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Can Hidden Hinges Replace Face Frame Hinges?

4 months ago

My contractor says that hidden hinges will fail in time if used to replace the old face frame hinges on my kitchen cabinets. He says the cabinet boxes are probably not solid wood. Does anyone have experience with this that they can share? I have a large number of cabinet doors and the current hinges (along with the hardware) make the kitchen look really busy. We just moved in last week so we will be making other improvements too.

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Comments (7)

bry911
4 months ago
My opinion: it’s time to question your choice of contractor.
PRO
The Kitchen Place
4 months ago
Looks like you have a "lipped" door. aka 3/8" offset hinge. Not sure you can get a concealed hinge with that type of door.
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Welllll...pictures would help but I think it's possible that it might look just fine. Your island is different, so your style might accept a bit more character than if everything was the same. I'd be tempted to go with dark hinges to match the rest of the hardware instead of trying to hide it with white hinges. Embrace the hinges? It might also be possible to cut down your pullouts so that they function with the new hinges.
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Thanks! I am hoping to find a concealed hinge that will work on a 3/8 in inset.. Long story short.. Lost everything in Harvey.. Kitchen finally being rebuilt and the carpenter built doors that are the 1970's (80s if I'm being generous) I finally get a new kitchen and it's already old. The doors aren't hung yet so I'm making a last ditch effort to find a concealed hinge. Who would have thought a new kitchen could be so depressing? And I hate the semi-concealed with the spring. They seem worse than the exposed. Being a professional, would you know of a hinge that would work? I'd really appreciate your opinion.
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No, a 1/2 hinge wont work. One hinge that will is this Salice hinge: If you're replacing existing drilled hinges, measure the K distance already drilled on your door. Put that measurement into the equation for K and 6.35 for D. This will give you H, the height of the mounting plate to use with this hinge. All measurements in mm. One inch equals 25.4 mm. Another good option is to talk to your local cabinetmaker.
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Beth Boyd
Original Author
4 months ago
Thank you for that information-something to check.
bry911
4 months ago
last modified: 4 months ago
Every European style hinge maker has a hinge that will work fine for your cabinets. They screw into the face frame which is likely wood.

This is not something that is difficult to find or achieve, hinges can get expensive but they are not rare.
PRO
HALLETT & Co.
4 months ago
Presuming your face frames are hardwood (most likely) it’s very possible to remove all the current hinges, fill and sand all the holes, find the correct euro hinge and install it. And of course repaint the kitchen. How much is that worth to you? Between the fussy labor for hinge install and the repaint I’d say 10k as a start. Suddenly exposed hinges look great!
PRO
The Kitchen Place
4 months ago
last modified: 4 months ago
Ok I checked and you can indeed get concealed hinges for LIPPED doors. Click the link below.

CONCEALED LIPPED DOOR HINGES

I agree with Hallett....would not be worth the expense and hassle to me. I quite like the exposed hinges on your cabinets. Looks old school! :-)

Also remember you'll need to drill all the POCKETS into your doors.
just_janni
4 months ago
Yes - doable - but tedious to get it done right on the doors / frames, and then add the cost of filling, sanding and repainting,

Lean into the look. Different handles my be a better choice. Those look ORB or black vs the brass (?) of the hinges. With brass back in - lean into it.

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