How to hang swing doors on a closet: step-by-step instructions

• November 20, 2020
• Windows and Doors
• Ivan Gresko

To make it more convenient to store clothes, dishes, books and other necessary things in an apartment or house, use various bedside tables and cabinets. Judging by the reviews, a fairly pressing problem is when you need to hang swing doors on a closet. It is noteworthy that you can handle this work yourself without resorting to the help of a specialist. To do this, you need to familiarize yourself with the mechanism of operation of doors and the types of hinges. In addition, during the execution of work it is necessary to strictly adhere to the algorithm of actions. You will learn more about how to properly hang doors on a closet in this article.

About materials

For those who do not know how to hang swing doors on a closet, experts recommend taking into account the characteristics of the material. In general, doors are made of wood, plastic, glass and light metal. It is important that the selected material holds its shape well. Previously, the only material was wood. Doors made from solid wood will add homely warmth and comfort to your home. However, such doors are more expensive. If you want to save money, purchase chipboard and MDF. Products made from such materials will cost you less, since they are made not from natural solids, but from shavings and tiny fibers with the addition of thermosetting resins for rigidity. It is noteworthy that MDF is more environmentally friendly than laminated chipboard. Boards made from wood waste are covered with a waterproof and durable protective film made of plastic, natural veneer, enamel or PVC film. Judging by the reviews, metal doors are much more durable and look very impressive. Glass doors are mainly installed in kitchen cabinets. The interior with such elements looks quite elegant. In general, preference should be given only to certified industrial products. This guarantees a long service life and durability of the furniture and its individual elements.

What problems can happen with furniture hinges?

Modern designer furniture, kitchen units, cabinets, shelves, are complemented by closing doors made of different materials, which are connected using hinges. Because of them, various types of breakdowns occur and eventually the furniture hinge will need to be repaired.

Causes of problems

• The door fell off. So the loop couldn't stand it. Reason: weak screwing of self-tapping screws or screws.
• The hinges were torn out by the roots. The main reason is the incorrect calculation of the depth for the screws or the door is too heavy for this fastener. Frequent opening and closing of furniture doors.
• Deformation of fasteners. The protective decorative coating has peeled off. Violation of furniture manufacturing technology. A crack or dent has appeared under the varnish facing film. Improper drying of wood when making furniture. Wear of mobile joints. The furniture has become misaligned.
• Manufacturing defects. Due to incorrect manufacturing of connecting parts, the result is defective fasteners, which, when screwed in, lead to frequent breakdowns.
• Frequent disassembly. Unfortunately, with frequent disassembly and assembly of furniture, it leads to the fact that the previous holes in the seats can no longer hold the fastening loops.
• Loosening. Occurs from frequent opening and not careful closing of doors. Make adjustments using screws. Do not twist, check that the lid fits tightly to the surface and there should be no movement. Otherwise, deformation will occur.
• Incorrect fitting of furniture hinges leads to problems.

How to repair a broken furniture hinge?

When furniture breaks down, any modern interior loses its appearance and, at first glance, new furniture instantly turns into old trash. There is some confusion in this situation. An uprooted hinge immediately catches the eye of household members or guests who come to the apartment. repair a furniture hinge at home yourself. We'll give you tips on repairing broken furniture hinges.

1. You can raise the loop higher or lower it and screw it on.
2. If there is nothing left to fasten to, then do the following: fill all the torn places with epoxy resin and put the fasteners in their original place. It has been proven that this method holds the loops for a long time. The resin must dry completely.
3. Cut out the area of ​​the torn loop and replace it with a new insert. Then adjust the color and attach a new loop.
4. Attach a new block to the surface of the damaged door using self-tapping screws and screw in new hinges. If you don’t want to make other holes, then place the bars on glue and place them under a press. The press time is up to 10 hours, this is a kind of reinsurance against a new breakdown.

If there are only holes left on the surface of the furniture, then you can drive the wedges in and tighten them using special screws, but it is advisable to select them a little longer than the previous screws.

About fastening mechanisms

Before wondering how to hang swing doors on a closet, you should familiarize yourself with the types of hinges. In general they are:

• Invoices. The shape of the plates in this fitting is different. The surface of the box and the canvas became the place for their fastening. When the door is closed, the plates move into each other. For a hallway closet with swing doors, this type of hinge is suitable. The structure has a bowl-shaped base and is connected to the panel with self-tapping screws. The bases are equipped with mechanical inserts that are fixed to the side panel and door. It is best to get overhead devices equipped with four hinges. Many home craftsmen also call such products “frogs.” These fasteners can be recommended for any structures with swing doors. For the manufacture of all hinge elements, alloys are used, thanks to which the product is not subject to mechanical deformation and corrosion processes.

