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Hanging the floor

There are four basic applications commonly used to hang a swinging door: concealed floor closers and pivots, continuous hinges, pivots and what we will call standard hinges. Continuous hinges and concealed floor closer applications are exactly what their name implies and we will not address them in this article. Pivots would be the hanging method most commonly used on what is called storefront or aluminum and glass doors. These are the entry doors frequently used in a retail or fast food business. Buildings with glass and aluminum doors generally use the pivot application.

What is referred to here as a standard hinge is simply a hinge that has two leaves and attaches to the door and frame. This is one of the more common applications used, generally in a home or office, and this is the type we will be discussing. Its technical name is a full mortise hinge because it mortises (mounts) in a cutout in the frame and a separate cut out in the door. There are many variations of the use of this hinge that will need further investigation if there are special circumstances in the door opening. However, most homes use what is known as pre-hung doors and frames. This means the door arrives already hung on the frame and the door and frame are then installed as a unit.

Many times, residential front entry doors also come installed in the frame as a pre-hung unit. When specifying a door, it is important to note the height, width, thickness and which hand the door needs to be. Residential doors are typically 1 3/8 inches thickness on interior doors and 1 3/4 inches thickness on entry doors. The hand of the door refers to the swing direction. For residential use it is typically right hand swing or left hand swing, but we’ll look at handing more in depth a little later.

 

Clear Alder door and sidelights, grilles, round clavos. Courtesy JELD-WEN.

Having specified a door, be sure to take note of the size of the hinges as well if the door is not a pre-hung door. For residential entry doors they are usually 4 x 4 – 4 inches in height by 4 inches in width when the hinge leaves are open (the first dimension given is always the height) — and 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches on interior doors. There is also the color to consider. The most common finish of hinges used in residential building is satin brass clear-coated BHMA (Builders Hardware manufacturers Association) finish number 606. However, residential locks more commonly use a BHMA 605 finish which is bright, polished brass, so it may be necessary to change the finish of the hinges to match a residential lock finish. From a design perspective, residential hinges can be spruced up by adding a decorative pin tip. On any standard hinges, there are pins which hold the two leaves together. Many manufacturers offer decorative tips which can be added to hinges with a threaded pin insert. Specialty decorative hinges are also available through vendors who specialize in custom hardware.

Many homeowners today are opting for a more retro look to their doors. As Jim Hackett with Jeld-Wen notes, “There is currently a very strong interest in old world accents such as dark bronze or rust bronze. Forged materials are very popular.” When specifying hardware for these custom doors, Hackett suggests selecting a dark, oil-rubbed bronze finish hinge to accent the finish of the door.