How Do You Adjust Hinges on a Wardrobe?

Most wardrobe hinges are concealed European hinges with three adjustment screws, and each one moves the door in a different direction. The screw nearest the door front shifts the door sideways to correct uneven gaps. The screw in the middle or on the elongated slot moves the door up and down. The rear screw controls depth, pulling the door closer to the carcass or pushing it out. Turn one screw at a time by a quarter turn, close the door to check, and repeat. A single crosshead screwdriver is usually the only tool needed.

Identify the hinge before you start turning anything

Open the door fully and look at the metal work on the inside edge. A concealed hinge has a cup sunk into the door and an arm running back to a mounting plate on the carcass side. This is the type fitted to the great majority of modern wardrobes, and it is fully adjustable.

Butt hinges are different. These are the flat rectangular plates you see on traditional timber doors, visible from the outside when the door is shut. They have no adjustment screws, so correcting alignment means loosening the fixing screws and repositioning, or packing behind one leaf with thin card.

Pivot hinges appear on some tall or overlay doors and adjust at the top and bottom pivot points instead. If you cannot find three screws on a concealed hinge, check whether the door is actually running on pivots.

The three adjustments explained

Side adjustment corrects the vertical gap between two doors or between a door and the carcass edge. On most hinges this is the screw closest to the door, sitting directly in the hinge arm. Turning it clockwise usually pulls the door towards the hinge side and anticlockwise pushes it away, though direction varies by manufacturer so a test quarter turn tells you which way yours behaves. Adjust the top and bottom hinges by the same amount to move the whole door, or one only to correct a door that is out of square.

Height adjustment raises or lowers the door. On many hinges this happens at the mounting plate, which is fixed through a slot rather than a round hole. Loosen both mounting plate screws slightly, slide the door to the height you want, then retighten. Some plates instead have a dedicated cam screw for height, which is easier as nothing needs loosening.

Depth adjustment sets how far the door sits from the carcass front. The rear screw on the hinge arm handles this. It is the adjustment to reach for when a door closes proud at one end, or when the door face is not flush with its neighbour.

Working through it methodically

Start with height, then side gaps, then depth. Adjusting in that order avoids chasing your own corrections, because changing height often alters the apparent side gap and there is no point fine tuning depth on a door that is about to move.

Work in quarter turns. Concealed hinges have a surprising amount of range, and a full turn can overshoot noticeably. After each adjustment, close the door completely and step back to look at it against the neighbouring door or carcass edge, since gaps that look fine up close often read differently from a metre away.

Check both hinges before assuming one needs adjustment. On a two hinge door, a gap that is wider at the top and correct at the bottom means the top hinge needs the work. Tall doors with three or four hinges follow the same logic: find the hinge nearest the widest part of the gap.

Common problems and their causes

A door that will not stay closed usually has too much depth clearance, so the catch is not engaging. Wind the rear screw to pull the door closer to the carcass. If the wardrobe has magnetic or push catches, check the catch plate alignment as well.

Doors that rub against each other in the middle need side adjustment on both, moving each away from the centre. Do this in small increments on both doors rather than a large correction on one, which keeps the gaps even at the outer edges.

A door that drops or feels loose is often a fixing problem rather than an adjustment one. Concealed hinge cups sit in board, and repeated stress can enlarge the screw holes. The fix is to remove the screw, fill the hole with a wooden matchstick or dowel and a little wood glue, let it set, then refit. This restores a solid grip far better than simply using a longer screw.

If a whole wardrobe seems to throw its doors out of alignment repeatedly, check whether the carcass itself is square and standing level. UK homes rarely have flat floors, and a wardrobe standing on an uneven boarded floor will rack slightly, which no amount of hinge adjustment will cure. Packing under the base to level the carcass solves the root cause. This is worth checking on delivery of any large piece, whether that is a wardrobe or a modern sideboards UK sale unit with the same door alignment considerations.

