# Hidden Hinge issue with cabinet door update



## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Hello all,
I'm updating kitchen cabinets to have hidden hinges. 
They are just basic ones from the box store. 
When testing the fit I discovered that the door rubs unless the cup is drilled extremely close to the edge and adjusted all the way out which leaves a 1/4 inch gap between the door and the face frame.
This seems to be because the doors edges are tapered towards the back of the door.
Does anyone know if there is a fix for this, or possibly a different hinge that can be used. 
The goal is hidden hinges with soft close.
Thank you


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

There should be an adjustment that just moves the door out from the cabinet a little which should stop the rubbing. Hard to know without knowing specifically which hardware you are using.


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Steve Neul said:


> There should be an adjustment that just moves the door out from the cabinet a little which should stop the rubbing. Hard to know without knowing specifically which hardware you are using.


It is adjustable, but for it to not rub it's all the way out. so when you close the door the hinge side leaves a big gap between the door and frame.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

A European hinge needs to be drilled about 1/8" from the edge of the door. If your doors taper toward the back more than 1/8" you may not be able to use a standard hinge. You might have to use a hinge made for a 3/8" lip. I don't have enough experience with those hinges to say for certain if those would work or not.


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Steve Neul said:


> A European hinge needs to be drilled about 1/8" from the edge of the door. If your doors taper toward the back more than 1/8" you may not be able to use a standard hinge. You might have to use a hinge made for a 3/8" lip. I don't have enough experience with those hinges to say for certain if those would work or not.





> Guess I can grab one tomorrow and try it to see.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

Photos would help. A lot.

Is the cabinet type frame or frameless? 
What type of doors do you have? How do they fit to the cabinet? Inset or not?
Overlay? 
Which hinge model? (In other words, do the hinges that you chose match the answers above?)

There are many types of European hinges, and they are somewhat specific to the cabinet, door, and overlay choices where you plan to use them. Worse yet, they look very similar to one another. It is hard enough to find a correct match when a Euro hinge breaks and the person has the broken one in hand. It can be a challenge to choose the correct hinge when someone wants to switch to Euro hinges from another hinge type altogether, and some door/cabinet combinations are not compatible with Euro hinges. 

I wonder whether the people at the box store know enough to give you the best advice. Find a local supplier who knows cabinet hinges - someone who sells Blum, Salice, or similar Euro hinges. Woodworking stores like Rockler or Woodcraft are another option. Bring a door with you and be able to tell them whether you have frame or frameless cabinets. Photos help, too. They will be able to give you good advice.


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Tool Agnostic said:


> Photos would help. A lot.
> 
> Is the cabinet type frame or frameless?
> What type of doors do you have? How do they fit to the cabinet? Inset or not?
> ...


Thanks for all that info. I will be over there at some point today, so I will take a picture and post it. I am not aware of any specialized places near me that incan go to other than the box stores. Only place that does cabinets didnt want to help me because I wasnt buying cabinets from them. I will keep looking and post pictures later today. again thank you everyone for the replies.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Steve Neul said:


> A European hinge needs to be drilled about 1/8" from the edge of the door. If your doors taper toward the back more than 1/8" you may not be able to use a standard hinge. You might have to use a hinge made for a 3/8" lip. I don't have enough experience with those hinges to say for certain if those would work or not.


Steve I've worked with these hinges for years and each time I went to a new shop a new brand. I eventually lost information stored in my head and just started focusing on the hinge in hand. Simple adjustments on each and there all get twisted out of shape. Between Salice, Grass, Blum, Hettich , etc it will drive you crazy..


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I think we just don't have enough information. I do believe the root cause is the style of the door he's trying to hinge. It may be European hinges won't work for him. I have a faint memory though of the hinges made for a 3/8" lip door and because of the lip the hole was drilled quite a ways back from the edge and it still lifted the door enough for the lip to clear. I only did one or two cabinets and that was probably 15 years ago so I don't know if those would help or not. 

I'm not fond of European hinges either just because each brand works so different.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Sempre ate these doors beveled like this? We do need to see the problem.


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Rebelwork said:


> Sempre ate these doors beveled like this?
> View attachment 424879
> View attachment 424880


yes, that's the type of bevel they have


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

How big is the opening on the cabinet versus the door at its smallest point? 1/4 overlay, 1/2 inch? What's the swing 95, 110 degree?


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

I believe it is a 1/2 overlay


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Is the plate mounted to the frame or to the inside of the box?

Where did the hinge come from , brand or I'd number.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Is the 1/2 overlay counting bevel?


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Lets use this door as an example... what hinge and what was the distance between B and C?


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Rebelwork said:


> Is the 1/2 overlay counting bevel?


I should be there in about 45 min. I will check


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Rebelwork said:


> Is the 1/2 overlay counting bevel?


Okay, yes the1/2 is counting the bevel to far outside edge


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

So point A to B is 1/2?


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Here are the hinges they bought.










Rebelwork said:


> So point A to B is 1/2?


inside edge of face frame to outside edge of door is 1/2


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Those are like Blum and grass. You have to be from the edge about 1/8 as steve suggested.

Right now your probably drilling a 35 mil hole 1/8 from B to C?

When it's on and you try and open the door it starts hitting the face frame and won't open any further?


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Rebelwork said:


> Those are like Blum and grass. You have to be from the edge about 1/8 as steve suggested.
> 
> Right now your probably drilling a 35 mil hole 1/8 from B to C?
> 
> When it's on and you try and open the door it starts hitting the face frame and won't open any further?


yes that's where I was putting it


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

So the bevel part hits the door as you open it?


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Rebelwork said:


> So the bevel part hits the door as you open it?
> View attachment 424885


yeah, and if I adjust it out away from the face frame there ends up being a giant gap when the door is closed between the door and face


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Wrong hinge. You have the distance on the back which is roughly 1/8 and you have the bevel which makes it over 1/8 +the bevel. The hinge would be 1/8 from the widest part of the door. Which would be the front of that door. This would drill into the bevel if the bevel is over 1/8...

So if A and B are 1/8 you would be right on the edge.


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Rebelwork said:


> Wrong hinge. You have the distance on the back which is roughly 1/8 and you have the bevel which makes it over 1/8 +the bevel. The hinge would be 1/8 from the widest part of the door. Which would be the front of that door. This would drill into the bevel if the bevel is over 1/8...
> 
> So if A and B are 1/8 you would be right on the edge.


I figured.


Rebelwork said:


> Wrong hinge. You have the distance on the back which is roughly 1/8 and you have the bevel which makes it over 1/8 +the bevel. The hinge would be 1/8 from the widest part of the door. Which would be the front of that door. This would drill into the bevel if the bevel is over 1/8...
> 
> So if A and B are 1/8 you would be right on the edge.


Yeah, I just tried, and you can see the edge of the cup when its closed, and it still leaves a bit of a gap when closed too. 

Any recommendations on which hinge I should go with?


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Well tried installing them on my test cabinet as close as I could get them without blowing through the bevel. It still leaves a 1/4" gap between the door and the face frame. Also you can see the cups when its closed.







UV


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Those hinges will leave a gap. That's the nature of that hinge.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

The gap is the reason i stopped using them


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I think something like this is what you are going to end up with. There are cheaper places than rockler to buy from. 175° Fully Concealed Hinges


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

There similar to these. A little work to install...


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## SempraSigma (Mar 1, 2021)

Rebelwork said:


> There similar to these. A little work to install...
> View attachment 424912


I will look for some of those


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