First you need to install the hinges into the doors by laying the door on the floor. Always use a drop sheet as this will protect the door and the floor from any damage. Sherwood Shelving uses European Concealed Dowel Hinge with our cabinet construction. These are easy to install, saving time for the installer. Once the door is lying on the floor with the hinge cup holes facing up, hod the hinge arm and get the hinge cup started in the cup hole. Try to keep the hinge flat and then using a rubber mallet start by gently hammering on the hinge dowel plate until the hinge is inserted into the hole completely. Repeat this process for all your hinges.
The next step is to install the hinge mounting plates onto the gables. If you’re not sure where the mounting plate will go, you can hold the door up next to the gable and judging the approximate door overlay on the top or bottom shelf, make some marks on the gable. The hinge arm will line-up in between each 32mm hole. Once all the mounting plates have been installed, you’re now ready to install the door.
A long door with more hinges is always more difficult to install. One of the best ways is to hold the door up and insert the hinge arm catches into the mounting plate of the very top hinge. Do not start by trying to insert a hinge in the middle of the door. Starting with the top hinge makes it easier because once this top hinge is locked into place the door can hang and then, like a zipper, start inserting the next hinge down from the top. Working your way down the doors is the easiest way to install multiple door hinges.
When all the doors have been connected to the cabinet you need to use the hinge adjustment screws to move the door up, down, or side-to-side so you can line up all the doors and get an even reveal between the doors. If there’s a lot of doors this can be a bit of a process, and if you didn’t level your cabinets properly, you might not be able to line-up your doors because there is only so much hinge adjustment.
If you’ve used Sherwood Shelving service to pre-drill your doors for the handle you want to install, then installing handles is a breeze. However, if you need to drill the handle holes manually, we recommend making, or using a pre-made, handle hole jig (see video for an example). This will help to ensure your handles are in the same location on every door as even a small variance can be noticeable.
