It starts subtly: one door sits a shade proud of its neighbour, or a drawer needs a firmer push to close than it used to. Left alone, the gaps along a run of units become visibly uneven, doors catch on adjoining units, and no amount of turning the little adjustment screws on the hinges quite settles it.
Modern kitchen hinges are designed to take up small amounts of misalignment, which is exactly why the underlying cause often goes unnoticed for a while — the hardware compensates until it runs out of adjustment, and only then does the real problem become obvious.
Separating the symptom from the cause
The symptom is always visual and mechanical: gaps that aren't parallel, doors that don't sit flush, drawers that bind. The cause is almost never the hinge itself failing outright — hinges are simple, robust hardware. The cause is something moving the carcass the hinge is fixed to, or the whole run settling relative to the floor.
The likely causes, in order of likelihood
Carcasses fitted out of level on an uneven floor is the most common root cause, particularly in older properties where the floor was never perfectly flat to begin with. Small errors at installation get picked up initially by the fitter's shimming, but they can become more visible over time as timber and packers settle.
Worn or loosening hinge plates come next — the fixing screws into the carcass side panel can work loose under the repeated opening and closing of a heavily used door, particularly larger or heavier doors on a standard hinge count.
Worktop fixings pulling carcasses forward is a less obvious cause: as a heavy stone or solid timber worktop settles, the fixings holding it to the carcasses can very slightly draw the tops of the units out of true, which shows up as doors tight at the top and loose at the bottom.
Floor settlement under a heavy island unit is the least common but most significant cause — where the floor structure itself has deflected under sustained weight, the whole island can tilt slightly, and no amount of hinge adjustment will correct that permanently.
How to tell them apart
- Check levels along the whole run with a spirit level, not just door to door by eye — a run that's level throughout points away from a floor problem.
- Note whether the misalignment appeared suddenly or crept in gradually — gradual points to settlement or hinge wear, sudden points to something specific having happened, such as a heavy impact or a fixing failing outright.
- Test hinge plate screws for tightness in the carcass — if they turn freely, that's a fixing failure rather than a levelling issue.
- For an island or peninsula, check whether the floor itself has any perceptible slope beneath it compared with the rest of the kitchen floor.
Why chasing it with hinge adjustment alone backfires
The adjustment screws on a modern hinge have a limited range, intended for fine-tuning at installation rather than compensating for ongoing movement. Winding them to their limit to correct a symptom that's actually caused by the carcass being out of level just uses up that range — and once it's exhausted, the door has nowhere left to go and starts catching again, often worse than before.
Common questions
Can I fix uneven kitchen doors myself with the adjuster screws?+
For minor, one-off misalignment, yes — that's what they're there for. If you find yourself readjusting the same doors repeatedly, that's a sign the underlying carcass or floor issue hasn't been addressed and needs looking at rather than more adjustment.
Is it normal for a kitchen to need re-levelling a few years in?+
Some settling in the first year or two after fitting is common as packers and floor coverings bed in. Continuing movement well beyond that point isn't typical and is worth investigating rather than accepting as normal wear.
Does a heavy stone worktop cause this on its own?+
It can contribute, particularly if the fixings weren't specified to allow for the worktop's weight and any seasonal movement in the carcasses beneath it, but it's rarely the sole cause — it's worth checking the floor and carcass levels as well.
Book a free kitchen assessment
We'll check levels along the whole run and identify what's actually moved, with a written quote for the fix before any work starts.