Hinges for Laminex Colourtech Doors

Hello all,

I have just got a delivery of Colourtech Doors (the 2 pack painted ones) from Laminex - they look unreal!!

They told me that they do not drill the hinge holes in these doors because it is not part of their processing for this line.

So my question to all is, is there a non cup hinge that I can buy so that I can avoid wrecking the doors. The standard Hettich Ecomat hinges come with the Redikits.

And If I am left to drill in the holes for the cups , what short of bit should I use and can you buy jig/guide to make sure I get a consistent measurements to fit.

Thanks heaps...DC

You need a 32mm bit, Hettich make them. They also have a nifty plastic jig for marking ot the hinge position on both the door and the cabinet.

Needs to be done on a drill press though, and I would put something on the drill press to protect those nice new doors:2tsup:

The hinges that I use need a 35 mm hole....

Take them to a cabinet maker who specializes in kitchens, he will have a setup for drilling the hinge hole

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Originally Posted by masher

The hinges that I use need a 35 mm hole....

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You're quite right, thanks for correcting that. My hinges take a 35mm hole as well!:2tsup:

I have one of those dill bits...definitely a drill press job. I tend to agree about a cabinet shop doing them, but you can do the job yourself with a big enough drill press table, accurate layout and a jig for the screw holes. Critical dimensions are distance to edge and depth (obviously) as well as location along edge of door. I screwed up my first few attempts on scrap, for what it's worth.

There are jigs around for using a hand drill, but I haven't seen them. Fancy Laminex not drilling the doors. Doesn't that strike you as half a job, or are there good reasons for that?

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Originally Posted by gregoryq

Fancy Laminex not drilling the doors. Doesn't that strike you as half a job, or are there good reasons for that?

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Depends.

Did you ask them to drill the holes? Did you specify where the holes are to be? Did they know what sort of hole to drill?

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Originally Posted by gregoryq

I have one of those dill bits...definitely a drill press job.

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Definately agree with that.

Did it by hand on a couple of doors. Not something that I would do again - very rough....

I have drilled all the doors for our kitchens (4 so far!) and it is quite an easy job on a drill press, even clamping a piece of melamine/MDF to the drill press table is sufficient for support. Even the marking out is a non-event, just clamp a length of timber to the table at the right distance to get the hinge distance from the long edge, then use 2 100x50 hinges with small blocks screwed to that length of timber. First lower one block, butt the door to it and drill, then flip that one up, lower the other one, butt the door up to it and drill. Done. Once you have it set up you don't even need to mark the doors.

For our first kitchen I bought solid Tassie Oak doors from Parbury, they didn't come with hinge holes drilled either, I have also bought plastic skin type doors for the kitchen on our houseboat from them, also not pre-drilled.

I'm sure if you have the skills to build a whole kitchen, drilling a few hinge holes should not be beyond anyone.

When it came to drilling the holes for the kitchen doors that I made myself (did not want to stuff it up), I looked at one of those fancy jigs, then noted that a good drill press from CT was only about $50 more. Went the drill press way. Tested with some offcuts to get the overlay right and ended up with a block of wood with 2 holes on opposing sides (1 thru hole will also work - probably better) to set the drill press fence and stops. Works a treat and also have a drill press instead of just a jig to drill holes for doors.
Regards
Les

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Originally Posted by masher

Depends.

Did you ask them to drill the holes? Did you specify where the holes are to be? Did they know what sort of hole to drill?

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Hi Everyone, thanks for the advice - Laminex didn't give me the option. I did ask for them to be drilled to match the Readikits, however they said they could not do the drill holes - something to do with the manufacturing process.

Will consult with the receiver of doors and let you know how we go.

DC....

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Originally Posted by Damon_11

Hi Everyone, thanks for the advice - Laminex didn't give me the option. I did ask for them to be drilled to match the Readikits, however they said they could not do the drill holes - something to do with the manufacturing process.

Will consult with the receiver of doors and let you know how we go.

DC....

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I don't think I've ever dealt with a door manufacturer that would drill hinge holes, a cabinet maker should do them reasonably cheaply or you can set up a jig on a bench drill fairly easy, just make sure you set the depth correctly or you may find your hinge holes come out the front of the door which generally upsets SWMBO's:D

Gee - no holes for the doors!

