Furniture hinges with a closer, advantages of using fittings

Features of fittings

The only purpose of any door closer is to automatically close the doors. It is easy enough to push the sash equipped with it, and it will close itself. In this case, only hinges equipped with a shock absorber operate smoothly. Despite the differences, the design of almost all hinges for frame furniture is the same. The fittings consist of the following elements:

an installation platform with mounting holes, which is located on the wall of the housing;
counter platform - a cup installed on the facade from the inside (recessed or overhead);
a hinge connecting parts of the device;
door closer (optional);
shock absorber (optional);
adjusting elements: strips, pins, fixed with special screws.

The operating principle of this fitting is quite simple, so furniture hinges with a spring closer are not uncommon. In terms of reliability, aesthetics and ease of use, different models differ significantly. Using high-quality hinges with a closer provides the following advantages:

semi-automatic, pleasant-feeling door closing;
absence of irritating pops and blows;
increasing the service life of the facade and body;
simplified adjustment of the door position, adjustment of the speed of operation of the closer;
significant service life of the loop;
an opportunity to demonstrate the status and taste of the owner of the house.

Shock absorbers can be built-in or overhead, which are installed separately. The principle of their operation is identical to the operation of an automobile unit. One of the two communicating chambers is filled with oil or gas. When the door is opened (closed), the working medium in the closer flows through a narrow channel into the second chamber. Since the speed of its movement is limited, the door cannot slam shut sharply.

Types and characteristics of furniture hinges, fastening rules

Features of hinges with a closer

The main purpose of using such mechanisms is to eliminate popping noise when closing furniture doors. In this case, a person does not need to control the position of moving structural elements. Hinges help you return the door to its place without outside help. There is no cotton even if effort is made to close the cabinet.

The design of the hinge closer is quite complex compared to the classic version. There is a spring installed inside. However, for smooth operation, a special environment is provided, thanks to which the closer mechanism is activated. Despite the complexity of the design, the appearance of such hinges in most cases does not differ much from the classic version. Thanks to this, the attractiveness of the furniture facade is not reduced.

The closer hinge is mounted on the surface of the door and the fixed wall. There is no need to carry out complex work on inserting it into the canvas. The quality of closing the door depends on the material from which it is made. The loop is installed in accordance with the weight of the canvas. For cabinets and interior doors, a lightweight design option is selected. If you install a more powerful closer, there will be difficulties when closing, which is due to the relationship between weight and spring force.

Manufacturing materials

The main difference between prestigious models and economy class models, in addition to the presence of a shock absorber, is the quality of the metal, coating, and assembly. Moreover, expensive furniture hinges equipped with a closer cannot be light in weight. That is, the wall thickness of the parts is no less important than the steel grade. The metal itself, as a rule, is hardened and does not contain impurities that weaken it, because the weight of the facades is often serious.

Any steel fittings for furniture that bear a load are coated with an anti-corrosion decorative layer. The most popular materials for hinges: bronze, brass, chrome, nickel, zinc, polymers, enamels. High-quality processed metals are inert to the effects of water, oxygen, and household chemicals.

Plugs that cover technological holes and heads of screws or screws prevent their contamination. Gaskets made of rubber, silicone or plastic prevent friction of contacting surfaces.

Four main secrets of adjustment

Before adjusting furniture hinges, you should familiarize yourself with the general rules for carrying out work:

When adjusting any hinges (including those with a door closer), you must first align the vertical gaps along the entire length of the sash, after which you can adjust the doors according to the landing height. Using this procedure, you can significantly speed up and simplify the process of setting up furniture fittings, since you do not have to correct the previous steps (the settings will be lost in the reverse order).
Before you start setting up furniture fittings, you should make sure that the piece of furniture is standing or hanging strictly level in all planes. You can check the correct position of the furniture using a small building level or by using a special application on your smartphone that shows the level.
If it is not possible to set the level, and the furniture is slightly overwhelmed, you should pay more attention to the gaps on the front doors, which in this case will be larger. Furniture that stands level can be provided with smaller front gaps. In most cases, the optimal gap for level furniture is 3-5 mm.
Make sure that the fit of the façade under the cup is correct - if this is not the case, it is unlikely that it will be possible to make precise adjustments that will last for a long time. Very often, correct adjustment is completely impossible in such cases, so you will have to adjust the hinges after correcting the situation with the addition of the facade under the fittings cup.