• Mortise. The plates are installed so that they enter the material (exactly how much depends on the thickness of the fittings).
• Secretive. They are used to equip the door leaf.
• Screwable. The plates in the fittings are replaced with pins that are screwed into the material.

Sliding wardrobe panels

The sliding wardrobe is the most popular furniture today. This is facilitated by the ability to rationally use living space. Often the closet occupies the entire space from floor to ceiling, has a large capacity and, when using a sliding door, does not at all interfere with the movement next to it.

In order for such storage furniture to serve for a long time and without failure, it is important to correctly assemble the entire structure. The main role belongs to the flawless installation of sliding facades. By precisely fulfilling the requirements and recommendations of specialists, a person with the skills to use special tools can install the cabinet door system with his own hands.

What do you need for work?

Before you start installing the door yourself, check that you have the necessary components for the sliding system in the closet. In addition to the facades themselves, the following must be prepared:

• Bottom and top rails or guide profiles. These are the main parts that ensure the movement of the door leaf.
• Motion limiters and stoppers. Parts that help the door move smoothly along the guide rail and stop the movement at a certain point.
• Closers are mechanisms that ensure the sliding of the door panel.
• Accessories for façade systems. For example, seals, screws, rollers, etc.

Prepare your tools:

• electric drill;
• metal drill with a diameter of 4 mm;
• a set of straight and Phillips screwdrivers;
• spirit building level;
• imbus key;
• plumb line;
• sandpaper;
• pliers;
• hammer;
• stationery knife;
• roulette.

Carefully familiarize yourself with the main structural elements of the sliding wardrobe door and their location.

What do experts recommend?

In addition to the question of how to install doors on a cabinet, many beginners are interested in how to choose the right fasteners and how many fasteners to choose? For double doors, you need to get right-handed and left-handed hinges. It can be difficult to choose a direction for a single-leaf structure. The hinges must be inserted into the side of the door into which it will open. If the fasteners are located on the right, then they are considered right-handed, and on the left - left-handed. When everything is decided with the direction of the fasteners, all that remains is to correctly calculate their number. At the same time, experienced craftsmen recommend taking into account the weight of the door itself. It would be best to equip a single-leaf design with three fastening mechanisms.

In a double-leaf door, you will need at least two hinges for each leaf. When buying fasteners, do not forget to check them so as not to get defective. It would be more advisable to buy a few extra fasteners. Read more about how to hang doors on a closet below.

We act according to the rules!

How to properly hang a door on a wardrobe? It is worth starting by measuring the width and height of each opening and frame, checking the level of the roof, sides and panel that will serve as the floor. You should also measure the thickness of the cabinet walls, since over time, distortions may form in them. Compensation for distortions is possible thanks to overhead hinges that are easy to adjust. It is important to ensure that during installation all structural elements are located at the same depth. Installation of loops is carried out in the following order.

1. The hinges are applied to the place where they will be attached, holes are marked and drilled to a depth of 20-30 mm.
2. The holes are made both at the ends of the sidewall and on the door itself.
3. The hinge halves are fixed using furniture screws.
4. The door is hung.

What you might need

Before hanging swing doors on the closet, prepare the following tools:

• Pencil or chalk.
• Roulette. You can also use a ruler.
• A set of screws and self-tapping screws. Mostly they are included in the kit for hinges.
• Drill with attachments of the required diameter.
• Screwdriver. If this power tool is not at hand, then replace it with a regular screwdriver. In this case, you will have to screw the screws into the canvas manually.

Regular matches

Everything is simple here, if your broken holes are not large, say, a piece of chipboard has not fallen out, then you can use ordinary matches.

How it works? Just hammer a match into the hole (great if the diameter is not large). And then we screw the screw in there. The match is pressed against the wall and thus the fastening is restored.

However, it is not suitable for heavily loaded doors that you rarely use. If you constantly open or close the sash, it will not last long . BUT as a temporary solution, why not?

Second step

Once you have decided on the number of loops, center the fabric and make precise markings. For this purpose, place the doors against the cabinet and, using a pencil or chalk, mark the places on the canvas where the hinges will be placed. It is advisable that the fittings and shelves be at different levels. Otherwise, the locker doors will not close. If you decide to replace old hinges with new ones, then when removing fasteners, try not to loosen the grooves. Most likely, you will have to attach the hinges in a different place on the canvas. The distance between the hinges will depend on the size of the door. It is advisable to step back from the edge by 150 mm. Next, you need to attach the loop to the canvas and carefully trace with a pencil the place where the base bowl will be located. After completing these steps, you need to carefully drill a niche for the hinge in the canvas.

