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How to fit door hinges

Updated: October 2026

The door is on the floor, or one hinge has pulled, and you want to know how to fit door hinges without a second trip for longer screws. This sequence is for a non-fire internal timber door and a butt hinge. Mark both leaves together, cut only as deep as the leaf, pilot the screws, and stop if the door is certified. A 35 mm cupboard cup is a different job. The positions below are a domestic rule of thumb, not a fire-door certificate. Shelf packs are on the [door hinges comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/door-hinges). Which family to buy is the [door hinges buying guide](/hub/door-and-window-security/door-hinges/sub/door-hinges-buying-guide). Peter F. used UK hanging guides and the kept listings, updated October 2026. This is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The door is on the floor, or one hinge has pulled, and you want to know how to fit door hinges without a second trip for longer screws. This sequence is for a non-fire internal timber door and a butt hinge.

Our top picks

XFORT XFORT 3 inch polished chrome, 3 pack

Best overall

XFORT XFORT 3 inch polished chrome, 3 pack
9.4/10about £9.99
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XFORT XFORT 4 inch polished brass, 3 pack

Best value

XFORT XFORT 4 inch polished brass, 3 pack
9.4/10about £12.99
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XFORT XFORT 4 inch polished chrome, 3 pack

Rank 3

XFORT XFORT 4 inch polished chrome, 3 pack
9.4/10about £12.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Mark the door and the frame together
  2. 2.Cut a flush mortice and drill pilots
  3. 3.Hang, test, and stop
  4. 4.When to stop

Mark the door and the frame together

If the old recesses are clean and the new leaf matches, reuse them. If you are hanging a new leaf, mark the door and the frame together. UK guides do not share one measurement. Cooke Brothers mark about 150 to 200 mm down from the top and about 200 to 250 mm up from the bottom. Wickes uses about 150 mm and 225 mm, with a gap of about 3 mm. Screwfix uses about 125 to 150 mm and about 175 to 230 mm. Follow the old positions when they exist. Wickes treats a third hinge as optional on an ordinary internal door, which is the wrong habit on a fire door. On a bedroom door, three hinges stop a tall leaf bowing, and an XFORT three-pack is sold as one door. Knife the outline. A 35 mm cup is bored in the back of the door, not chiselled.

Cut a flush mortice and drill pilots

The recess should finish flush. Ian Firth's notes put the depth at the thickness of the leaf you are fitting. Cut shallow, test, and pare. Too deep, and the screws pull the door in. Too shallow, and the door springs off the stop. Test an XFORT leaf before you drive a screw: several packs need a deeper pocket than the old hinge. Do not plane the edge to hide a proud leaf. Drill a pilot the size of the shank, especially on hardwood. Fit the odd number of knuckles to the frame, and stop when the leaf sits flat. A review of the top pick, the 3 inch XFORT pack, describes screws of about 25 mm. If the thread does not sit in sound timber, use a longer screw of the same gauge. The best value, the 4 inch brass pack, is hung the same way. Black dust around a knuckle usually means the hinges are out of line.
XFORT XFORT 3 inch polished chrome, 3 pack

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XFORT XFORT 3 inch polished chrome, 3 pack
9.4/10about £9.99
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Hang, test, and stop

Hang the door with a second person. Start the top screw, then the bottom, then the rest. About 3 mm at the top and sides is the Wickes figure for an ordinary internal door. The latch should meet the keep without you lifting the handle. If it rubs at the top on the latch side, the top mortice may be too deep. If it rubs at the bottom, a rising butt is usually the wrong answer.

When to stop

Stop when the door is a fire door. Do not plane the edge, do not move the hinges off the certificate, and do not fit an unmarked pack because a review mentioned an FD30 door. Pads and screw length are on fire door hinges. Stop when the latch no longer meets after the hinges are flush, or when the frame is twisted. That is a joiner. Stop on an external door whose pin can be knocked out. Which kept pack is plausible before you cut is the best door hinges page. None of them replaces a marked fire hinge.

Common questions

How far from the top should the first hinge sit?
On a new ordinary internal door, UK guides cluster around 125 to 200 mm down from the top, with the bottom hinge around 175 to 250 mm up. Wickes uses about 150 mm and 225 mm. If the old recesses are sound and the new leaf matches, use those instead. The figures are a rule of thumb, not the spacing on a fire-door certificate.
How deep do I cut the recess?
As deep as the leaf you are fitting, so the plate finishes flush. Cut shallow and pare to the metal. Too deep pulls the door in. Too shallow leaves the door proud of the stop. If a new XFORT leaf is thicker than the old hinge, deepen the pocket. Do not plane a fire door to make up the difference.
Should I drill pilot holes?
Yes. A pilot the size of the shank lets the thread bite and keeps the stile from splitting, which matters on hardwood and on an engineered edge. Drive the screw until the leaf is flat, then stop. A stripped pilot or a cupped leaf is what makes the door spring off the stop.
Can I reuse the old screw holes?
Reuse them when the new holes land in the same places and the timber is sound. If a hole is stripped, plug it and redrill, or move within the old outline only if the leaf still sits flat. Swapping a 3 inch leaf for a 4 inch leaf means a new recess, not a screw driven in at an angle.
When should I stop and call a joiner?
Call a joiner if the latch will not meet once the hinges are flush, or if the frame is twisted. Call a competent fire-door installer for any certified FD30 or FD60 leaf, including a flat entrance door. An outward-opening external door with a loose pin is also past this domestic sequence.

Related pages

Door closer

Door hinges

Ball bearing door hinges: when a plain butt is enough

Best door hinges: light door, heavy door, cupboard

Door hinge buying guide: size, load, finish, screws

Fire door hinges: the mark, the count, the certificate

Sources

Public sources from the research digest, last checked on 21 October 2026. Prices and review counts are amazon.co.uk listings, not a laboratory test.

  1. ASSA ABLOY UK: hinges, key facts and features (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Lloyd Worrall: BS EN 1935:2002 single-axis hinges (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. BWF Fire Door Alliance: fire door hardware (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. DHF/GAI code of practice: hardware for fire and escape doors, issue 5 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK: Approved Document B fire safety frequently asked questions (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Titus UK: a specifier's guide to soft-close cabinet hinges (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Wickes: how to fix door problems (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Ian Firth: hinge FAQ (retrieved 21 October 2026)