Cabinet Door Hinges 101: Hinge Side, Hinge Holes and How Many You Need

Most modern cabinets use hidden European-style hinges that mount in a round hole drilled in the back of the door. When you order doors from us, we can drill those holes for you so your doors are ready to hang. Here's what you need to know to get it right.

What is a hinge cup hole?

A hidden hinge has a round "cup" that sits in a 35mm (about 1 3/8") hole drilled into the back of the door, close to the edge. If your old doors have big round holes on the back near the hinges, that's what you have. When you order hinge boring, we drill these cup holes on our CNC so they're the same on every door.

You can also choose cups plus pilot holes, which adds the two small screw holes for each hinge, or no boring if you'll drill them yourself or use a different kind of hinge.

Which hinge side do I pick?

Stand in front of the cabinet and look at the door. If the hinges are on the left edge, pick Left: the door opens from the right. If they're on the right edge, pick Right.

• A pair of doors on one cabinet is usually one Left and one Right.
• On a single door, hinge it on the side next to a wall or end panel so the door opens away from it.
• Doors that swing up (like over a fridge) are hinged on the Top.

How many hinges does a cabinet door need?

Taller doors are heavier and need more hinges to stay flat and aligned. Our builder adds hinges automatically by door height:

• Under 30" tall: 2 hinges
• 30" to 48": 3 hinges
• Over 48" and under 72": 4 hinges
• 72" and taller: 5 hinges

Very wide doors also benefit from an extra hinge. If in doubt, more hinges are better than too few.

Where do the hinges go?

We place the top and bottom hinges 4" from the top and bottom edges of the door by default, and space any middle hinges evenly between them. If you're matching existing cabinets, measure where your current hinges sit and make sure the new doors line up with the hinge plates already on your cabinets.

What is overlay?

Overlay is how far the closed door covers the cabinet frame around the opening. It's set by the hinge, not the door. Common hinges give a 1/2" overlay, but 1/4" to 1 1/4" are all available. Overlay matters when you size doors for new face-frame cabinets; see how to measure for cabinet doors.

Drawer fronts don't get hinges

Drawer fronts screw onto the drawer box, so they never get hinge holes. Mark them as drawer fronts on your order and the builder leaves them undrilled.

Set the hinge side on each door in the door builder. The drawing shows exactly where every hinge hole will go before you order.