A charnière à fermeture douce carries a damper — usually a small oil-filled cylinder — that engages in the last 15–20° of closing. Instead of the door falling shut, the damper takes over and pulls it closed at a controlled speed. The same hinge adjusts in three directions as a standard concealed hinge does.
Three ways to get the damping
Intégré. The damper sits inside the hinge cup or arm. Nothing extra to fit, nothing to knock off, and the door gap stays consistent. This is the standard on quality hinges.
Clip-on adapter. A damper clips onto an existing hinge arm. Cheap and retrofittable, but it adds bulk inside the cabinet and can foul a drawer below.
Cabinet-level damper. A single unit fitted to the carcass that catches the door as it closes. Used where hinges cannot be changed, and the least consistent of the three.
| Type | Rénovation | Cohérence | Remarques |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intégration | Non | Haute | Standard on quality hinges |
| Clip-on adapter | Oui | Moyenne | Adds bulk, can foul drawers |
| Cabinet-level unit | Oui | Low | For doors that cannot be re-hinged |
Why you might want to switch it off
Most soft-close hinges have a small switch or a clip that disables the damper. Two situations call for it: a door that must close against a light seal and is being held open by the damper, and a bank of doors where the damping makes the last few centimetres feel unresponsive.
On a tall door with five hinges, damping every hinge makes the door very slow at the end. Damping two of the five is usually the right compromise.
Température et durée de vie
Oil-damped hinges thicken in the cold. Below about 5 °C a door that closes smoothly in summer may need a push in an unheated building, and a site in a cold climate will read as faulty when it is not.
Rated life is typically 50,000–80,000 cycles — roughly 15–25 years at ten openings a day. The damping usually fails before the hinge mechanism does, and it fails silently: the door starts to close faster, then slams.
Foire aux questions
Can I add soft-close to existing hinges?
Sometimes — clip-on adapters exist for common hinge patterns. Integrated damping is more reliable, but requires replacing the hinges.
Why is my soft-close door slow to shut?
Damping on too many hinges, or cold. Disable the damper on all but two hinges on a tall door, and check the temperature before calling it a fault.
Combien de temps durent les charnières à fermeture douce ?
Rated 50,000–80,000 cycles, roughly 15–25 years of domestic use. The damper usually fails before the mechanism.
Do soft-close hinges cost much more?
Typically 20–40% more than the same hinge without damping. Across a kitchen it is a small share of the total, and it removes the most common complaint after handover.
