Door Hinges

Door hinges are among the most basic and common requirement in a home. They are also essential to home security than most home owners realize, and are actually designed purposely for a home’s protection. When quality door hinges are combined with quality doors, they enhance safety for the family, possessions, and the home itself.

It is always important to choose the right door hinges, especially when the door hinge will be exposed on exterior doors, as intruders can tap the pins out of these hinges, and enter the home. Today, several options for secure door hinges are available in the market, such as non-removable pins that hold the door in place through a setscrew, making them bothersome to remove; or safety studs that also hold the door in its place even if the door hinge’s pins are removed.

So what are door hinges? Basically, they are door hardware used on doors or lids that permit opening and closing; they are two plates attached together through a pin, and connected to a door and the door frame, thus supporting and enabling the door to move or swing.

Door hinges can be made of a variety of metals such as brass door hinges, steel hinges, or aluminum hinges, which comes in various sizes to meet varied requirements. In the past, a door hinge usually came in simple designs, but lately, they’ve been categorized into a lot of types including decorative, commercial, architectural, and functional door hinges. They also now come in oil rubbed bronze, brushed chrome finish, antique nickel, polished brass, and several other finishes.

The majority of door hinges can be built-in to a door, regardless of to what side –left or right- they open into. However, with specific “handed” door hinge, one should specify whether a right-hand hinge or left-hand hinge is what you need when buying them. The hinge’s pivoting section is called a “knuckle”.

Door hinges have another advantage; when the doors are very narrow and one wants to inexpensively correct the “condition”, they can replace the existing door hinge with ‘expandable offset hinges’, as these hinges will allow the door to swing clear of its opening, thereby adding a few inches extra clearance.

A common type of door hinges is the spring loaded door hinges or spring hinge for short. Spring hinges are hinges with leaves or flanges which connect to the door and its jamb, and are attached to the “hinge pivot point” or barrel. Springs in the hinge provide force to close a door from the open position, or sometimes opening it from closed position.

The majority of spring hinges can be “custom-made” to suit one’s needs; they may be made of any material, length, and gauge according to one’s desire. Stainless materials for spring hinges are mainly used around corrosive environment and pool gates, where gates need to stay closed at all times.

Another type of door hinge, popular among homeowners, is the hidden door hinges or concealed hinges. These hinges, as its name imply, are “hidden” from sight and only allows one to see the door’s surface; they’re sometimes referred to as “European-style” hinges, and provide a clean-design look.

Hidden door hinges or concealed hinges are used on full-size doors when a “hidden door” function is desired; it provides simpler door adjustment to balance slight imperfections during door construction. Another advantage with this type of hinges is the capability of taking the door off or on without the need to remove the hardware.

Door hinges are the “low-profile” parts of the home, yet they provide the most essential requirement in door installation; plus they make the home much secured than it is without it. Invest in good quality door hinges; keep in mind that when you spend an extra few dollars for quality, you provide that extra security and protection for yourself as well.