How to install cabinet handles?

Updated October 2026. Installing cabinet handles is a half-hour job for a whole kitchen once three things are right: the hole spacing of the handle, the position on the front, and a clean drilled hole. This guide covers measuring, marking, drilling and fixing handles and knobs on kitchen doors, drawer fronts and wardrobe doors, plus the jigs and screws that make the result repeatable across twenty fronts.

What you need

• Handles or knobs with the right hole spacing (centre to centre): knobs use one hole, bar and pull handles use two holes at 96, 128, 160, 192, 224, 256 or 320 mm – the 32 mm steps of the furniture industry. Check the spacing in the product name, for example in 128 mm cabinet handles or 96 mm cabinet handles.
• M4 machine screws of the correct length: front thickness plus 6–8 mm of thread in the handle. For an 18 mm front that is an M4 x 25 mm screw; most handles are supplied with 22–25 mm screws, thicker fronts need longer ones.
• A 4.5 mm or 5 mm wood/HSS drill bit (4.5 mm gives a snug fit for M4, 5 mm leaves room to align), a cordless drill, a square, pencil, masking tape and a sharp bradawl.
• A handle drilling jig – a plastic or aluminium template with holes at the standard spacings – if more than three or four fronts are to be drilled.
• A scrap of board to clamp behind the front, so the drill does not blow out the back face.

Step 1: choose the handle size

Hole spacing is a question of proportion as much as of fixing: a 96 or 128 mm handle suits doors and drawer fronts up to about 600 mm wide, 160–256 mm handles suit wide drawer fronts, and 320 mm or longer handles are chosen for pan drawers and tall doors where the hand should find the handle anywhere along the front. The overall length of a handle is always larger than its hole spacing – a "128 mm" handle is typically 148–160 mm long – so measure the space available on the front before ordering. Full ranges by size and finish are under kitchen cabinet handles, pull handles, black cabinet handles and brushed steel cabinet handles.

Step 2: decide where the handle goes

Drawer fronts

Centre the handle horizontally on the front. Vertically, centre it on fronts up to about 200 mm high; on taller pan-drawer fronts place it in the upper third, roughly 50–70 mm below the top edge, so the hand does not have to reach down. Two handles side by side are the usual solution for fronts wider than 900 mm.

Base-unit doors

Fit the handle on the opening side (opposite the hinges), vertical or horizontal, with the upper screw hole 50–100 mm below the top edge of the door. Horizontal handles on base doors line up with the drawer handles next to them; vertical handles read as one line down a run of tall units.

Wall-unit doors

Here the handle sits near the bottom edge, again on the opening side, 50–100 mm above the lower edge. Keep the distance from the door edge identical on every door – 30–40 mm from the edge to the first hole is a common value – and write it down before you start.

Wardrobe doors

Tall doors take the handle at about 1,000–1,100 mm from the floor, which is hand height for most adults; see also wardrobe handles.

Step 3: mark the holes

1. Lay the front face up on a padded surface, or work on the fitted door with a scrap board clamped behind it.
2. Stick masking tape where the holes will be; it stops the laminate chipping and takes pencil marks well.
3. Measure from the door edge and from the top (or bottom) edge and mark the first hole. From there measure the hole spacing exactly along a line drawn with a square – a 1 mm error between the holes is enough to make the handle screws bind.
4. Press a bradawl into each mark so the drill bit cannot wander.

With a drilling jig, steps 3 and 4 are replaced by clamping the jig to the door edge and drilling through the two holes for the chosen spacing. The jig guarantees the same position on every front, which is what makes a run of handles look straight.

Step 4: drill

• Drill from the front face with the scrap board clamped behind, at medium speed and without forcing; the laminate on the front face stays clean because the bit enters it cleanly, and the back face is protected by the board.
• Hold the drill square to the front. A slanted hole pulls the handle out of line when the screw is tightened.
• For thick or glass fronts drill a 4.5 mm hole first and open it to 5 mm; glass fronts need a dedicated glass bit and a frame with pre-drilled holes.

Step 5: fit the handle

1. Push the screws through from the inside of the door into the handle.
2. Tighten both screws alternately until the handle sits flat; do not overtighten, the thread in a zinc-alloy handle is softer than the screw.
3. If a screw is too long and the handle rocks, add a washer under the screw head or shorten the screw with a hacksaw and clean the thread with a file.
4. Check the row of handles with a long straightedge before fitting the last few, so any error can still be corrected on the remaining fronts.

Replacing handles on existing fronts

When the new handle has the same hole spacing as the old one, the job is a straight swap. If the spacing differs – an old 96 mm handle replaced by a 160 mm one – you have three options: choose a handle with a back plate that covers the old holes, fill the old holes with wood filler and touch-up colour, or pick a profile handle or industrial edge grip handle that is fixed to the top edge of the front and hides the old holes behind it. For a handle-free kitchen, push-to-open hardware replaces the handle altogether; see how push-to-open latches work.

Common mistakes

• Measuring the overall length of the handle instead of the hole spacing.
• Drilling without a backing board – the back face splinters and the screw head sinks into the chipboard.
• Different edge distances on left- and right-hinged doors, which makes one handle sit visibly higher than its neighbour.
• Screws that are too long for a drawer front with a thin steel drawer side behind it; use shorter screws or spacers.

Related guides and categories

Handles are only part of the job: doors need concealed hinges that are adjusted so the fronts line up (see how to adjust furniture hinges), drawers run on drawer runners (see how to install drawer slides), and the complete handle range is under furniture handles.

Frequently asked questions

What is the standard hole spacing for kitchen handles?

96 mm and 128 mm are the most common, followed by 160, 192, 224, 256 and 320 mm. All are multiples of the 32 mm furniture grid.

Which drill bit do I need for handle screws?

A 4.5 mm bit for a snug M4 fit, or 5 mm if you want a little play to align the handle. Drill from the front with a backing board behind.

How long should the handle screws be?

Front thickness plus 6–8 mm: M4 x 25 mm for an 18 mm front, M4 x 30 mm for a 22 mm front. Supplied screws usually suit 16–19 mm fronts.

Do I need a jig?

Not for one or two fronts, but for a whole kitchen a jig saves time and, more importantly, keeps every handle in exactly the same position.