinking maybe it does but then I was also thinking that maybe just the 'arm' of the hinge is longer if you have a larger overaly so that the door doesnt smack in to the frame as you open it. ie a door with a larger overlay on the hinge side might need a longer arm so that the door doesnt smack in to the frame as it opens and that the cup/frame relationship doesnt change. 

my backup plan is to get a trim router and trim the frame a bit in the hinge area to make the frame opening 'wider' but I would love to buy some new hinges instead. 

I have this style blum hinge.


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

In all likelihood using a hinge with a bigger overlay will make a large gap between the doors. If there is nothing left to adjust on the hinge you probably need to trim a little off the width of the door and repaint it.


----------



## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

If the opening is too small, there is nothing that changing hinges can do to improve that.


I would think that the simplest thing to do would be to plane/sand/or however take a small amount of the doors where they are rubbing. Then touch-up paint as necessary.


Georgel


----------



## danrush (Oct 16, 2017)

As a cabinet installer, I've run into this problem often. I would try hinges with the next larger overlay. For example, if the existing overlay is 3/8" try 1/2". Steve is correct that a larger gap between doors will be the result and may not be adjustable. In that case you can try very slim shims under the hinges, or even mix and match hinges. In our example above, 1/2" overlay hinges on one door, 3/8 overlay on the opposing door. 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk


----------



## Richard Zellmer (Sep 8, 2018)

I did try some 1 1/4 Home Depot/Everlast hinges on one side and it removed the gap and created a small gap. Gap would likely be too big with 1 1/4 hinges on both sides so next step is I will try some 1" overlays.

Worst case is I can go back to the 1 1/4" and then look for some shims. They do seem to make a hinge shim, just need to find the right part.


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Richard Zellmer said:


> I did try some 1 1/4 Home Depot/Everlast hinges on one side and it removed the gap and created a small gap. Gap would likely be too big with 1 1/4 hinges on both sides so next step is I will try some 1" overlays.
> 
> Worst case is I can go back to the 1 1/4" and then look for some shims. They do seem to make a hinge shim, just need to find the right part.


Most euro hinges you can adjust the gap between the doors. Are you saying that both the hinges you are working with don't have an adjustment?


----------



## danrush (Oct 16, 2017)

Fender washers work well as shims. They're thin and easy to stack under the hinge. 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk


----------



## Richard Zellmer (Sep 8, 2018)

Steve Neul said:


> Most euro hinges you can adjust the gap between the doors. Are you saying that both the hinges you are working with don't have an adjustment?



The originally hinges are 39C355-01. the last part is supposed to be the offset in 16ths but I am fairly sure the overlay is not 1/16. Those hinges are adjustable but they still rub when adjusting all the way out. I think they rubbed before painting. 

I tried to some 1 1/4" overlay hinges, now they dont rub but they space at the middle is too big even when I adjust them all they way in. I ordered some 1" overlay hinges and to see if that is the sweet spot. Otherwise could try the fender washers.


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Richard Zellmer said:


> The originally hinges are 39C355-01. the last part is supposed to be the offset in 16ths but I am fairly sure the overlay is not 1/16. Those hinges are adjustable but they still rub when adjusting all the way out. I think they rubbed before painting.
> 
> I tried to some 1 1/4" overlay hinges, now they dont rub but they space at the middle is too big even when I adjust them all they way in. I ordered some 1" overlay hinges and to see if that is the sweet spot. Otherwise could try the fender washers.


Sorry but I had to ask. Most people don't know the hinges are adjustable. All too many occasions I've had people ask me to trim the doors off in that situation and they are stunned when I pull out a screwdriver and just adjust the door over. 

I don't know the code on euro hinges offhand but I can tell you that any measurements are in metric sizes. 

You could mortise the hinge where it fits the cabinet to give you more overlay. I've done that before when doors were made the wrong size and trying to get a job installed and done.


----------



## Chris Curl (Jan 1, 2013)

I was thinking ... maybe split the difference? If one set rubs, and the other set makes the gap too large, how about using one hinge from the set that rubs, and one from the set that makes it too wide? I doubt anyone would be able to tell by looking at it. Just a thought ...


----------

