How to rehang a refrigerator door: repair recommendations + step-by-step instructions

In most cases, the question of how to rehang the refrigerator door arises when a kitchen remodel is required and the appliances need to be moved to a new location.

If the position of the refrigerator does not allow the door to open properly, it becomes necessary to move it in the opposite direction for greater convenience. How to do this correctly and what should you know so as not to damage the door?

We will examine these questions in our article. For a better understanding of the rehanging process, we provide step-by-step instructions, equipped with visual photos.

When is door re-hanging required?

Sometimes such a need arises if one of the owners is left-handed, and he wants to install everything in the kitchen according to his wishes.

This is also done if the refrigerator door does not close well due to the rubber seal on the handle side being worn out. In this case, the door does not fit tightly to the body, and the device loses its tightness.

Sometimes you have to change the entire seal, but in most cases it will be better to simply rehang the refrigerator door, because this does not require financial costs

It’s not difficult to check this - just cover the refrigerator by pressing a piece of plain paper against the door, and then pull the sheet.

If it slides out easily, then the gap between the housing and the seal is large enough.This means that the tightness is broken, and you should either change the entire seal around the perimeter, or rehang the door.

In some refrigerator models this can be done without much difficulty, because there are already holes for handles and hinges on the opposite side of the door.

Before starting this work, we advise you to make sure that these spare holes are available in your refrigerator.

If you do not find them, then you will not be able to re-hang the refrigerator door yourself - the factory design of the device does not provide for this, you should not even try!

Of course, some owners can drill the necessary holes themselves if there are none, but it is still better to use the services of a professional technician, especially if your refrigerator is equipped with a display or an opening sensor

Some stores include the door rehanging service in the warranty package, so it is advisable to contact their service center.

If the warranty period of your refrigerator has expired and its factory assembly provides for the possibility of re-hanging the door yourself, then doing this yourself will not be difficult at all, just follow the safety rules.

List of required tools

Here is the optimal set of tools you will need for the job:

• a set of wrenches – different models of refrigerators may require different wrenches;
• flat and Phillips screwdrivers or screwdriver;
• scotch;
• instructions.

If you still have the instructions for the refrigerator, then it will be very useful - it may contain a good guide on how to re-hang the door yourself. But if there is none, then it doesn’t matter - the work can be done without it.

It would also be a good idea to enlist someone’s help, because the process requires some skill and will be difficult to cope with alone.

In order to cope with the door fastenings, you will need very few hand tools, which can be found in every home

Step-by-step process for changing the door position

Before you hang the refrigerator door with your own hands, you should unplug it. Then you need to remove all products from the shelves located on the inside of the door, and various magnets from the outside. Work carefully, trying not to scratch glossy surfaces.

Step 1 - remove the top door

The vast majority of refrigerators are two-compartment, with a freezer located above/below the main compartment. We talked in more detail about the types of two-chamber refrigerators in next article.

Therefore, in such models of refrigerators, it is better to start re-hanging from the top door. You need to attach the door to the body with tape so that it does not fall during disassembly. This must be done in several places.

As a rule, the door is attached to the body using hinges that are screwed with two bolts. They need to be removed first, after first removing the plastic plugs from similar holes on the opposite side of the door, where we are going to screw the removed hinge.

There are two bolts on the top hinge that need to be removed with a wrench. Hinges may look different for different refrigerator models.

The plugs should be removed carefully so as not to scratch the surface, using a flat-head screwdriver. If decorative panels are screwed onto the front part, they can be removed using a Phillips screwdriver.

Some models of modern refrigerators are designed in such a way that to dismantle the door, in order to gain access to the top hinge, you must remove the top cover of the device.

We dismantle it and put it aside. It is better to put all removed parts in a separate container.

It is necessary to first dismantle the panel to get to the main fastening parts. The shape and size of fasteners differ between equipment from different manufacturers.

Unscrew the bolts of the upper hinge and remove the hinge. Then you should remove the top handle, having first removed the decorative plugs. If the handle is not bolted, then there is no need to touch it; its design already includes the possibility of reinstalling the door.

Once all the screws are removed with a wrench and the hinges are removed, you can remove the tape and remove the top door by lifting it up to separate it from the middle hinge. We put the removed door aside.

We rearrange the previously removed plugs to the opposite side into the empty slots. For greater convenience, they can not be removed before dismantling, but rearranged with the door removed.

Step 2 - remove the bottom door

Let's move on to the next stage: we repeat all the steps with adhesive tape - we attach the bottom door to the body. Using a wrench, remove the middle hinge, first removing the spacer from the pin.

This is what the middle hinge looks like on the doors of most models of two-chamber refrigerators. But there are models in which there are two middle hinges for the upper and lower doors

Then you can remove the tape and, slightly lifting the door from the lower pin, remove it and also set it aside.

We remove the plugs from the holes in the middle part of the refrigerator for subsequent installation of the dismantled middle hinge and rearrange them into the resulting holes.

Now all we have to do is dismantle the bottom hinge, which remains after removing the door on the refrigerator body.

This is done using a wrench or screwdriver. The fastening pins and bushings are removed, and the screws securing the lower hinge are unscrewed.

Then the part is removed, and plugs from the opposite side of the body are transferred to the place of the formed holes.

That's it, the disassembly stage is completed, it's time to directly transfer all the dismantled parts to the other side in a mirror order.

Step 3 - transfer the loops to the opposite side

We recommend that you perform subsequent installation in reverse order, starting from the bottom door.

