Installing Replacement Kitchen Doors
When choosing a replacement kitchen door, make sure the overall size of the opening is right. No door opening is ever square so you will need to measure in several places, not just the top and bottom. You will find that doors come in standard sizes but if the opening is off, you may need to do a little bit of trimming. The other thing to check for on your replacement kitchen door is the thickness, making sure it will fit within the frame.
Most doors come with untrimmed stiles. Horns as they are called should be cut off square. Then, you would lay the replacement kitchen door on a workbench and with a tri-square, mark your cut line. Now, hold the handle section against the door's edge, lining the blade up with the top and bottom of the door. Mark the line, trimming with a fine-toothed saw. Just make sure the saw is held close so the cuts are clean. You will also want to measure the opening width at top and bottom, deducting 4mm, allowing a 2mm clearance on the sides. These measurements would then be transferred to the replacement kitchen doors.
Next, you want to measure the height, transferring the measurements just as you did the width. Again, allow for a 2mm clearance at the top, and 6mm clearance for the floor. Now, with a vice, you want to steady the replacement kitchen door on the workbench. Pack the sides with cardboard to help prevent any damage to the door. Trim to the marked lines, using a sharp plane. Just make sure the plane is held firmly in place with the surface. Work gradually down to the trim line, over the entire length of the door, avoiding any trimming at a short section that would cause an undulated surface.
When you trim the top and bottom of the kitchen replacement doors, work only from the outer edge going in so the stiles will not split. At the location where there is more than 6mm needing to be trimmed, use a saw to cut the majority of the excess, then plane down to the trim line. Set the door up to the opening, making sure the fit is right. If needed, you can mark additional trimming and planning. Once the replacement kitchen door fits correctly, use the wedges to wedge the door into the frame, putting it in the correct position. Just remember, you want to wedge it to the correct height for the floor clearance.
Use two, 100mm hinges for a standard replacement kitchen door and three hinges for a heavier door. Now, holding the hinge against the door, mark the door and the doorframe on the top and bottom of the hinge. These hinges should be set at 175mm from the top and 250mm from the bottom. If you were using a third hinge, this would be added in the middle of the two. Remove the door, and hinge upwards in the vice. Lay the opened hinge against the appropriate marks you made.
Next, use a pencil to mark around the edge of all the hinges. Measure the plate thickness, marking this on the door face, again with a pencil. With a sharp chisel, cut into the door's edge along the outline, keeping it so the flat edge is against the line. Make a series of cuts across the grain, staying within the outline, which will then be paired out with a chisel at a shallow angle to the edge of the replacement kitchen door. Keep in mind that you need to work from the centre to the ends of the recess.
Now, sit the hinge in the recess, making sure it is flush with the surface at the outer edge. Flush low at the inner edge. Mark the screw holes, removing the hinge. Drill a small hole for each screw on the mark. Place the hinge back in place and affix with the screws. Do this for all of the hinges. With the replacement kitchen door in the open position, use the wedges to line up the hinges with the recesses, affixing with screws. Finally, check the operation of the door.