When adjustment is not the answer

Some symptoms point elsewhere. A door with a visible bow across its face cannot be corrected at the hinge, since the hinges only control position. A cracked hinge cup or a stripped mounting plate needs replacing, and concealed hinges are standardised enough that a matching replacement is usually straightforward to find by measuring the cup diameter, commonly 35mm.

Overloaded doors are another cause. Hanging heavy items on hooks fixed to a door front puts continuous leverage on the hinges and will eventually pull the fixings loose. Keep weight inside the carcass where it is carried by the structure. If you find yourself needing door hooks for coats, a modern coat stands UK sale option in the hallway takes the strain off bedroom furniture entirely.

Sliding door wardrobes have no hinges at all. These adjust at the bottom rollers, which have a height screw at each end of the door. Raising or lowering one roller squares the door in its track. Anyone with sliding wardrobes UK sale doors that catch should check the track for debris first, since a small amount of grit is a more common cause than misalignment.

Keeping doors aligned over time

Check the alignment of a new wardrobe a few weeks after assembly. Board furniture settles slightly as fixings bed in, and a small correction at that point prevents doors dropping further. Tightening the carcass fixings at the same time is worthwhile.

Keep the load distributed sensibly. Concentrating heavy items on one side of a wardrobe can rack the carcass over years, which shows up first as door misalignment. Moving folded clothes into a chest of drawers UK sale unit is a simple way to reduce load and improve access at the same time.

Do not oil concealed hinges. They are self lubricating and oil attracts dust, which is what actually causes stiffness. If a hinge is genuinely tight, check for a bent arm or a fixing that has been overtightened into the board. Our full wardrobes UK sale range uses standard concealed hinges, so the same adjustment approach applies across almost every design, and Furniture in Fashion supplies assembly instructions that show the specific hinge type fitted to your model.

Working on tall doors with three or more hinges

Multi hinge doors follow the same logic but need a different order. With three or four hinges, the middle ones should be set to follow the line established by the top and bottom, not to fight it. Adjust the top and bottom first to get the door hanging correctly, then bring the middle hinges in until they just take their share of the load.

A common mistake is over tightening a middle hinge to pull a door straight. This bows the door and puts continuous strain on the fixings in the board. If a tall door still looks bowed after the top and bottom are correct, back the middle hinges off slightly rather than winding them in further.

Mirrored and glass fronted doors are heavier and will drift out of alignment sooner than plain fronts. Check them every few months and expect to make small corrections, particularly in the first year while the fixings settle.

A quick reference for common symptoms

Gap wider at the top of the handle side: side adjustment on the top hinge. Gap even but too wide overall: side adjustment on all hinges equally. Door rubbing the carcass base: height adjustment at the mounting plates. Door standing proud of its neighbour: rear depth screw on both hinges. Door drifting open: rear depth screw to bring it in, then check the catch. Door feeling loose and dropping repeatedly: worn screw holes needing filling rather than any adjustment.

Keep a small crosshead screwdriver in the bedroom for the first few months after assembly. Corrections take a minute when caught early and become a bigger job once a door has been dropping for a year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which screw on a wardrobe hinge moves the door sideways?

The screw closest to the door front, in the hinge arm, controls side adjustment. Adjust the top and bottom hinges equally to move the whole door, or one alone to square a door that is leaning.

Why does my wardrobe door not stay shut?

Usually there is too much clearance between the door and the carcass, so the catch cannot engage. Turn the rear depth screw to bring the door closer, and check the catch plate is aligned.

How do I fix a wardrobe door that has dropped?

First try the height adjustment at the mounting plate. If the door still feels loose, the hinge screws have probably enlarged their holes in the board. Fill the holes with a glued matchstick or dowel, let it set, then refit the screws.

Can you adjust hinges that are visible from the outside?

Traditional butt hinges have no adjustment screws. Alignment is corrected by loosening the fixing screws and repositioning the leaf, or packing behind it with thin card.

How much should I turn each screw?

A quarter turn at a time, then close the door and check. Concealed hinges have a wide adjustment range, so a full turn usually moves the door further than intended.