At this stage you will need an electric drill with the appropriate attachment. It is desirable that the recess is at least 1.3 cm.

Installation of guides

1. All actions must be performed exactly in the sequence in which they are indicated in these instructions:
2. Take measurements at the top of the opening - where the top guide will be located.
3. Measure the resulting opening width minus 2 mm on the guide. Using a ruler or triangle, draw an exact perpendicular line.
4. Cut exactly the piece of guide that is required - to do this, use a grinder or a hacksaw.
5. Prepare holes for self-tapping screws - every 40 cm along the entire length of the guide.
6. Drill the previously determined number of holes - their edges should be sanded so that they are smooth.
7. Now the profile can be installed by attaching it with screws or self-tapping screws of the appropriate diameter.
8. A stopper should be installed at the right and left ends of the guides: in the case of the right door leaf - in the recess on the right, in the case of the left - in the recess on the left.
9. You need to do the same with the lower profile. You can check the correctness and accuracy of fastening using a level. When this stage is completed, you can move on to the next one.

What to do next

When the niche for the cup of the fittings is ready, insert the base into the recess and align it in a horizontal plane. Then you need to drill a few centimeter holes for fasteners, through which the base cup will be fixed to the canvas. Experienced craftsmen recommend placing the door in a horizontal position, otherwise the accuracy of the connection will be impaired. Before drilling, mark the locations for the holes with a pencil. Next, they are drilled and the fittings are mounted to the door with self-tapping screws using a screwdriver or screwdriver. It is very important that at this stage no chips or cracks form, and that the fasteners fit into the prepared grooves smoothly and are not skewed. Therefore, keep the power tool vertical. If you do not hold the drill at an angle of 90 degrees, the doors will turn out skewed. After completing these steps, make sure that the hinges are located on the same axis. Only in this way will the load of the canvas be distributed evenly. If you ignore this recommendation, and after some time the furniture will need repair.

Kinds

Four-hinged hinges come in different modifications, which can be selected depending on the location of the panel relative to the box and the cabinet itself in the room.

Invoice

The canvas attached to this loop is completely perpendicular to the body and covers the stand. Used when the door overlaps the side rail of the cabinet.

Invoice

Half waybill

It is used when two doors need to be hung on one rack. Each facade overlaps the end of the rack by half.

Insert

The door leaf is perpendicular to the post, but does not overlap its end.

The overhead hinges also differ in the angle of inclination. This is necessary for installing corner cabinet doors. Depending on the difference between the angle of the facade and the perpendicular to the stand, you can select hinges with an opening angle: -25 °, 30 °, 45 °, -45 °, 90 °.

Insert

Transformer

Used to create composite facades from several doors or in cabinets with drawers that are hidden

Most four-hinged hinges are made with a built-in closer. This makes the door movement smooth and silent.

Transformer

Eight-joint

It has all the characteristics of a four-hinged hinge, only without inserting the cup into the facade body. It is attached with self-tapping screws, so it is only suitable for fabrics with a dense texture.

Eight-joint

About door installation

Once the door is equipped with fittings, it can be attached to the frame. How to hang doors on a closet? They do it as follows. First, the prepared door is placed against the cabinet body and, if necessary, its position is aligned. Next, with a pencil or chalk, mark on the body the places where the strikers will be installed. Then the marked points remain to be drilled with a drill of a certain diameter so that grooves with a depth of 1.3 cm are obtained. Self-tapping screws are then screwed into them using a regular screwdriver or screwdriver, which will secure the plank.

How to replace it correctly with your own hands

Correctly replacing a broken furniture hinge consists of the following steps:

• You can replace it if you call a specialist, but in order to save money, you can replace the furniture hinge yourself. In place of the old hinge there are holes from screws or screws. Just take a special glue with the addition of small sawdust and cover the holes with a viscous composition. Wait a couple of hours and tighten the screws again. But we warn you right away, this method is not durable if you screw it in without the glue drying.
• Cover it with the same glue with furniture sawdust, then let it dry. We screw the hinges into the old place, only we choose the depth 3 millimeters deeper, but leave the same diameter. It has been tested more than once and the fasteners last a long time.
• It is necessary to move the bases of the sang and screw them on. Tip: replace the old fastener with a new one, because over time the hinge may become deformed.
• If, due to frequent breakdowns, the place for fastening has turned into a sieve, then you can make a small overlay from any material and screw the hinges back on. Using a special screwdriver, tighten firmly until the end.

