If your cupboard doors are loose, don’t assume you need to replace the hinges. Oftentimes, all you need to do is tighten or adjust the various screws to tighten the doors again.
If the door is tight at this point, then you don’t need to do anything else. If it is still loose, then proceed with tightening the rest of the screws.
After tightening all of these screws, your cabinet doors will be tight again, but they might be slightly misaligned. Proceed to make adjustments to align them properly.
You will be using all of the screws for adjustments except for the screws that hold the hinges to the doors. In other words, you will only be adjusting the screws that hold the hinges to the inside of the cupboard.
You might have to slightly unscrew the locking screw to use the adjusting screw. Make sure to tighten it completely after you align the door.
These screws are usually in slotted holes that make it easy to slide the door up and down to adjust it without having to remove the screws completely.
For example, if there is more space between the cabinet door and the edge of the cabinet at the top of the door, then turn the adjusting screw in the top hinge clockwise to move the door closer to the edge of the cabinet at the top.
Try making 1 minor adjustment at a time to perfect the alignment of the cabinet doors.
If your cabinet doors make a lot of creaking noises when you open and close them, then it could be a sign they are binding and you should check them and fix them.
You won’t need to adjust any other screws to fix binding cabinet doors.
You won’t notice a big difference in the position of the door while you pull it towards you, but all it takes is a small adjustment to stop a cabinet door from binding against the cupboard.
It may be helpful to have a helper hold each door in place for you so you can tighten the screws again without shifting the position of the cabinet doors.
This is the final type of adjustment you can make to fix cabinet door alignment problems. When you know how to tighten loose cabinet doors, adjust poorly aligned doors, and fix binding, you will be able to get almost any kitchen cabinet door to work properly!
