Kitchen · DIY guide

How to adjust cabinet hinges and drawer runners

Uneven door gaps make an otherwise decent kitchen look tired, and almost every European hinge has three adjustment screws that nobody ever touches. This is the highest-impact zero-cost job in the house.

  • DifficultyEasy
  • Time15–45 minutes
  • Materials$0

Legal to DIY in Victoria

Checked as at September 2026. Rules and prices change — confirm anything you are about to act on.

What you need

  • Phillips screwdriver
  • A straight edge or your eye
  • Ten minutes

Step by step

  1. Understand the three screws

    On a standard European hinge: the screw nearest the door moves it side to side, the middle one moves it in and out from the carcass, and the mounting plate screws move it up and down. Change one thing at a time.

  2. Fix side-to-side gaps first

    Close the doors and look along the whole run. Adjust the side screw a quarter turn at a time until the vertical gaps are even. On a pair of doors, get the gap between them right before worrying about the outer edges.

  3. Then set the depth

    The middle screw controls how far the door sits off the carcass. Both hinges need the same setting or the door will sit twisted.

  4. Then height

    Loosen the mounting plate screws slightly, slide the door up or down, retighten. Do this last — it undoes some of your side adjustment if you do it first.

  5. Drawer runners

    Most soft-close runners have a small lever or clip under the drawer for height and tilt, and a cam at the front for side adjustment. If a drawer will not close softly, check for something jammed at the back before adjusting anything.

Common mistakes

  • Adjusting several screws at once so you cannot tell what changed
  • Setting height before side and depth
  • Forcing a screw that has stripped out of chipboard — it needs a longer screw or a plug
  • Adjusting one door to a wonky neighbour instead of setting a datum

When to stop and call someone

If a hinge plate has pulled out of the carcass, or the cabinet itself has dropped or racked, adjusting will not hold. That is a fixings or carcass problem underneath.

This guide is general information, not advice for your particular house. Rules change — check the current position with the Building and Plumbing Commission, Energy Safe Victoria and WorkSafe Victoria before you rely on it. Plumbing, gas and electrical work must be done by a licensed practitioner. If your home was built or last renovated before 1990, assume asbestos until it is ruled out — see what a strip-out finds.

Doing this in an older Melbourne home?

What you find behind the wall depends a lot on when the house went up, and that varies suburb by suburb. If the job turns out to be bigger than a weekend, these pages set out what we usually find and what a full renovation costs there:

See every suburb we cover →

More DIY guides

Past the point where DIY makes sense? Book a free site inspection — complete kitchens from $24,999 all inclusive.

Free, no obligation

Rather have someone else do it?

If this turned out to be bigger than a weekend job, tell us about the room and we'll come and look at it. Free inspection, one fixed written price, and a straight answer about what your budget buys.

Please enter your name
Please enter a valid phone number
Please enter a valid email
Please enter your suburb
Please choose a project type

We use these details only to contact you about this enquiry. The form is delivered by Formspree, which stores submissions in the United States — see our privacy policy, or email us directly if you would rather not use it.

Or call 0422 704 537 — Mon–Sat, 7am–6pm.

Thanks — we've got it.

We'll call you back to arrange a time, usually the same day.