Cabinet door hinge chart
How many hinges a door takes and where they go, with a 3" setback from each end. Weight counts for more than height — add one before you think you need it.
| Door height | Hinges | Positions from the top |
|---|---|---|
| 24" | 2 | 3", 21" |
| 30" | 2 | 3", 27" |
| 36" | 3 | 3", 18", 33" |
| 42" | 3 | 3", 21", 39" |
| 48" | 3 | 3", 24", 45" |
| 60" | 4 | 3", 21", 39", 57" |
| 72" | 4 | 3", 25", 47", 69" |
| 84" | 5 | 3", 22 1/2", 42", 61 1/2", 81" |
| 96" | 5 | 3", 25 1/2", 48", 70 1/2", 93" |
Reading it
- Two hinges hold a door; the rest stop it twisting and share the load. The outer pair sets in from each end, and everything else spaces evenly between them.
- A short heavy door — thick stock, a glass panel, a solid slab — tears screws out of a cabinet side sooner than a tall light one does. Concealed hinge makers publish weight ratings, and those beat any general rule.
- Consistency across a run matters more than the exact setback. Mismatched hinge lines across a bank of cabinets are visible to people who could not say what they were looking at.
For the case this table does not cover
- Cabinet hinge count and placement
Hinge count from door height, and where each one sits down the door.
- Cabinet boxes
A carcass cut list from the finished outside dimensions, face-frame or frameless.