How to Adjust Cabinet Doors: 3-Way Hinge Guide

Cabinet doors that hang unevenly, rub against the carcass, or fail to close flush are common issues in both newly fitted kitchens and older units. Over time, daily use and seasonal humidity shifts cause fittings to settle. Fortunately, modern concealed hinges—often referred to as European hinges or 35 mm cup hinges—feature built-in adjustment screws that allow you to align the door across three distinct planes without removing the fitting or drilling new holes.

Understanding 3-Way Hinge Adjustments

Standard concealed hinges offer three axes of movement: vertical (height), horizontal (side-to-side), and depth (in-and-out). When figuring out how to adjust a cabinet door, diagnosing which axis is causing the misalignment is the first step.

• Vertical adjustment: Moves the door up or down to align the top and bottom edges with adjacent units.
• Horizontal (lateral) adjustment: Moves the door left or right to set an even gap between double doors or align the door with the side of the cabinet carcass.
• Depth adjustment: Moves the door closer to or further from the cabinet frame to prevent binding against the carcass and ensure soft-close mechanisms engage properly.

Tools Required

You need very little equipment to carry out these adjustments:

• A standard Pozidriv screwdriver (usually PZ2) or Phillips screwdriver matching your hinge screws. Avoid power drivers, as manual control prevents stripping the screw heads or threads.
• A spirit level to verify horizontal and vertical alignment.
• A piece of thin card or a wedge to check for consistent reveals and gaps between adjacent doors.

Step-by-Step Adjustment Guide

Open the cabinet door fully to access the hinge arm and mounting plate. If the hinge has decorative cover caps over the arm or cup, gently pop them off with a flat blade to reveal the adjustment screws.

1. Vertical Adjustment (Up and Down)

Vertical movement is typically controlled by the screws holding the mounting plate to the cabinet carcass. On standard plates, these screws sit in elongated oval slots.

1. Loosen the mounting plate screws slightly on both top and bottom hinges.
2. Support the weight of the door and slide it upwards or downwards until it matches the height of adjacent doors.
3. Retighten the screws securely before releasing the door.

Note: Some advanced clip-on mounting plates feature a dedicated cam screw in the centre of the plate for direct vertical adjustment without loosening the fixing screws.

2. Horizontal Adjustment (Side to Side)

The lateral adjustment screw is located on the hinge arm closest to the door itself. Turning this screw changes the angle of the door relative to the cabinet frame.

• Turning the screw clockwise moves the door edge towards the hinge side (increasing the gap between a pair of doors).
• Turning the screw anti-clockwise pushes the door away from the hinge side (reducing the gap between adjacent doors).
• Adjust top and bottom hinges equally to shift the whole door sideways, or adjust only one hinge to correct a tilted or sagging door.

3. Depth Adjustment (In and Out)

The depth screw sits towards the rear of the hinge arm, furthest from the door. It determines how closely the door sits against the front edge of the cabinet box.

1. Loosen the rear screw slightly.
2. Push the door in or pull it out to establish a consistent 1–2 mm clearance between the back face of the door and the carcass edge.
3. Tighten the screw firmly to lock the position.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you adjust cabinet doors that rub against each other?

When double doors collide in the centre, turn the horizontal adjustment screws clockwise on the top and bottom hinges of both doors. This draws the doors slightly outwards toward the cabinet sides, widening the central gap.

Why does my cabinet door still sag after adjusting the screws?

If adjusting the lateral screws does not correct the tilt, check the mounting plate screws securing the hinge to the carcass. Worn or stripped screw holes in chipboard or MDF allow the hinge plate to slip under the weight of the door.