The Importance of Door Hinges: Selecting and Installing the Right Type

The Importance of Door Hinges: Selecting and Installing the Right Type

Understanding Door Hinge Basics

Hinges are available in a massive choice of sizes, weight capacity’s, finishes and is obviously one of the most important aspects of providing ironmongery for a door. Hinges are the piece of ironmongery required to hang a door or window to allow it to swing within its opening.

Types of Door Hinges

There are many types of door hinges available with the industry all completing a slightly different task, you have some which are considered quite standard used for hanging everyday doors between rooms in a property, depending on door thickness will be approx. 102mm tall by 76mm wide when open. Then you have hinges that are used when a door needs to project over or around an obstacle or frame detail, these are called parliament or projection hinges. Bomber hinges which allow a door to swing in both directions. Kitchen cabinet concealed hinges are some of the more accurate items to specify a variation for several different applications and degrees of opening angles, to name but a small number.

Materials and Finishes

The materials hinges are available in are very often designed to match the finish of the ironmongery, other times the hinges are very much concealed and do not affect the look of the door, brass based hinges are available in the same choice of finishes available from most ironmongery ranges, then steel-based hinges can come mild, polished, or satin stainless. The kitchen cabinet types are mainly steel, or zinc alloy based then nickel plated, but there are now some other finishes becoming available i.e. – black nickel. Basically, the choices of finishes and options in material are vast and can be changed based on the discussions and planning of your ironmongery look.

Choosing the Right Hinge

You will find a hinge correct for each project and job, a good starting point is to match the handle and or ironmongery finish being used, you will also need to consider the weight of what you are hanging and how often it will need to be used (opened and closed), hanging the door on the wrong hinges might not revile its self as an issue straight away, eventually dropping and causing the door or window to drag and not swing correctly.

Installation Process

Hinges are mainly cut or morticed into timber or other materials, so the correct tools and knowledge/help will be required, some hinges have the option for a hinge jig which will help the process more accurately, but a jig is only worth arranging if you have a large number of doors to hang. Depending on the screw type that comes with the hinge you are using you will need the correct type of screwdriver or cordless drill screwdriver insert, chisels or a router to mortice the hinge into the door.

Maintaining Door Hinges

Hinges need to be maintained for them to continue to swing correctly and efficiently, oil or lubricant is used just like with any other moving parts in order to feel smooth easy to move without feeling any resistance against the action.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

The wrong hinge will obviously cause many problems, from something as unimportant as a unusual noise that could be quite annoying to a worst case scenario where the door is failing to move causing the unopenable door.