The Guide to Concealed Hinges
Purchasing and installing concealed hinges can be a little complicated if you’ve never used them before. Here is a brief, yet comprehensive guide to Blum concealed hinges called “Understanding Concealed Hinges." Blum is one of the most popular concealed hinge manufacturers in the world, and the information in there should get you going in the right direction if you already have some level of familiarity with hinges and cabinet construction. If you are completely new to this, keep reading down below, we'll get you started with some basics.
If you need additional help, our customer representatives are "hinge experts" and welcome any questions you may have. As always, we are available by phone Monday – Friday 8am to 5pm CST at (800) 383-0130 to answer your questions and help you find exactly what you need to make you a Hero at Home.
Are your cabinets Face Frame or Frameless?
 | Face Frame Style | Construction method that has a wood frame around the front of the cabinet box. | ||||
 | Inset Face Frame Style | Construction method that has a wood frame around the front of the cabinet box with the doors sitting flush with the frame. | ||||
 | Frameless (Box) Style | Construction method that consists of a cabinet box with sides, top, bottom, and back. | ||||
 | Inset Frameless (Box) Style | Construction method that consists of a cabinet box with sides, top, bottom, and back with the door sitting flush with the cabinet sides. |
Types of Concealed Hinges
 | European Two Piece Hinges | Two piece designs require a hole bored in the back of the door and will attach to a mounting plate that is attached to either a face frame(A.) or the side panel of a frameless cabinet(B). Find two piece euro hinges here | ||||
 | European One Piece Hinges | Commonly called compact hinges, one piece designs require a hole bored in the back of the door and will attach directly to the face frame of your cabinet. Find one piece euro hinges here | ||||
 | Semi-Concealed | Sometimes called knife hinges, a small 9/32” slot or kerf is cut in the top and bottom on the hinge side of your cabinet doors and all you see is small knuckle on the edge of the door. Find semi concealed hinges here | ||||
 | Mortise Hinges | Mortise hinges are installed in a mortised opening on edge of the door and the edge of the face frame and are concealed or hidden when closed. Find mortise hinges here |
Self vs. Soft Close
 | Free Swing | These hinges do not have any type closing mechanism and are commonly used with touch latches which pop your door open when lightly pressed and also mechanically or magnetically hold the door in the closed position. Find free swing hinges here | ||||
 | Self Close | As the hinges get close to be being shut, the self close mechanism will grab the door and pull it closed, this also helps to keep the doors shut so they don't creep open. Soft-close devices can be added to most hinges. Find self closing hinges here | ||||
 | Soft Close | Dampeners in the hinge will slow the door down and pull it fully closed. Same with drawer slides, cabinet doors using soft close hinges prevent slamming and minimize noise. Find soft closing hinges here |
Understanding Overlay
 | The term 'cabinet overlay' referrs to how much your cabinet door covers up the face frame or side panel of your cabinet. Newer kitchens typically have the same overlay on all doors, but never assume this is true. If you're replacing hinges, make sure to measure the overlay of every single door that you need hinges for. Check out the video below for an easy tutorial on how to measure overlay. |
Need additional guidance? Feel free to Send Us an Email or Give Us a Call at (800) 383-0130 to speak to one of our hardware experts for more information.