All sets of removed fasteners should be transferred without any replacements, because installation problems may arise when rearranging interchangeable hinge elements. Incorrectly installed doors do not close well and hang, since the hinges are worn out and should not be disturbed.

The procedure for moving the door is as follows. First of all, we install the bottom loop that was removed last in the opposite place. Screw the bolts using a wrench or screwdriver. Install the lower pin and gasket.

Rearranging the bottom hinge on the refrigerator door is not always easy - some models may lack one or two necessary holes on the bottom opposite side

Then you should carefully install the lower door with the handle previously moved to the opposite side onto the pin and secure it with tape.

A little trick - instead of using tape, the craftsmen suggest simply tilting the refrigerator body back a little, then the door will hold tighter and not move out of place.

Next you need to secure the middle loop. We put its lower pin on the bushing in the lower door, and then, aligning all the holes on the hinge and the body, secure the hinge with screws.

Then install the top refrigerator door onto the middle hinge pin in the same manner. Don't forget about insurance - secure the door with tape or tilt the refrigerator slightly back.

The last hinge to be installed in the rehanging process is the top hinge, then all that remains is to install the top decorative panel, of course, if your refrigerator has one

Next, install the top hinge pin into the sleeve on the top door, align the holes and secure the part with bolts using a wrench or screwdriver. That's it, the new door is ready. All that remains is to check it for leaks.

This is easy to do - you need to open the doors one by one and, placing a small strip of paper against the body, slam them so that the paper is sandwiched between the door and the rubber seal.

Next you need to pull the strip. If it slides out easily, the door does not fit tightly and needs to be adjusted. We recommend conducting a test with paper around the entire perimeter of the door.

It is imperative to check the installed doors for leaks, because after re-hanging the refrigerator door, it may require additional adjustment

There are two-chamber refrigerators with separate fastenings, that is, their doors are installed on separate hinges, and not on a common middle hinge.

Reinstalling the doors of such devices will also not be a big hassle.Dismantling is carried out in the same order, only instead of one fastening in the middle there are two for each sash.

You can even rehang only one door, leaving the second in the same position. Sometimes this is more comfortable, especially if there is little space in the kitchen and the furniture arrangement is not very convenient. You can play with such an innovative move very stylishly, especially in the built-in version of the kitchen.

If your refrigerator is single-chamber, then the work becomes a little more complicated due to the presence of decorative panels on many models.

Before removing the door, you must first remove the top panel to gain access to the hinge mount hidden underneath.

After the top hinge is removed, the same must be done with the bottom panel and hinge. Although this operation is more labor-intensive, it is generally uncomplicated.

Sometimes, to dismantle the door of a single-chamber refrigerator, you need to remove the top cover, and if there is a display on the front panel, then this must be done

You should take into account the fact that not all refrigerator models are ideally designed for self-hanging the door.

For example, in the refrigerator "Atlant" The top mount can be moved to the left without any problems, but the hole for one bolt is missing in the lower left corner. Therefore, you will either need to purchase a left-handed hinge for the lower part, or drill the required hole yourself.

The nuances of reversing the door with a display

Changing the door position can only be done in models whose design allows this. To do this, we recommend that you carefully study the refrigerator instructions, because if you get down to business without first collecting information, you risk damaging the device.

In addition, such a service is sometimes included in the warranty service package, then contacting a service center will be much more profitable and expedient.

But if you are firmly convinced that you can do it yourself, and at the same time have good experience and skills, then here is a brief instruction on how to do such work with your own hands.

The display on the front of the refrigerator has one or more cables, usually routed through the top loop.

If the unit door is designed for reinstallation, then this cable or group of wires may be equipped with a special connector for disconnection.

This is what the cable looks like going to the display on the refrigerator door. If the design of the device provides for the possibility of rearranging the door, the cable may be equipped with a connector

1. First you need to remove the top decorative panel, if your refrigerator model has one.
2. Next, unscrew the bolt on the top hinge of the refrigerator, and then remove the cable and disconnect it from the connector.
3. Then you need to completely unscrew all the bolts on the top hinge, remove it, and slightly lift it, remove the sash from the middle hinge.
4. Then you need to remove the top cover of the refrigerator to gain access to the control panel. The connecting cable with the connector must be brought out of the opposite hole in the panel, specially designed for this purpose.
5. The loops should be transferred in the same way as described above. Be sure to check the instructions, because the installation of fasteners in different models may have different subtleties and nuances.
6. The last thing to connect is the cable on the door to the connector coming out of the opposite hole in the control panel; the loop is completely secured.

The top cover of the refrigerator cabinet is replaced.

All parts are transferred to the opposite side one by one, and it is recommended not to confuse the connecting elements of each fastening, since the doors may become bent after installation

The upper decorative panel is fixed, and the removed plugs are moved to opposite holes.

The work is finished, and if you did everything correctly and according to the instructions, then you should not have any problems.

All that's left to do is clean out the refrigerator. inside and out, and place products on shelves and drawers.

In conclusion, we present a video on how to hang the door of your own refrigerator yourself.

Re-hanging the refrigerator door yourself, the design of which allows this, is not such a difficult task. The main thing is to act wisely and be careful, as well as safety rules.

Hanging the door was originally intended for users, so it makes no sense to spend money on calling a technician.

Do you have experience hanging doors yourself and want to share useful tips with other users? Write your comments below under this post.

If you still have questions or encounter difficulties at a certain stage, ask them in the comments section - our experts and other site visitors will try to help you.