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Replacing Concealed European Kitchen Cabinet Hinges

January 21st, 2010 Leave a comment Go to comments

The biggest challenge about replacing your concealed European style cabinet door hinges is going to be matching the same brand. Even if you do locate the correct brand hinge, the particular style of the cabinet hinge may be outdated. If your kitchen is more than ten years old, this could be the problem that you encounter. If you use a different style, when you get ready to adjust cabinet doors it may be a bit challenging.

Problems With Using a Different Hinge

If you are forced to use a different brand or style for the replacement, you may have to deal with a few issues.

1) You are going to need to replace the “hinge plate” that is located on the kitchen cupboard side. Each style or company’s product will have a specific plate that works with the concealed hinge.
2) Because many of the plates are designed to regulate the height adjustment of the cabinetry doors, you may have to readjust the location of the plate.
3) The size of the screws used to attach the European hinge plate may be a different size that the existing ones. There are basically two types of screws that are used to fasten the part to the side of the cupboard. Make sure to check the screw size before going to the supply store to look for new hinges and plates.

When replacing the concealed hinges and plates you are going to have to adjust all of the doors. This is usually done after all of the European hinges and plates have been switched out and the doors are hanging on the cabinets.

Steps for European Cabinet Concealed Hinge Replacement

1) Remove the door from the cabinet side. This can be done by either loosening a screw on the hinge or by releasing a clip on the backside of the hinge by lifting up or pushing down on it. Which of these two methods used to take the cabinet door off of the box will depend on the style hinge you have.
2) Remove the hinges from the door and attach (or, “screw”) the new ones on the door.
3) If changing the European hinge plate, remove the old one and screw the new one on.
4) Interlock the concealed hinge to the plate by screwing it on or clipping it into place.
5) Use the adjustment screws to align the kitchen cabinet doors properly.

Note: Many prefab cabinets that come in a box will have odd sized hinges that may only be available from the company that you bought the RTA cupboards from.

Here is a great video tutorial on adjusting European cabinet hinges that will give you a demonstration of how to use the adjustment screws on the hinge correctly. Replacing the cabinet hinges is really the easy part of the project. It’s the adjustment of the plates and concealed hinges that is the tricky part.

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