Soft close wardrobe doors are adjusted in two separate stages. First you align the door itself using the three adjustment points on each concealed hinge: side to side, depth, and height. Second you set the closing action, either by turning the small damper dial on the hinge arm or by repositioning a clip on damper. Most complaints about soft close doors come from the alignment stage rather than the mechanism, because a door that sits slightly out of square will never meet its stop cleanly no matter how the damper is set.
You need very little equipment: a cross head screwdriver, a tape measure and patience. Work on one door at a time, make small turns, and close the door after every change so you can see the effect.
Open the door and look at the hinge. A concealed hinge has two halves: a cup recessed into the door and a mounting plate screwed to the carcass side panel, joined by an arm. On that arm you will find a screw near the cup, a screw or cam where the arm meets the plate, and on the plate itself either fixing screws in slotted holes or a separate height cam.
Each does one job. The screw nearest the cup moves the door sideways, closing or opening the gap at the opening edge. The screw at the plate end moves the door in and out, which controls how tightly it sits against the carcass. The plate fixings or height cam raise and lower the door.
On soft close hinges there is usually a fourth control: a small dial or switch on the hinge arm, often numbered or marked with symbols. That adjusts the strength of the damper for light or heavy doors. Some wardrobes instead use a separate damper that clips onto the hinge arm, which can simply be moved along the arm or replaced.
Stand back and close both doors. Look at the vertical gap where they meet, the gaps at the outer edges and the alignment of the top and bottom corners. Note what you see, because it tells you which screw to touch.
If the gap between two doors is wider at the top than the bottom, one door is leaning and needs a sideways adjustment at one hinge only. If a door stands proud of the carcass, it needs a depth adjustment. If a door sits low against the plinth, it needs a height adjustment. If the door closes fully but slams the last few centimetres, the damper is too weak or has failed. If the door stops short and never latches, the damper is too strong or the door is binding.
Writing down the symptom before you start prevents the common trap of turning several screws at once and losing your reference point.
Turn the screw nearest the hinge cup. A small clockwise or anticlockwise turn moves the door edge by a fraction of a millimetre, which is exactly the precision you want. Adjust the top hinge to correct the top of the door and the bottom hinge to correct the bottom.
Aim for an even vertical gap of around two to three millimetres between doors and at the outer edges. Close the door after each quarter turn. If you find yourself turning the screw more than a couple of full rotations, stop and check whether the carcass itself is out of square, because hinges cannot correct a leaning wardrobe.
The screw or cam at the mounting plate end pulls the door closer to the carcass or pushes it away. This is the adjustment that fixes a door which rattles when it closes or one that rubs against its neighbour.
Set both doors so their faces sit flush with one another when closed. Sight along the front of the wardrobe at eye level: differences of a millimetre are obvious from that angle and invisible from straight on. Depth also affects the damper, because a door set too far out reaches its stop before the damper has finished its travel, which feels like a bounce.
Some hinges have a dedicated height cam on the plate. Others rely on slotted screw holes, in which case you loosen the two plate screws slightly, slide the door up or down, then retighten. Adjust every hinge on the door by the same amount, otherwise you introduce a lean and undo your side to side work.
Check the gap above the door and below it, and check that the door clears any plinth or carpet gripper at the base. This is also the moment to make sure the wardrobe itself is level, since a carcass sitting on an uneven floor makes height adjustment a losing battle. Adjustable feet or thin packers under the base solve it properly.
With the door hanging correctly, turn to the damper. On integrated soft close hinges, look for a small dial on the arm with two or three settings. The stronger setting suits heavy doors such as mirrored panels, the lighter setting suits thin or narrow doors. If a door slams, increase the strength. If a door stalls before closing, reduce it.
On clip on dampers, position matters. Moving the damper closer to the hinge cup increases the resistance felt at the end of travel, while moving it away reduces it. Some designs are simply on or off. Set every hinge on a single door to the same setting, because mismatched dampers make a door close with a twist.
Finally, test the door from three positions: fully open, half open and nearly closed. A well set soft close door should travel freely for most of its arc, then take up resistance in the final ten to fifteen centimetres and settle without a sound.
A door that bounces open is usually catching on something rather than suffering a damper fault. Check for a shelf edge, a garment or a clothes hanger touching the door. A door that no longer soft closes at all often has a failed damper, which is a low cost replacement part rather than a reason to change the wardrobe.
Screws that will not hold indicate stripped board around the mounting plate. The remedy is a slightly longer screw with a little wood glue and a matchstick or dowel in the hole, left to set before refitting. A door that has dropped over a year or two suggests too few hinges for its weight, and adding a fourth hinge to a tall door distributes the load properly.
Squeaks come from dry metal. A trace of light lubricant on the pivot, wiped clean afterwards so nothing drips onto the door face, is usually all that is needed. Keep lubricant away from the damper mechanism itself.
Two habits make a lasting difference. Load the wardrobe with heavy items low and light items high, so the carcass carries weight near the base rather than twisting at the top. And check the hinge screws once a year, since seasonal movement in a British home gradually loosens fixings.
If your doors have never closed cleanly since assembly, the cause is more likely to be the carcass than the hinges. Rebuild it on a level base, brace the back panel properly and only then adjust the doors. Where a wardrobe has been dismantled several times and the fixing holes have lost their grip, replacement is often the more sensible route, and our modern wardrobes UK range includes designs with soft close hinges fitted and adjusted at the point of manufacture. Coordinating with a modern bedside cabinets UK sale option or a matching chest of drawers UK keeps handles and finishes consistent across the room. At Furniture in Fashion we include assembly instructions with every piece so the doors start from the right position.
The screw closest to the hinge cup on the door. Turning it adjusts the gap at the opening edge, and you adjust the top and bottom hinges separately to correct a leaning door.
Either the damper setting is too light for the weight of the door, or the damper has worn out. Try increasing the strength setting first, then replace the damper if the action does not improve.
Often yes. Clip on dampers fit many standard concealed hinges, and full soft close hinges can replace plain ones provided the cup diameter and plate type match what is already fitted.
Around two to three millimetres, kept even from top to bottom. A consistent gap matters more than a small one, because an uneven gap is what the eye notices.
The board around the screw has lost its grip. Insert a dowel or matchstick with a little wood glue, let it set, then refit with a slightly longer screw. Avoid overtightening, which is what stripped the hole originally.
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