Now that you have memorized the valuable recommendations described, you can begin to set up the furniture fittings itself, which is carried out simultaneously in several planes.

Scope of application

The design of almost any item, including lids or doors, also contains hinges. The shock absorber and door closer in this device are not mandatory, but desirable elements, although they are often used separately:

In wardrobes where hinges are not needed, but a closer is useful.
In shelves and drawers that open upward, where the closers (aka shock absorbers) are usually more massive, and the hinges are standard.
In display cases and other glass furniture, where recessed hinges are not used.

You can often find interior items with doors made of glass, which is enclosed in a wooden or metal frame. Such a frame, especially one made of wood, is quite suitable for cutting the installation cup of the hinge into it.

Most other products need hinges with a closing device, for example, children's wardrobes or desks, the doors of which fall off due to careless use. Also included in this category are office and commercial furniture and kitchen sets.

Scope of application of furniture euroscrew and installation nuances

Hinges for kitchen furniture: types and characteristics

A furniture hinge is a special device that connects the wall and facade of a furniture unit, for example, a kitchen cabinet. Doors open and close thanks to hinges.

The mechanism must be durable to withstand constant loads when opening and closing doors. Typically the material is steel with a galvanic or paint coating. There are copper and brass models.

Tips for choosing

The brand and country of origin testify to the quality of furniture hinges with closers in the same way as when choosing any other product. When purchasing, it is advisable to pay attention to the nuances that are noticeable to the naked eye:

weight of hinges with closer;
smoothness and clarity of movement of moving parts;
absence of play in the operation of the hinge itself, as well as the closer;
no chips, cracks, scratches;
evenness, smoothness of the coating;
Aesthetic, reliable packaging.

It will be useful to study the documents: instructions for the hinges, passports, warranty cards. Solid hieroglyphs probably won’t say anything good. In addition, a manufacturer who cares about its reputation will not hide the true place of manufacture of its product. Nevertheless, there are products whose passport does not indicate either the city or the plant.

Hinges, hinges, closers, shock absorbers without a factory mark, engraving or at least a sticker do not deserve much trust.

Perhaps one of the most serious indicators is the cost of hinges with a closer. A high-quality German item, for example, cannot cost the same as Chinese consumer goods. Although decent products from the latter country are no longer uncommon. The following manufacturers are popular:

Boyard (Russia) has been making hinges with closers and other furniture fittings for decades. The products combine accessibility, acceptable quality, and a wide range.
Blum (Russia) is a company that produces technologically advanced furniture fittings. Their hinges are designed so that adjustment is possible in three planes, and installation is simplified by a special mounting strip.
GTV (Poland) - durable fittings for furniture, the class of which is above average, works smoothly and clearly, is easy to install and configure.
Hettich (Germany) - produces models of hinges from economy class to luxury, including options with a closer. The products are distinguished by the quality of metals and assembly, ease of use, impeccable appearance, and durability.

Technology for the production of oak furniture panels, its pros and cons

The quality of the hinges is clearly indicated by the warranty period and the specified resource, that is, the number of opening and closing processes. According to Russian GOSTs, 20,000 cycles are considered acceptable; prestigious models can withstand up to 200 thousand.

Bloom

Boyard

GTV

Hettich

Closers for kitchen cabinets

Closers for kitchen furniture are devices that ensure smooth closing of doors on cabinets . They prevent the door from moving too strong and too quickly and block impacts of the facade against the body. Their main function is to ensure the safety of door hinges and protect furniture parts from chips, cracks and scratches.

