Door Hinges

The single most important piece of hardware on your door is the hinge. These simple devices are arranged so that two flat pieces of metal attached in the middle by interlocking posts and mounted on the inner edge of the door and frame allow for the door panel to be swung outward. The most common door hinge is made of brass or steel and comes unadorned of any decoration. These type of door hinge are mostly used in closet and interior room doors. Hinges usually don't show in traditional wooden entrance doors but this ractice is changing with the advent of more styles of external hinge plates.

Cabinet door hinges are different from regular door hinges in that they have one leaf of the hinge on the front surface of the cabinet door so they are made in many styles and shapes just for the purpose of using them as a decorative feature in your overall motif. There are many designs of antique looking door hinges.

Unframed glass door hinges have their own special needs. Since they must support and protect the glass sheet of the door, they are usually made of a double sided flap plate so support pins can be passed through holes milled into the glass and fastened on both sides of the glass door hinge. Door hinges also come in spring loaded designs where a steel spring attachment to the door hinge will pull the door back into the closed position by itself.

Door hinge guards are an extra piece of flexible material, usually plastic or rubber, that covers the gap created in a door when it is opened. They are designed especially to keep fingers from accidentally being caught in the gap where they may be pinched or otherwise damaged by the door's operation. This special security feature is mostly used in homes where there are children present who might be injured. Investigate the different types carefully as many door hinge guards can only be opened to 90 degrees before they tear off the wall. Fingersafe® of Great Britain created this feature in 1993 and the idea has grown in popularity since.

Installing door hinges on new and used doors does not require complicated tools though careful attention to detail is important. The American Standard for placement of door hinges is for the center of the top hinge to be 7" from the top of the door, the bottom hinge to be 11" from the bottom of the door and the middle hinge placed in the center of the distance between them. Lightweight hollow core doors can be installed with only two hinges but the addition of a third gives greater stability for the door and will prevent warping or bowing of the door over time. The hardest part of door hinge installation is in recessing the flanges into the door edges so they lay flat with the surface of the door.