# Soft\-Close Hinge Installation Guide

Fit a soft\-closing cup hinge to a cabinet door, step by step

By Jeannot de Boer

Topic: Home & DIY

[Open the interactive Jig](https://ask.jig.com/j/VSTRQmT7aRma)

## Guide

### 1. What You Need

A soft\-close hinge hides inside the door: its round cup sits in a 35 mm hole and its arm grips the cabinet\. You need the hinge, the bumper pads and a cross\-head screwdriver\. Tap any part to see its name\.

Tall doors use 3 or 4 hinges; fit each one the same way\.

### 2. 1 · Screw the Cup into the Door

Lay the door flat, inside face up\. Drop the hinge cup into the round hole, then turn both cup screws clockwise until they are snug\.

The other two hinges on this door are already done the same way\.

### 3. 2 · Screw the Plate to the Cabinet

Stand the door up beside the cabinet so each mounting plate \(the cross\-shaped part\) lies flat on the inside of the side panel\. Turn both plate screws clockwise to hold it\.

Fix the other hinges’ plates the same way\.

### 4. 3 · Stick on a Bumper

Peel one small pad off the sheet and press it onto the front edge of the cabinet, near the bottom, on the side where the door closes\. It stops the door from knocking on the wood\.

### 5. Fine\-Tune the Door

If the door sits crooked, three screws on the hinge move it\. The end screw moves the door left or right, the middle one in or out, and the plate screw up or down\.

Turn a little at a time, and set the top and bottom hinges the same\.

### 6. A Soft, Quiet Close

Give the door a push\. A small damper hidden in the hinge arm \(usually a tiny piston moving through oil\) brakes the last bit of the swing, so the door glides shut instead of banging\.