Cabinet Hinge Types: Full Overlay, Half Overlay, Inset

Carcass furniture uses the concealed four-pivot hinge: when the door is closed, no metal is visible from outside. In the trade here it is called petlə, petle or məntəşə, and петля in Russian; all of these mean the same part. In the catalogue this concealed cabinet hinge comes in Düz, Yarım and Tam versions.

The hinge has three parts. The cup sits in a 35 mm hole bored in the back face of the door and is fixed with screws. The arm connects the cup to the carcass; it is the bend of the arm that defines the hinge type. The mounting plate is screwed to the side panel of the carcass, and the arm is fastened onto it. The usual opening angle for this family is about 105–110 degrees, so the door opens a little past a right angle.

The full overlay hinge (Düz in the catalogue, накладная in Russian) is used where one door hangs on one side panel and, when closed, covers almost the whole edge of that panel. On a 16–18 mm side panel the door covers roughly 14–16 mm of the edge; the remaining millimetre or two is left free so the door does not rub against the neighbouring door or a wall. The local name comes from the shape of the arm: düz means 'straight', and this hinge has a straight arm.

This is the most common type. The end panels of a kitchen run or a wardrobe, single-door base and wall units, and kitchens built from separate carcass modules are all hung on full overlay hinges. By the way they close there are two options: the sprung plain hinge or a soft-close hinge that shuts the door silently. The difference is covered separately in soft-close vs standard hinges.

The half overlay hinge (Yarım, полунакладная) is needed where two doors share the edge of the same middle partition: one takes its left half, the other its right half. Each door covers roughly half of the partition edge, that is 7–9 mm on a 16–18 mm panel, and a narrow gap is left between the two doors in the middle. For this the arm has a slight crank; local fitters call it yarım dəvə, a 'half crank'.

Typical places are three- and four-door wardrobes, runs of wall units built on shared partitions, and long sideboards. If a full overlay hinge is fitted here, the door takes the whole partition edge and leaves no room for the neighbouring door. The other way round, a half overlay hinge on an end panel leaves half of the panel edge exposed, and the door looks as if it has shifted. That is why one wardrobe usually has both types in it.

The inset hinge (Tam, вкладная) is for a construction where the door goes in between the side panels and its face stands flush with their front edges. The door does not cover the side panel edge at all; the edge stays fully exposed. For that reason it is also called the inner hinge, iç petlə or daxili petlə locally.

The name causes frequent confusion. In local trade usage tam is short for tam dəvə, a 'full crank', meaning a strongly cranked arm; it does not mean tam örtmə, 'full overlay'. The case where the door fully covers the side panel is the Düz hinge. The rule is: the more the arm is cranked, the further in the door sits. A straight arm puts the door over the panel edge, a half crank brings it to half of the edge, and a full crank drops it inside the carcass. If you ask for 'tam' when ordering, you will be given an inset hinge, so it is worth remembering.

Take a three-door wardrobe: two end panels and two partitions. The left and right doors hang on the end panels and cover their edges fully, so both take full overlay hinges. The middle door hangs on a partition; the neighbouring door closes onto the other half of that same edge, so the middle door gets half overlay hinges. A kitchen works the same way: in modules with separate carcasses every hinge is full overlay, while in wall units built on shared partitions the doors hung on a partition are half overlay. A door that sits in a niche or inside a frame needs an inset hinge.

When replacing an old hinge, check two things. First, the bend of the arm: straight, slightly cranked or strongly cranked. Second, measure how many millimetres of the side panel edge the closed door covers: roughly 14–16 mm means full overlay, 7–9 mm half overlay, zero inset. The drilling dimensions are in how to install cabinet hinges.

The split into full overlay, half overlay and inset describes how the door sits on the carcass. Separately from that you choose how the hinge closes and how it adjusts. A plain hinge is sprung: over the last few centimetres it pulls the door in and shuts it with a knock. A soft-close hinge (called 'vakuumlu' in the local trade) has a hydraulic damper inside, so the door slows down at the end and seats silently. The 3D adjustable soft-close hinge lets you align the door in three directions after hanging; it is also sold in Düz, Yarım and Tam versions.

A glass door is not hung on an ordinary hinge: it needs its own glass door hinge, which comes in the same three overlay versions. Check on the product itself, before buying, that it suits your glass thickness and fixing method. In corner cabinets the door meets the carcass at an angle; the angled hinges made for that are explained in corner cabinet hinges.

The number of hinges is chosen by the height and weight of the door. The rule of thumb fitters use is: two hinges for a door up to about 90 cm high, three up to 160 cm, four up to 200 cm, and five for a wardrobe door taller than that. This is not a standard, it is a practical guide. A front made of MDF, or one with a mirror or glass, is heavier than laminated board; adding one more hinge to such a door is advisable.

A tall door hung on too few hinges sags over time, its top corner moves away from the carcass and the screws work loose in the board. Place the outer hinges close to the top and bottom edges of the door and the rest at equal spacing between them, and check that the mounting plates do not clash with shelves or drawers. Once the type and number are settled, what remains is to pick the Düz, Yarım or Tam version in the catalogue.

For an overview of every type, see the furniture hardware guide.