Hinge Replacement

Introduction

So you have a broken hinge. You've been to the big box hardware. The hinge they sent you home with doesn't work. The reason is that European hinges come in a bewildering array of shapes, sizes and brands. Identifying the correct hinge for your application may not be easy. In my store, we stock 40+ choices of "Eurohinges" from three brands. Designing for European hinges is a topic for the manufacturers. Here, I'd like to address hinge replacement.

One of our most difficult challenges is guiding a customer to the correct replacement hinge for his application. We usually have to send the customer home for some measurements. I hope that his page helps you get the correct replacement hinge on the first trip to our store. If you are not in our geographic area, here's a tip: The item numbers in the charts are Rockler's item numbers. You can get these from Rockler on line or in one of their local stores. I do not have the actual manufacturer's item numbers.

Face Frame vs. Frameless Cabinets

The first question is: which style cabinet do you have? A face frame cabinet has frame around each of the openings. This looks more traditional and perhaps a bit more formal. On the other hand, a frameless cabinet has box walls that extend all of the way to the front edge of the cabinet opening. The look is more modern, also described as "Euro" or Scandinavian.

Click on the image that best describes what your cabinet box would look like without a door.

A face frame is like a picture frame around a cabinet opening. The hinges are mounted to the frame

A frameless cabinet has no face frame and the hinges are mounted directly to the cabinet's walls

Face frame: Inset vs. Overlay

Now let's look at how the door is hung on the cabinet. Is the entire door inside and flush with the face frame? Then it is inset. Otherwise, is the door overlapping the edges of the face frame? Then it is overlay.

click on the image that best describes how your door is hung.

An inset door is entirely inside, and flush with the face frame.

An overlay door sits outside and in front of the face frame.

Face Frame Inset Hinges

This table shows the face frame hinges available for inset applications. I only stock the first one.

Face Frame Overlay Hinges

Now we have to determine the overlay for your cabinet. The faceframe figure shows a dimension "A". We need to know this dimension in order for the door to fit correctly. Measure from the inside edge of the faceframe to the outside edge of the door. Some of the hinges below will work in a range of overlays. While that seems ideal, these are more difficult to adjust satisfactorily. Ideal is that the exact overlay is listed.

Frameless Cabinets

Frameless cabinets have terminology similar to faceframe cabinets. The biggest difference is that overlay is described as how much of the cabinet wall is covered. Full overlay, as the name implies, covers the entire edge of the cabinet wall (approximately 3/4" overlay). Half overlay, on the otherhand, allows a 3/16" gap between adjacent doors hung on the same wall. Following is a sketch of the different door hanging possibilities.