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javiwa

Soft close hinges: 3/16" gap -- adjustment?

10 years ago

Sorry to sound impatient, but I just can't wait until 1-800 customer service opens tomorrow morning! :)

The cabinets are pretty much in, and I'm noticing a very wide gap between door and frame (3/16"). The little silicone bumper thingy leaves only a 1/16" gap.


I realize once the counter's installed, the 1-1/2" overhang will take care of the top (visually), but, really, I would like NOT to see my floor tile from the side of the door.

These are my hinges...screws, screws everywhere!


The doors are otherwise nicely aligned right now (relative to each other, height, etc.), so I don't wanna just start loosening things, willy nilly. I'm thinking #2 is for height.

Should I loosen #1 (both hinges) and nudge door a bit closer?

Right now, when I open the door halfway, the top corner of the door still clears the frame by 1/8".

Thanks for any advice.


Comments (15)

  • 10 years ago

    Thanks so much, kudzu!

  • PRO
    10 years ago

    3/16" is the spec, with a +/- a few 1/32" worth of adjustment.

    javiwa thanked Taylor's Cabinets & Interiors
  • 10 years ago

    Thanks, TCI. This is my first experience w/ these soft close hinges. My old cabinets also had the nice hidden hinges, but I don't recall the gap being nearly so wide.

  • 10 years ago

    That type of hinge may need a little more space between the back of the door and the face of the cabinet to account for the narrowing that occurs when the door swings open. If you get the hinge side as close in as possible without scraping and still don't like the gap, you can at least make it the same at both edges of the door by using a slightly fatter bumper pad.

    javiwa thanked kudzu9
  • 10 years ago

    Javiwa, I'm getting ready to install those same hinges on a new set of doors for a cabinet that has been without doors until now. My other cabinet doors don't have the integrated soft close mechanisms. Can you please let me know if an how you solve the spacing issues?

    javiwa thanked jellytoast
  • 10 years ago

    I'm back...happy to report nothing disintegrated in my hands, no stripped screws, etc. :) Really rather fascinating how that little mechanism works! There's plenty of extra clearance for the door to swing, corner unimpeded; so, not sure what the reason is for that large a gap. It's not so much the discrepancy in the gaps between the hinge side and the door bumper side (so, I'll just stick with the little nubby that's already there). Is this how all new cabinets are? Seems "Blum" is the in thing these days, so I'd imagine lots of folks are wrestling with this -- or maybe it's just us 'partial overlay' people. I don't imagine those who order inset cabinets have this issue.

    Thanks again for all the help. Now, moving on to whether I want to risk drilling new holes because the installers set my oversized drawer pull too high! :/

  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    jelly: oops...just saw your post. No...still a 3/16" gap. I wonder if it's a soft close issue, and maybe the regular Blum (or my former Saliches ?) would've gotten the door closer to the frame.

    ETA: At one point before we finalized the cabinets, I'd asked my KD if we might just skip the soft close on the cabinets (I'm not particularly enamored of them...could take them or leave them, actually, even now.), and perhaps put that $ towards something else. But it just so happened the manufacturer was running a promotion: no upcharge on the soft close.

  • 10 years ago

    Javiwa do you notice the difference between your new blum and old salices? Our cabinet maker used salice and we hate them. They are so slow to close that people actually try to force them closed. So annoying.

    javiwa thanked agk2003
  • 10 years ago

    agk - Our former Salices weren't soft close, so I can't compare (but they were certainly nice hinges). And those oldies definitely left no gap: closed meant closed! Heck, I just glanced at my junky old builder-grade hinges in the bathroom cabinet, and even those close the doors tight against the face.

  • 10 years ago

    Agk, I have Salice soft-close mechanisms. If you send me an email to the same screen name at gmail, I'll send you a video!

  • 10 years ago

    Ok will do sjhockeyfan325. Thanks!

  • 10 years ago

    hey sjhockeyfan325, there's no gmail by that name.

  • 10 years ago

    Oh, sorry, its sf7307 at gmail.

  • last year

    Have you figured this out because i did the same thing. My existing doors did nog have soft close, they are 3/4 red oak with 3/8th offset flat panel on framed boxes. I have a major bump out just like this, need help. Im thinking I need a different hinge.

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