Operating principle

The devices differ depending on the mechanism of action, but in all cases the general principle applies :

the door rests on a special rod;
the resistance of the rod is provided by a spring or capsule filled with oil, gas, polymer;
when you press the door, it acts on the rod, the spring contracts or the composition is forced out of the capsule;
the door movement slows down.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of using door closers:

smooth closing of the doors guarantees careful use of furniture, protection from damage to parts and fittings;
ensure a tight fit of the door to the body, preventing its spontaneous opening;
a correctly selected device does not require frequent replacement, maintenance and repair, and is durable;
liquids and gases used in the design are enclosed in a sealed chamber - they do not harm the surface of the furniture;
Many structures can be repaired if they break down; removable parts can be replaced with new ones;
There is a large selection of devices on sale - it’s not difficult to choose the right one based on type, price and even color;
installation is accessible to a non-professional with minimal skills in using tools.

Minuses:

require care and precision during installation and configuration, otherwise their work will be ineffective;
complex designs look bulky and do not add aesthetics to the appearance of the furniture;
high-quality fittings are not cheap.

Nuances of installation and adjustment

The dimensions of the installation cup are, as a rule, standard; almost all factory facades are produced with a recess for it. If it is missing, installation of loops becomes somewhat more complicated. To make a recess, you need a cutter of a suitable size and skills to work with it. However, you can practice on any piece of wood. In addition to the cutter you will need:

drill with various drill bits;
screwdriver, screwdriver;
square, pencil;
tape measure, chisel, hammer;
building level.

Furniture is often installed unevenly due to the curvature of walls and floors. Adjusting the position of the facades will eliminate these shortcomings, at least visually.

Furniture hinges are usually located no further than 12 cm from the top and bottom of the facade. There should be at least two of them per door. If a third hinge is needed, install it in the middle. The product is screwed with self-tapping screws to the wall of the furniture, then the door is attached, and the cup is traced with a pencil. When the recess is ready, everything is easily assembled with a screwdriver. After this, adjust the fittings, achieving “verticality” of the facade and equal gaps on all sides. If the leaf stands out or is located higher than other doors, perform the following actions:

tighten all the screws located closer to the sides of the canopies;
close the doors, pay attention to the general situation;
if the upper corner is directed to the right, tighten the bolts on the upper hinges, and loosen them on the lower ones.

If the sash hangs at an angle, horizontal adjustment of the hinges is required. To do this, the bolt must be tightened so that the desired angle of the door approaches the frame. When installing and operating furniture hinges with a closer, you should not use excessive force.

Adjustment diagram

Selection and installation of canopies with automatic closer

If you have carpentry skills and are used to doing everything yourself, then choosing, installing and adjusting hinges with an automatic closer will not be a difficult challenge for you.

Choice

The performance of door hardware directly depends on how correctly its choice was made. Specialized stores offer a wide range of goods, so in order not to make a mistake in choosing, you need to take into account several factors:

Preference should be given only to expensive models. In this case, there is a direct relationship between price and quality.
You should choose fittings only from a line of manufacturers that have proven themselves in this market segment. Traditionally, high quality fittings are made in Germany and Austria.
The highest quality door hardware is made from steel or alloys. The best canopies are those made from an alloy of zinc, aluminum and magnesium. They are stronger, more reliable, and therefore will last longer.
When choosing canopies with a door closer function for wooden panels, it is necessary to take into account the weight of the door on which they will be installed.

Installation

Installation of a hinge with an automatic closer is carried out in several stages:

Using a ruler and pencil, mark the locations for installing the awnings. The standard distance from the top and bottom edges is 100-120 mm. If 3 loops are supposed to be placed, then the middle one should be located strictly in the middle between the top and bottom.
Using a drill with a cutter of the required diameter, you should make sockets for installing hinges. The diameter of the nest depends on the canopy model.
Using a drill, you need to make holes for the screws.
Loops are installed in the sockets (they should be tightly located in the socket) and secured with screws.
At the final stage, the canopies should be adjusted.

If you follow these recommendations, the process of selecting and installing self-closer loops with your own hands will be simple, even if you have no experience.