How to Adjust Concealed Cabinet Hinges: Up, Down, In and Out
Short answer: a concealed hinge adjusts in three directions, each with its own screw. The depth screw on the hinge arm moves the door in and out, towards or away from the cabinet. The side screw moves the door left and right to set the gap between doors. The height is set at the mounting plate, by loosening its fixings and sliding the door up or down. Adjust in that order — height, then side, then depth — and work on one door at a time.
Which screw does what?
|
Direction |
Where to adjust |
What it fixes |
|
In and out (depth) |
Rear screw on the hinge arm |
Door standing proud of the cabinet, or pressed too tight against it |
|
Left and right (side) |
Front screw on the hinge arm |
Uneven gap between two doors, door rubbing its neighbour |
|
Up and down (height) |
Mounting plate fixings on the cabinet side |
Door sitting low or high, tops of doors not level |
Our HF61 and HF63 series both offer three-dimensional adjustment, so all three movements are available at the hinge and plate without re-drilling anything.
Adjust in the right order
The three adjustments interact, so the order matters. Doing it backwards means going round twice.
- Height first. Get the door sitting at the right level. Slacken the mounting plate fixings, move the door, retighten. If your plates have vertical cam adjustment, use the cam rather than slackening the screws — it is quicker and it holds position better.
- Side next. Set the gap to the neighbouring door or the cabinet edge. This is the adjustment people notice most, because an uneven gap down a run of doors is very visible.
- Depth last. Bring the door in or out so it sits flat against the cabinet front and closes without straining. Depth affects how the door meets the carcase, so it is the natural final tweak.
Turn screws in small increments — a quarter turn at a time — and close the door to check between each one. Concealed hinge adjustment ranges are small by design, and it is easy to run out of travel by winding one screw all the way before checking the others.
Common problems and what to change
|
Symptom |
Adjust |
|
Door catches on the one next to it |
Side screw on both doors, a little each |
|
Top of the door leans out, bottom sits in |
Depth screw on the top hinge only |
|
Door sits lower than its neighbour |
Height, at the mounting plate |
|
Door will not sit flush when closed |
Depth screws, both hinges |
|
Door springs back open slightly |
Depth — the door is over-tightened against the carcase |
|
Gap wider at the top than the bottom |
Side screw on one hinge only, to twist the door square |
The principle behind most of these: adjust one hinge to twist a door, adjust both to move it. That single idea solves the majority of alignment problems.
When adjustment will not fix it
Adjustment corrects millimetres, not mistakes. If you have run out of travel on all three screws, the problem is usually one of these:
- The wrong mounting plate height. The plate sets the baseline, and the adjustment screws only fine-tune around it. If the plate is wrong for your overlay, no amount of screw-turning will recover it — the plate height needs recalculating.
- The cabinet is out of square. Check the carcase before blaming the door. A racked cabinet cannot hold a square door.
- Too few hinges for the door. A tall or heavy door on two hinges will sag no matter how well it is set up.
- Mixed hinge series in one cabinet. Different series sit at different depths, so the doors will never line up with each other. Keep one series per cabinet.
Frequently asked questions
Which screw moves a cabinet door up and down?
None on the hinge arm — height is set at the mounting plate on the cabinet side. Slacken its fixings and slide the door, or use the cam if your plates have vertical cam adjustment.
Why is my cabinet door rubbing on the one next to it?
Side adjustment. Use the front screw on the hinge arm, and take a little off both doors rather than a lot off one, so the gaps stay even along the run.
How do I fix a cabinet door that leans out at the top?
Adjust the depth screw on the top hinge only. Adjusting both hinges moves the whole door; adjusting one twists it, which is what you want here.
Do soft close hinges adjust the same way?
Yes. The damper changes how the door closes, not how it is aligned, so the same three adjustments apply.
Can I adjust a hinge without taking the door off?
Yes, and you should — all three adjustments are made with the door hanging, so you can see the effect as you go. Clip-on hinges let you remove the door if you need to, but you do not need to for adjustment.
My door still is not right after adjusting everything. What now?
Check the mounting plate height is correct for your overlay, and check the cabinet is square. Those two account for most cases where adjustment runs out.
Browse the range
Concealed cabinet hinges, hinge accessories and mounting plates, heavy duty concealed hinges and soft close dampers.
Need a replacement plate or a taller one? Call 01482 714488 with your hinge series and the overlay you are working to.
The adjustment method described here applies to concealed cabinet hinges generally. The three-dimensional adjustment and cam plate options named are Eurofit specifications from our 2026 catalogue; other manufacturers’ hinges vary in what they offer.
