Kitchen Doors Not Aligned — Why It Happens and How to Fix It
Kitchen door misalignment is corrected through the three adjustment screws on each concealed hinge: height, depth and torsion. A properly installed kitchen has all doors checked and set before handover. If hinges are already set correctly but doors still misalign, the root cause is usually unlevel carcasses — not the hinges.
- Modern concealed hinges have three adjustment axes — height, depth and side-to-side — which together allow full door alignment.
- Doors that swing open on their own indicate incorrect torsion adjustment or a carcass that is not plumb.
- Full door alignment is included as part of our snagging process — no charge for adjustments within the standard installation.
The Problem
Kitchen doors that don't align — sticking out at different heights, gaps at the top or bottom, doors that swing open — are a common snag after installation.
Concealed hinges are straightforward to adjust once you understand the three screws. The most common alignment faults seen after DIY or rushed installation are: doors at different heights within the same unit (height adjustment not set), doors sitting proud of or recessed behind the face of adjacent units (depth adjustment not set), and doors that drift open after closing (torsion adjustment not set, or the carcass is leaning forward). In most cases, all three can be corrected in minutes per door — but only if the underlying carcass is correctly positioned.
The complication arises when doors are misaligned because the carcass itself is not level, not plumb, or not square. In this case, adjusting the hinges moves the door but cannot make it appear correctly aligned relative to its neighbours, because the problem is structural rather than cosmetic. A fitter who does not identify this distinction will spend time adjusting hinges without improving the result, leading to frustration on both sides. The correct approach is to re-level the carcass first, then set the hinges.
The Solution
Door alignment is adjusted through hinge settings (height, depth, torsion). Our installation includes full alignment checks and hinge adjustments as part of the snagging process.
Once carcasses are correctly installed, door hanging is methodical. The hinge plates are fitted to the door and the mounting plates to the carcass as per the manufacturer's template. The doors are hung and the height adjustment screw is used to bring the bottom edge of every door in a row to the same height — typically using the lowest door as the datum. The depth screw then brings all door faces into the same plane, and the side-to-side (torsion) screw squares each door within its opening and closes any gap at top or bottom.
The final check is with all doors closed: the reveals between doors should be consistent, the top and bottom lines of door faces should be level across the run, and no door should swing open when released from closed. Soft-close mechanisms are checked for correct closing speed — too fast and the door bounces; too slow and it stalls. Integrated appliance doors that use a handle-less profile require additional care, as the face alignment must be set to within a millimetre to look correct. All of this is covered in our standard snagging process.
How a Survey Prevents This
Our £195 pre-installation survey assesses the plumb of walls and the level of floors across the kitchen run, which are the underlying factors that determine how straightforward door alignment will be. Kitchens in rooms with significant deviation from true are flagged at survey stage so the fitter can plan accordingly — and so you are not surprised by additional time required on installation day.
To book your pre-installation survey, call Install My Kitchen on 07399 651836 or visit our survey page. We cover Coventry, the West Midlands and the surrounding area — survey appointments are typically available within two weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Doors that swing open on their own are usually caused by one of two things: the torsion screw on the hinge has not been set, allowing the door to hang slightly out of vertical; or the carcass itself is not perfectly plumb, meaning gravity pulls the door open. Both are correctable — the hinge adjustment is straightforward, and a leaning carcass can be packed back to plumb.
For a typical kitchen of 15–20 doors, a thorough hinge adjustment and alignment check takes one to two hours. This is included as part of our standard installation snagging process and is not charged separately.
Hinges can work loose over time, particularly if the screws were not driven fully into solid carcass material. If the mounting plate screws have pulled out slightly, re-drilling and filling with a wooden dowel before refitting gives a secure hold. This is a normal maintenance task, not a sign of a poor quality kitchen.
Book a Survey to Avoid Installation Problems
Our £195 pre-installation survey identifies issues before they happen — fixing floors, walls, deliveries and specification before your fitter arrives. Credited back in full when you proceed.