Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Door Hinge - One Of The Best Inventions Most People Don't Appreciate

By Daisy Lin Lam


Before leaving the house in the morning to head to work, you open and close an average of five doors. The first stop is probably the bathroom door where you take a shower. You open the medicine cabinet to get your toothbrush and toothpaste. Once these morning chores are over, you probably grab the cereal for a quick breakfast before heading out of the front door and fastening the lock on it. All of these doors and more would not work without a door hinge or two. And what would the world be like without this oh so important invention? Picture this - people struggling to move heavy piece of wood or slabs of glass in an attempt to get in and out of buildings. Wouldn't be exactly convenient!

Door hinges, with their surprising strength, have simplified life for us. They can take on up to 10 times more load that they are designed for. So the door hinge puts the power of the Roman goddess Cardea into your hands. When it comes to seeing the different types of door hinges, the best option would be to shop online. Don't drag yourself all over the city looking for that perfect hinge to complete your kitchen makeover. You can do everything at home comfortably by browsing the various websites before comparing and buying the hinge.

Today, door hinges are available in a variety of types, designs, materials and makes. The most common is the butt hinge. A butt hinge, comprises two flaps that are held together by a rod or a pin. The biggest advantage is the ease with which these can be installed and also removed - just removing the pin does the trick if you intend to take a particular door down. You can choose to add finials or balls to the pins for a decorative touch.

While butt hinges remain largely popular, T-hinges is a more preferred choice for garage doors. Shaped like the letter T the horizontal part is attached to the door frame while the vertical part is attached to the door. Depending on what and where you are using it for, T hinges can be ornamental or plain. If you have folding doors you might use a Soss hinge. Named after its inventor, a Soss hinge is sandwiched between the edges of a folding door and remains fully hidden when door is folded. It must be installed exactly or it will not work.

If dealing with cabinet doors the type of hinge you use will depend on the door type. Generally, there are three main types of doors; overlay, flush and lipped. A lipped door has a lip cut around it and works well with most hinges.

A flush door will rests neatly against the frame and is best used with butterfly hinges. Butterfly hinges work in the same way as a butt hinge, with the only difference being that it hung from outside and comes in ornamental designs that range from art deco to colonial.

Overlay doors are installed with pivot hinges. One hinge is specially mounted on top while the other is fitted on the bottom part, each having a bent portion over before being fitted the on the door's frame to conceal the hinge. Another popular type of door hinge is the spring mounted hinge. The spring fitted inside this door hinge causes the door to shut behind you automatically.

So, next time you happen to close or open a door, just stop and give some thought to the power and usefulness of the door hinge because it deserves it.




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