Talk to me about cabinet hinges

[Deleted]

We are about to do the great kitchen cabinet painting. I want this so badly not just because the cabinets are so worn-out looking (32 years old), but because we had the floor tiled before replacing the countertop so they couldn't shimmy the space in between. The guy is going to put some trim on that little section that no one really notices. It's a small bookcase area on the other side of the penisula.

I found oil rubbed bronze pulls on Ebay (brand new) that will look awesome with cream colored cabinets. Now I am looking online for 29 sets of hinges.

I THINK we have self-closing hinges, but how do you know? There is a part of the hinge that is disintegrating, but the hinge is still there? Wouldn't that be the closer?

My husband asked me "WHY" I wanted self-closing hinges. I rolled my eyes at him and said, "Um, because you never shut things." Fortunately, that made him laugh.

Any advice? Any great (reasonable) company online? Please help, my online family!

[KaraBoo]

I would take what you have (or take a picture) to the store and compare that to what is out there. Ask about self closing hinges - and take notes. We got to know the lady in the plumbing aisle very well and she always wanted to see the pictures we had taken of our next "problem" area. I think she got real satisfaction in helping us out as much as she did (we let the store know how awesome she was too!).

Once you know what you want, you can then go online to double check pricing and styles to see if there is anything else out there that you might have missed.

[Works4me]

When I re-did my kitchen I used cabinets and hinges from IKEA and the self-closer is a separate piece I attach to the hinge and/or the drawer mechanism.

[chiver78]

I'd definitely take one of your existing hinges to the store. I ended up having to return 16 doors' worth of hinges to the Cheapot because my guesstimate was off a quarter inch.

as far as where to go for your hinges, I'd suggest the big box stores. I was actually really freaking annoyed by all the bronze hinges at Home Depot when I was looking for brushed nickel.

FTR, I don't like the nickel either, but it matched the SS appliances I also don't like, but installed anyway. gawd, I can't wait to list this place.

[rovo]

There are many different designs of cabinet door hinges and they are NOT interchangeable. Take one hinge off of a cabinet and go to Home Depot and see what styles they have in the needed design.

[Deleted]

There are many different designs of cabinet door hinges and they are NOT interchangeable. Take one hinge off of a cabinet and go to Home Depot and see what styles they have in the needed design.

I'm curious as to your emphasis that they are not "interchangeable." I know the holes have to line up on both sides of the hinges. Other than that, how else are they not interchangeable?

I'm not just replacing hardware. If the cabinets weren't being painted, I know you might get difference in colors of stain where parts of the cabinets weren't exposed. But they are being painted so as long as the holes align . . . ? What am I missing?

[wodehouse]

SS, your project sounds exciting! We repainted the cabinets in our old house. Cabinets were originally dark stain, a previous owner had painted an off-white (better than dark stain but very bland). My wife and her friend "antiqued" the cabinets with a base coat, then a different color top coat that had special properties such that the paint film tore apart to reveal the other color layer below. The effect was like very old cabinets. Well, they were very old cabinets but the finish was awesome! When we sold the house the realtor was like "oh oh...", but the buyers loved them! (This paint was a kit from Ace Hardware)

My contribution was that I couldn't stand the hinges that had several coats of paint over 35+ years. I soaked them in cleaner and cleaned them up (oiled bronze color). Looked Awesome! I looked at new hinges but didn't want to spend the money. But I wholeheartedly agree that after many many years the cabinet hinges do wear down and out.

[chiver78]

there's quite a few styles of hinges, some that are nothing alike but still have the screw holes in the same places. if it saves you the stress of having to return what you bought on the first trip, it's worth taking down one door to take a hinge with you, IMHO.

[Formerly SK]

Fun! Are you painting the cabinets yourself? I want to do that also but am scared.

[nogooddeed]

I just finished painting bathroom cabinets. Unlike yours SS, my hinges were in good shape so I just cleaned them, roughed up the finish and used oil rubbed bronze spray paint on them. Look brand new. One can of spray paint using a coupon at Michaels - $4 or so. Yes, I am cheap on certain things.

[Deleted]

Ok, forgive me for continuing to be stupid.

If I am having the cabinets painted professionally, why does it matter which hinges I choose as long as the holes line up so that they don't have to drill new holes that would probably be close to the old holes?

I'm just not getting the part about removing an old hinge and having to buy an absolutely identical one. I can understand that you don't want to try to substitute a hidden hinge or a self-closer if yours wasn't either of those types. But if you are buying the same type, the holes are aligned, why do I have to take off a door?

I don't want to buy from the big box stores.

[Deleted]

Unlike yours SS, my hinges were in good shape so I just cleaned them, roughed up the finish and used oil rubbed bronze spray paint on them. Look brand new. One can of spray paint using a coupon at Michaels - $4 or so. Yes, I am cheap on certain things.

I'm excited for you. I am also cheap and thought about trying to clean and spray paint the other hardware. But something in the hinges is absolutely crumbling. Not knowing what it is and knowing that some of the cabinests are self-closing and some aren't closing that well, I am guessing that is the issue.

I am having the cabinets professionally painted ($3100). I painted some bathroom cabinets that we will eventually replace, and they look amateurish and took forever. (You can only paint one side at a time and even with primer, it takes a lot more coats that you can possibly imagine to cover dark stain.) They are ok. Ironically, they had newer silver-toned hardware so we went with that.

But this is IT with the kitchen. We only replaced the cabinet tops maybe 18 months ago. We replaced the backsplash and the floors at the same time. We couldn't replace the cabinets . . . I have 72 linear feet of cabinets if that gives you any idea of how many kitchen cabinets I have. I bought 50 cabinet pulls on ebay although I think it's like 45 (this includes drawer). I have to get 29 cabinet hinges.

So the hinges are an important line item. I want them to fit. That's why I want to understand why it matters so much to get an exact match, which is what some posters are implying.

ETA: That is 29 PAIRS of cabinet hinges (which you might have guessed by the odd number.)

[Works4me]

There are different types of hinges - some wrap around the cupboard face, some mount on the front, some mount in different ways on the doors, etc. Also the thickness of the doors and/or cupboard face can vary, from as little as 1/2" on up to well over 1" and every 1/16" or 1/32" in between can make a difference. Or not. You might also ask the painter or a cabinet maker what type you have.

What I did in the past was Google hinges/hinge replacements and learned about the different types of cabinet hardware. Then I ordered one set of a few to try for size and then ordered what I wanted. By going to a hardware store or big box you might be able to streamline this.