Cabinets are a carpentry wonder that offers us a great way to store our stuff without our homes looking like a mess. They are underrated for the convenience they offer. We would have nowhere to store our stuff if we didn't have cabinets. But you know what makes cabinets as convenient as they are? Because they can be tightly shut so that no dust or insects can enter.
Thanks to cabinet latches which keep our cabinets closed, we can rely on them as a safe space to store our valuables. But what are cabinet latches anyway? Well, let’s find out!
Everything You Need to Know About Cabinet Latches
A cabinet latch is a type of cabinet hardware that is designed to keep the cabinet doors tied together. It is mounted on the front of a cabinet door and usually comes with a bolt, a base, a latch arm, and a strike plate or a catch. It allows users to easily access their cabinets while keeping the cabinet doors secure to the frame.
What Are Cabinet Latches Used for?
Cabinet latches are used to prevent your cabinet doors from opening. They keep your cabinet doors securely tied to their frames when the cabinets are not used. To keep your cabinets safe, you can install cabinet latches in living rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, workplaces, and storage cabinets.
Cabinet latches come with a variety of benefits. For starters, they keep the dust from entering your cabinets. Secondly, they protect your stuff from animals and kids who are hell-bent on opening cupboards. So you can use them to childproof or pet-proof your home. Cabinet latches also come in handy when there is an earthquake as they keep the cabinet doors from opening.
Since it has so many benefits, a cabinet latch proves to be much-needed hardware for cabinet doors. It comes in various types.
Types of Cabinet Latches
1. Push to Open Latches
Also known as touch latches, push-to-open latches work more like a cabinet catch than a latch. They are placed inside a cabinet and come in various designs. However, most of the touch latches come with a magnetic or spring-loaded mechanism. Touch latches are quite different from other latches in terms of how they work.
As you can guess from their name, they work by pushing onto a cabinet door. These are push-to-open latches that make it really simple for you to open your cabinets without mounting any hardware on your cabinetry.
However, they have a complicated mechanism and can wear and tear easily. Therefore, you will have to use them safely and avoid slamming the cabinets as it may damage their mechanism. Moreover, since they are designed to open more easily, they are not as secure as other cabinet latches. For instance, a kid can easily open a touch latch cabinet door.
2. Magnetic Latches
Magnetic latches are the most popular type of cabinet latches. They come with a strike plate that is mounted on the door and the body of the hardware, which is mounted on the inside of the cabinet and comes with magnets. Since these latches have minimal moving parts, they are more long-lasting and resistant to vibration.
Magnetic latches come in various pull strengths, from standard interior cabinets to heavy-duty doors. You can find magnetic latches for cabinet doors, RV doors, refrigerator doors, and shops.
3. Draw Latches
Draw latches are often picked for their appearance. These latches come in two parts, a tab with a small lip to hold the lever arm and the latch itself with a base, a lever, and a lever arm. Draw latches are mounted to the face of the cabinet. Once the lever of these latches is pulled, it detaches the lever arm from the tab and opens the cabinet.
Draw latches are ideal for various purposes. They are more secure and vibration resistant. Moreover, they have a durable life. It is also pretty easy to install and maintain draw latches.
4. Butterfly and Turn Latches
Turn latches are a classic type of cabinet latches that prove to be great for various designs. These latches come with a catch and a latch body with a turn piece. As the turn latch is used, a bolt loaded by spring slides out of the latch body and goes into the catch, where it stays securely.
Turn latches come in various styles and finishes. They are mounted to the cabinet door’s front and are designed to offer a rustic look. However, they must be latched manually every time you close the cabinet.
On the other hand, butterfly latches are a type of turn latch designed for more heavy-duty usage. They are usually used for shops and RVs and are a more secure and vibration-resistant version of turn latches. The turn pieces of butterfly latches are hinged because they are flush against the surface of the cabinets or doors.
How to Install Cabinet Latches?
- Determine the location of the placement. Cabinet latches are installed on the opposite side of the hinge on the cabinet frame. You should try to place the cabinet latch near the cabinet door handle.
- Now, put the cabinet latch in the designated location and draw screw holes with a pencil.
- Remove the latch and drill the holes into the pencil drawings.
- Align the cabinet latch with the screw holes and screw them in.
- Close the cabinet door and notice where the latch touches the door. Put a mark in that spot.
- Keep the strike place inside the cabinet door and mark the screw holes using a pencil.
- Indent the pencil marks using an awl where the strike plate will be installed.
- Align the strike plate with the holes and insert the screws into the door.
- Now, close the door to test the newly installed latch. You can make slight adjustments by loosening the screws.
Final Thoughts
This guide sums up everything you need to know about cabinet latches. If you plan to install a latch on your cabinet doors by yourself, check out the high-quality cabinet latches at the Hinge Outlet.