If you’ve decided to take on the DIY project of painting your own kitchen cabinets, then you’ll need to know how to remove and install kitchen cabinet hardware. There are tricks you should know so that your cabinets hang straight and your hinges open smoothly. Here’s how to install kitchen cabinet hardware.
First you need to gather the supplies you’ll need.

• Drill & drill bits
• Cabinet jig – you can get these on Amazon or at your hardware store in town
• Your new hardware – If you don’t know which style or finish to go with, check out this post about all things hinges!

Now that you’ve got what you need to install your cabinet hardware, here are the crucial steps you’ll need to take to do it right.

Remove Your Current Hardware

Of course, you’ll have to remove your current hardware to install the new set. But if you want to keep your old hardware and paint it to change it up then you’ll need to label the cabinet doors and hinges and hardware accordingly. Over time, your hinges move a certain way when cabinet doors are being opened and closed. So if you attach a hinge to a different place, the cabinet won’t open and close properly.


Use Your Cabinet Jig

The cabinet jig is a great little tool to make lining up the hardware holes on your cabinets more accurate a lot easier. Generally, you’ll want to use the same holes as your previous hardware used, so you don’t end up with unused holes all over your cabinets. If you’ve redone your cabinets or have new ones and don’t need to worry about the old holes anymore, then you are free to choose where the hardware holes go now.
Not sure where your cabinet hardware should go? Refer to this chart to see what’s best for your kitchen cabinets.


Line up your cabinet jig with the cabinet door (your doors should be hanging level in order for this to work). Choose where you want your hardware to go and use the drill bit to drill your holes. Make sure you are using the appropriate size. You don’t want the holes to be too big. Start small to be safe, then gradually increase the size until it’s the right one for your screws.


Attach the Hardware

Once the holes are drilled you can insert the screws and attach your hardware. With the cabinet jig, it makes it easy so your knobs and pulls are straight and lined up with each other perfectly.


Do the Same for the Drawers

There is a separate cabinet jig for the drawers as well. It works the same way as the cabinet doors one. Align, drill, attach!

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