Misaligned kitchen cabinet doors are often caused by hinge adjustment rather than a warped door. Modern concealed hinges usually allow small changes in height, side-to-side position and depth. But adjustment will not fix a loose hinge plate, stripped screw hole, swollen cabinet panel, sagging carcass or damaged hinge.
Before turning every screw, identify whether the door is out of line at the top, bottom, closing edge or depth. That pattern points to the adjustment that is actually needed.
Read the gap around the door
Close the door and compare the gaps with the neighbouring doors and drawer fronts. A door that is low on one side may need height correction; a door that overlaps its neighbour may need lateral adjustment; a door that sits proud of the cabinet may need depth adjustment.
If the gap changes when you lift the door by hand, check for loose mounting plates before adjusting anything else.
What the hinge screws usually do
Most European-style concealed hinges have separate adjustment points. One moves the door left or right, another changes how far it sits in or out, while height is often adjusted at the mounting plate. The exact layout varies by hinge manufacturer.
Make small changes—often a quarter turn—then close the door and recheck. Large random turns make it difficult to know which adjustment improved or worsened the alignment.
Loose hinge plates and stripped screw holes
If the plate moves on the cabinet side, the door cannot stay aligned. Tightening may solve it when the screws still have sound material to grip. If the screw spins, the chipboard or timber around the hole may be damaged.
A durable repair may require moving the fixing, repairing the hole, fitting an appropriate repair plate, or replacing damaged cabinet material. Simply using an oversized screw can split thin board or interfere with the hinge.
When the cabinet itself is out of square
If several doors on the same unit suddenly look wrong, check whether the cabinet carcass is level and square. Adjustable legs can move, wall fixings can loosen, and heavy worktops or uneven floors can expose alignment problems.
Hinges can compensate for small differences, but using them to hide a badly twisted carcass often leaves doors that still rub or reopen.
Water damage changes the repair
Swollen chipboard under a sink or near a dishwasher is not a hinge-adjustment problem. Once board has expanded and lost strength, screws may no longer hold reliably. The source of moisture should be dealt with before the door is realigned.
Likewise, a warped solid-wood door or delaminated panel may need repair or replacement rather than repeated hinge adjustment.
When to call a handyman
A handyman can normally align doors, refix hinge plates, replace common concealed hinges, install hinge-repair plates, adjust cabinet legs and diagnose why the gaps keep moving.
If the cabinet has major water damage, a stone worktop is moving, units need to be dismantled, or bespoke joinery is involved, the job may be better suited to a kitchen fitter or carpenter.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Why does my cabinet door become misaligned again after a few days?
Repeated movement usually points to a loose mounting plate, stripped fixing hole, failing hinge or moving cabinet rather than an adjustment setting alone.
Can every concealed hinge be adjusted in three directions?
Many can, but not all hinges use the same mechanism. Identify the hinge type before turning screws.
Should cabinet doors have perfectly identical gaps?
They should look consistent and open without rubbing. Exact gaps depend on the cabinet system and hinge design, but obvious tapering usually indicates an alignment issue.