How to Adjust Cabinet Doors That Won’t Close
From time to time we have been faced with the challenge of trying to adjust a customer’s kitchen or bathroom cabinet doors that won’t close. There are many reasons for this. Perhaps I can address your particular situation and offer a solution to the problem.
Independent units
If you are working with a “freestanding” cabinet that is not attached to the wall, your problem could be that the cabinet is out of alignment. Push the top left or right side of the drive and see if it helps the situation. If so, you will need to shim under the bottom of one corner of the cabinet. This is going to be a trial and error process to place the drive correctly. If it is placed on a carpet, the culprit may be the tack strip that is installed right next to the wall.
The door closes but a corner protrudes
This particular situation usually involves the top or bottom hinge being adjusted too far in or out. If it is the top corner of the door that sticks out, then either the top hinge should be adjusted toward the face of the cabinet or the bottom hinge should be set away from the face of the cabinet.
The entire edge of the door protrudes from the one next to it
Another possible situation could be that when the cabinet door is closed it has a tendency to reopen slightly along the entire edge of the door. If this is the case, you may need to adjust both hinges toward you, away from the front of the cabinet. What happens is that the inside of the door sticks to the face of the cabinet and does not allow it to close completely.
Antique wooden cabinet doors
Many of the older style wood door kitchen cabinets were designed to have magnetic latches installed to keep the doors closed. Look to see if you have them in any of the interior areas of your cabinets. The door that won’t stay closed may need a new latch or slightly adjust the existing one.
Do you hear a clicking noise?
Sometimes there is a piece of plastic that eventually itches on the inside parts of the hinges. This problem occurs on several different hinge styles. There are European concealed hinges that do this and externally mounted decorative hinges. The only way to fix the problem properly is to install new hinges. An alternative would be to install a magnetic latch. Obviously this would not remove the clicking sound.
A couple of years ago, the Blum company had a faulty part that would go bad on their concealed European hinges after about five to ten years of use. It was noticeable by the click that was made every time the door was opened or closed. The doors would also often be very difficult to close or open. Fortunately for many homeowners, hinges come with a lifetime warranty. The company has since corrected the problem.
Something inside the cabinet sticks out
Believe it or not, sometimes there’s a plate that’s a little too deep for the cabinet and the door hits it.
A limited number of tools are usually needed to fit cabinet doors. All that is needed is a Phillips or flathead screwdriver. In the event that you need to install magnetic fasteners, an electric or cordless drill will make the task easier. If it’s a set of hinges that click, you’ll definitely need to have a power drill handy.