When you chooses cabinet hinges, there are several specific measurement and features of the hinges that you must consider. The choice of hinges for a cabinet door will ultimately determine the function and the way in which the door will sit against the cabinet frame. Should the hinges that you choose for a cabinet door not match the cabinet door, the cabinet hinge will lead to improperly installation of the door.
The first measurement that you must consider for the hinges that you will purchase is a cup size. The cup size refers to the diameter of the hole that will be bored into the cabinet door. Many cabinet hinges use a cup size of 35mm in diameter, although there are various other sizes of cup size for different types of furnitures.
How to Choose the Right Cabinet Hinges
The cup size will determine the strength of the hinge and the amount of leverage that it can provide. Should you use a hinge with a small cup size for a heavy cabinet door, the door may cause the hinge to sag. Therefore, the cup size must match the weight of the door.
The second measurement that you must consider is the overlay. The overlay refers to the amount of the cabinet frame that the cabinet door will cover. Full overlay hinges allow the door to cover the majority of the cabinet frame.
An inset hinge will make the door flush with the cabinet frame but will produce a different appearance to the cabinet than a full overlay hinge. A half overlay hinge allows for two cabinet doors to share a single partition wall within the cabinet but will not cause the two cabinet doors to collide with one another. Should you choose the wrong overlay for your cabinet door, the door may not be able to properly sit in the correct position, and the incorrect overlay may cause the door to either sag in the wrong area or leave a gap between the door and the cabinet frame.
The third measurement you must consider is the opening angle. The opening angle of the door is the degree to which the cabinet door will swing open. Standard kitchen cabinets has an opening angle of 110 degrees, but if the cabinet is to be used as a corner cabinet, a wider opening angle will be required.
A wider opening angle allows for more clearance for the user to access the contents of the cabinet. However, a wider opening angle will require more clearance in the cabinet for the hinge arm to swing. Additionally, the weight rating of the cabinet hinge is another consideration when purchasing a hinge.
The weight rating is the measurement of the amount of weight that the hinge can support. For thin materials like MDF, a light weight rating will be required. For wardrobe doors that are heavy and wide in area, a heavy weight rating will be required.
Using a hinge with a low weight rating on a heavy door will make the door unstable and will not last as longly. When installing cabinet hinges, look for hinges with three-way adjustment. Three-way adjustment allows for the door to be adjusted side-to-side, up and down, and in and out.
This adjustment is useful in the case that the hole in the cabinet door was not bored to the perfect specification when you installed the hinges. Finally, you must decide between two types of hinges: soft-close hinges and push-to-open hinges. Soft-close hinges will prevent the door from slamming shut, as well as reduce the amount of noises that is created when the door is closed.
Push-to-open hinges will allow the user to open the door by pressing on the door; this is used for cabinets that dont has a handle. Once you have selected the correct cup size, the correct overlay, and the correct weight rating, the hinge will function as intended.