With the knowledge gained, we can confidently say that if any of the above breakdowns occur, you will be able to cope on your own.

Source: pro-dom-mebel.ru

Final stage

Now all that remains is to connect both halves of the fittings to each other. To do this, you need to attach the door to the cabinet body and tighten the screws on the corresponding strip.

Judging by the reviews, after installing the fastening mechanisms, the doors are difficult to open. The reason is that the loops have not yet been developed enough. Also, it wouldn't hurt to lubricate them. For this purpose, use machine oil. A few drops will be enough. After lubrication, carefully remove excess with a piece of absorbent cloth.

Leveling and Adjustment

Furniture fastenings need adjustment. To do this, during the installation process, their fixation in depth and distance is checked. This can be done with horizontal or vertical position of the cabinet parts. After assembling the furniture, all preliminary calculations will turn into results, so it is important to spend more time on marking and connection parameters in advance.

When choosing, you must first of all pay attention to the strength of the product; it should serve throughout the entire life of the furniture.

After installing the fasteners on the cabinet doors, you must carefully try the doors against the sides so that they match exactly. Mark the joints with a pencil. Fix the door and do fastening work on both sides. It is important that the accuracy of all cabinet parts is one hundred percent. Finish assembly and check operation.

When opening and closing for the first time, the doors may move somewhat stiffly if the hinges are not yet lubricated and developed.

After attaching the hinges to the cabinet is completed, it is recommended to drop a little machine oil inside the mechanism. Then you need to wipe the surface with an absorbent cloth.

Check that all elements are working properly.

For a cabinet made of chipboard, it is better to take wide hinges, since the base material can crumble.

The better quality all the elements of the assembled furniture are, the more reliable their operation will be.

When installing hinges on cabinet doors, do not forget that after a while the doors may sag under their own weight, especially if they are often left open. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically strengthen the hinges by tightening the screws. In modern fasteners this is easy to do - there is an additional recess in the oval part.

Try to adjust the parts carefully so as not to loosen the grooves.

It is also necessary to lubricate the cabinet hinges from time to time to prevent them from rusting or squeaking. When adjusting the fasteners, it is necessary to fix not only the screws connecting the cup or bar, but also the parts of the closer. The mechanical part may wear out from use. Therefore, it is important to have 2-3 spare elements to replace a broken part. “Drawdown” is indicated by distortion and loose cover. Work is carried out more often in rooms with uneven floors and high humidity.

If adjustment does not help, you should replace the old parts with new ones.

When changing fasteners on used furniture, you need to look at how suitable they are for it. It may be necessary to change the location of the new hinges due to loosening of the grooves.

In this case, it is recommended to disassemble the furniture and perform all installation operations again.

After adjustment, check for gaps, tight fit of the doors when closing, overall mobility and evenness of the sash along the axis.

When installing several fasteners, you should make sure that their location does not get on the internal elements of the furniture.

Fastening

Another important question that interests many: how to screw a cabinet door, and in this case, many consider video to be the optimal solution for self-learning. Of course, it can give you general information, but it is necessary to have practical knowledge in this matter. Therefore, if you have no idea how to properly hang the sash, then it is best to immediately contact specialists. But still, it is worth considering the installation process itself to give an idea of ​​the theory of this issue. What you will need to attach your cabinet door:

Wood “chopik” + glue

I consider this method to be the best. After this repair, the door in my kitchen worked for a couple of years, and nothing was torn out again.

The principle is as follows: We remove the sash - the door, then you need to take a drill and drill out the torn holes.

We take a drill with a diameter slightly smaller than a wood “chop”, for example, my chop is 9 mm in diameter, and the drill is 8 mm.

We do not drill to the full depth of the door, usually 80% is enough, the main thing is not to drill further, because the drill will come out on the other side of the door, which is not always necessary. To do this, there is a special limiter on the drill, or, at a suitable depth, you need to screw electrical tape onto the drill and not go beyond its limits.

Next we pour glue into the hole, I take “MOMENT” which glues the wood (you can take any other thing; there are currently dozens of different ones). Well, we hammer in the “chopik”, do it carefully so as not to break through the back wall!

Calculations

To perform calculations correctly, it is convenient to use the diagrams and calculator offered on the RIAL.PRO website. To calculate the height of the door, an estimated additive is used, taking into account the distance from the top to the bottom of the cabinet. The finished system will not function if the calculations were performed incorrectly.

Using a calculator for sliding wardrobes, it is possible to correctly calculate all the details, taking into account the parameters of the niche and other measurements. Therefore, even a beginner can cope with the task.