How to fit cabinet hinges
Updated: 23 October 2026
You have the hinge, or you are about to bore a cup, and you want the door square. How to fit cabinet hinges is mark, drill, screw, then adjust. The adjustment screws only move a door that was bored and plated in the right place. Figures below stay with the maker who published them. Pack choice stays on the [cabinet hinges comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/cabinet-hinges). A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. We did not fit these packs in a workshop.
You have the hinge, or you are about to bore a cup, and you want the door square. How to fit cabinet hinges is mark, drill, screw, then adjust.
You have the hinge, or you are about to bore a cup, and you want the door square. How to fit cabinet hinges is mark, drill, screw, then adjust. The adjustment screws only move a door that was bored and plated in the right place. Figures below stay with the maker who published them. Pack choice stays on the cabinet hinges comparison. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. We did not fit these packs in a workshop.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Fitting | Cup | Overlay | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  HBL HBL 10-pack 110° full overlay clip-on | Clip-on | n/a | Full overlay only | 9.6 | about £20.99 | View offer |
| Alternative |  GTV GTV standard 35 mm pair | Screw-on | 35 mm cup | Full overlay | 8.8 | about £4.95 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Honeueuen Honeueuen 10-pack 105° full overlay | Fixed plate | 35 mm, 9.5 mm deep | Full overlay | 8.8 | about £11.98 | View offer |
Before you drill
Stop if the door is a fire door or a front door, if the carcass is twisted, if you would bore new cups in a finished door you cannot replace, or if the cabinet is a corner or bi-fold that needs a wide-angle hinge this set does not sell. BS EN 1935 and the DHF/GAI code are about building hinges on fire and escape doors. A cupboard hinge is the wrong product for that leaf. Also stop if the hinge is a 90° surface leaf. MUXHEL, DHSWNNG and SJDOFU screw to the face. SJDOFU’s listing says no complicated drilling and includes a screwdriver. That is not the 35 mm cup method below. Have the hinge in your hand before you mark, and do not copy a US guide in inches.
Bore the cup
DIY Doctor, for a 35 mm hinge, marks the cups about 85 to 100 mm from the top and bottom and 22 mm in from the edge, then drills 11 to 12 mm deep with a Forstner bit, leaving about 4 to 5 mm of timber at the edge. An 18 mm door has little spare timber. Eurofit Direct, for their hinges, uses 21.5 mm to the cup centre, about 4 mm from the edge to the hole, and 12 mm deep. Do not blend those two figures into one official inset. Honeueuen states a 35 mm bore and 9.5 mm cup depth for doors of 14 to 18 mm. If your hinge states a shallower cup, do not automatically drill 12 mm. Drill square to the face. A tilted cup twists the door before any screw turns. Several listings have review notes that the screws in the photo were not in the box.
Fix the plate and hang the door
Eurofit’s plate line, for their hinges, is 37 mm back from the front edge, holes 32 mm apart, for full and half overlay. For inset they add the door thickness plus 1 mm to that 37 mm. A different plate height changes the overlay. Eurofit’s euro screws need a 5 mm hole about 10 mm deep. UK reviews complain of a wood screw in a euro hole. Match the hanging method to the pack. HBL and Lashow are clip-on. Honeueuen is a fixed plate. GTV is screw-on, and reviews say there is no quick release. PanBeiQi is press-to-release. Furniware states three-way adjustment and does not state a clip. Keep hinge and plate as a pair. Hang the door on both hinges before you chase a gap. One hinge twists the stile.
Adjust, then stop
Eurofit’s order on a concealed hinge with those three screws is height at the plate, then the front screw on the arm for side to side, then the rear screw for depth. Turn a quarter turn at a time, and turn both hinges the same way if the whole door should move. Turning only the top hinge twists it. Those screws will not fix a plate at the wrong height, a carcass out of square, too few hinges or mixed series on one door. DIY Doctor and Blum publish different kilogram bands. Do not merge them, and add a hinge as the door passes about 600 mm wide. If the door is square and still slams, the damper is the next question, on soft close cabinet hinges. If the screws run out of travel, the cup or the plate was marked wrong. Filling and redrilling a finished door is the joiner’s job.
Common questions
How deep should a 35 mm hinge cup be?
Use the depth stated for the hinge in your hand. DIY Doctor drills 11 to 12 mm and wants about 4 to 5 mm of timber left at the edge. Eurofit uses 12 mm for their hinges. Honeueuen states 9.5 mm cup depth. An 18 mm door has little spare thickness, and drilling past the stated depth can break the face.
How far from the edge of the door do I drill?
DIY Doctor marks 22 mm in from the edge for their 35 mm example. Eurofit marks 21.5 mm to the cup centre for their hinges. Do not average those into a single correct inset. Copy the figure that belongs to the hinge you are fitting, and keep the bit square to the face.
Where does the mounting plate go for a full overlay door?
On Eurofit’s hinges the plate holes sit 37 mm from the front edge and 32 mm apart for full and half overlay. Inset, on that sheet, is 37 mm plus the door thickness plus 1 mm. Other brands move that line. Mark from the plate in the packet, and do not reuse a plate from a different series.
Which screw moves the door in and out?
On Eurofit’s concealed hinges the rear screw on the arm sets depth. The front screw sets side to side. The plate sets height. If your hinge maps the screws differently, follow that hinge. The travel is a few millimetres. It will not convert a full overlay arm into a half overlay arm, and it will not rescue a cup bored in the wrong place.
Can I clip a new hinge onto the old plate?
Only in the same series. HBL and Lashow are clip-on. Honeueuen is a fixed plate. GTV’s reviews say there is no quick release. A new arm on a different plate is a known way to end with a door you cannot adjust square. Replace the plate with the hinge.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Prices captured 20 October 2026. Updated 22.10.2026.
- Häfele UK, cabinet hinge FAQs (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Eurofit Direct, measuring and fitting kitchen hinges (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Quest Hardware, kitchen cabinet hinge types (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- BS EN 15570:2008 via NBS (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- DHF/GAI code of practice, hardware for fire and escape doors (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Furnica, soft-close hinge damping (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Blum, number of hinges (retrieved 22.10.2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22.10.2026)