I've only ordered kitchens through joinery supplies and Nover, and both supplied drilled out for hinges - rather rediculous that redikits aimed at DIY dont have the service avaialble - maybe if they were ordered through a supplier would be a better case - personally I've found direct from manufacturers like parbury to be not cheap at all, they give enough discount to suppl;iers to land it at your door same price and with better back up (finished?)

Knowing a well kitted out joiners, is about the most useful thing imaginable for cabinets etc - lots of tools and cutting ability to make professional finish levels easy and cheap - nothing like putting together cabinets perfectly square and accurate to 0.5mm - even I can get them sqaure~!!!!!!

I have had this problem with Laminex Colourtech doors exactly once.
Since them I only use locally made doors.

When Laminex released their "new look" readikits I was invited to the local launch - along with a handful of other allied industry people, mainly cabinetmakers.

The product was being touted as, amongst other things, ready to go directly to the public.
This is when I put my hand up and asked if that meant they were now drilling the holes in the doors?
Same answer as Damon received - no.
So who drills the doors then? was my next question.
Their reply - Oh, you get your cabinet maker to do that...
I said that my cabinetmaker A) wasn't willing to only drill hinge holes in a job where everthing else is outsourced and B) really doesn't like drilling boards that have already been painted.
Further, I couln't imagine that there would be many cabinetmakers around who would like to.
Laminex reply - We know plenty.

I took this statement to my cabinetmaker, and he responded as I expected - No post drilling of painted doors.
It is difficult to keep the work area completely clean which means a big risk of scratching doors while they are being handled and put in the jig.
It can be done but is time consuming and not really cost effective.

What I do now is get the doors made by a door maker who cuts and profiles them.
I have two doormakers that I use, and both of them will drill the hinge and drawer holes to my specifications; but I prefer to send the doors to the cabinetmaker for drilling, as it is his cabinets that they need to fit and not all holes are always standard 96mm in from the edge.
After drilling, the boards go to a cabinet spray painter who puts on the two pack.
Once cured they go back to the cabinetmaker and bundled with the job for dispatch.

This may sound like a lot of double handling, but a few points about the process:
A) All the work is locally done, so if anything goes wrong it can be quickly rectified.
B) Even going through three sets of hands I get the doors done, on average in the same time frame as getting Laminex doors take.
C) I end up paying the same in total, if not a bit less for the local supply than I would for Colourtech doors - and this includes drilling.
The painting is done by a very highly recognized cabinet painter - I have never had a problem with their work and are very easy to get along with.

Compared to the hassle and stress of dealing with Laminex I would choose this process anyday.
Of course, a lot of clients come in wanting Laminex Colourtech doors because that is all they have seen or know about (as mentioned on some similar threads in this forum).
I always try to say that we will produce doors at the same price, pattern and finish as the ones they have seen, but they will not be from Laminex. When pressed to explain why I supply variations on the theme of the above.
Of course, some clients think I am just Laminex bashing or that I have a special deal with some local low rent manufacturer, and there is not a lot I can say there, as I try very hard not to defame any other supplier or fabricator - I just let them know that they have been told and it is up to them to make thier own choice.
They can decide whether or not they want to listen to someone whose business is supplying these products on a daily basis.

Cheers,

Yes Sybarite, good comments. I am onto my 3rd of 4 jobs with Laminex, On the whole I think they have been pretty good so far, the kits are good and have improved sine my first adventure, Laminate Contour doors very good and 100% accurate (with drill holes), have sent one door back from 3 lots with a packaging chip out of it.

This last round with the sprayed Colourtech doors was my first go at these at the request of my buddy who I am helping out. I must say the doors look teriffic, the quality is excellent, but the supply without hinge holes a bit of a worry that we did not need to go through.

In the end, my buddy and I had a table drill press with a forstner bit and home made clamped jig to get some accuracy, so all is well. In the end it has cost us an extra $150 which if only Laminex had done their thing somewhere in the process, would have made for a really easy installation.

At the end of the day, buddy was quoted $20K and we have done it all ourselves for $8K including appliances.

I find that once you discover the secret kitchen formula and get your hands on the price book, it is becoming much easier.

My 4th adventure in coming weeks is for a Laminex Kits, Local Vynil Wrap doors in a small unit Kitchen and Laundry, so l see how this local option turns out.

Cheers to all for your comments and help...DC