loops 

Let's try to understand the numerous varieties of hinges for doors

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Interior and entrance doors should not only reliably protect the house from the penetration of unwanted guests, but also please the eye with their appearance, have performance characteristics appropriate for their purpose.

When choosing and designing a house design, hinges for doors play a huge role, since their unsuccessful selection can ruin not only the door leaf, but the entire interior of the home.

Also, bad hinges can lead to sagging or warping of the canvas, loose fit of the doors to the door frame, and unpleasant squeaks.

Loop classification

The choice of hinges on the door is huge and is represented by products from hundreds of manufacturers, which are divided according to the following fundamental features:

  • Place of installation;
  • The principle of the connector device;
  • Method of fastening on the box;
  • material of manufacture;
  • type and design features.

At the same time, it should be clarified that the choice of hinges is needed only for interior and entrance doors made of MDF or wood. Doors made of other materials, as a rule, are equipped with canopies and corresponding fittings by the manufacturer and are included in the delivery set.

Types of loops by installation method

Depending on where the doors will be installed and what their purpose is, the hinges are divided into two types:

  • For interior doors;
  • For entry doors.

Since entrance doors differ from interior doors by a significantly greater weight and massiveness, the hinges for them are somewhat larger than their interior counterparts. The main design feature of the door fittings is the complete set of hinges with a special anti-removable mechanism that prevents intruders from lifting and removing the front door.

It is for this purpose that cavities and protrusions are arranged on their wings, which are combined when the sash is closed and do not allow the door to rise even under the pressure of an improvised tool.

Universal and detachable hinges

Such types of simple door hinges as detachable allow you to lift and remove the sash without resorting to unscrewing the mount. Removable loops have been popularly called "canopies" for a long time, this name has become firmly established in everyday life.

The structure of the awnings consists of two parts, wittily called "dad" and "mother", a term used by many professionals and users in some countries.

Universal hinges for interior doors will have to be unscrewed if there is a need to remove the sash. They are suitable for door structures that open both outward and inward, which can be considered a definite plus. However, the need to unscrew the fasteners causes certain inconvenience and loss of time, which should be attributed to fat minuses.

Separation of loops by type of construction

According to the design features, hinges for doors are divided into the following types:

  • Mortise;
  • screw;
  • overhead;
  • corner;
  • Double-sided;
  • Hidden.

Each type of construction has its own advantages and disadvantages and deserves separate consideration.

Overhead and mortise

The main structural elements of mortise and overhead hinges are completely identical.

Both types are card hinges, fixed both on the box and on the door leaf. The difference lies only in the way of carrying out the preparatory work: overhead hinges for interior doors do not require special surface preparation, while for mortise hinges in the box and at the end of the leaf, small recesses are made in which the card plate is recessed.

Overhead loops have been used since ancient times. They were made of steel - skilled blacksmiths received a durable and beautiful product, albeit not distinguished by the symmetry of modern loops. The hinges were reliable and had a fairly large size.

Today, design solutions in the production of overhead hinges are returning to the unforgettable retro style. They are increasingly made "antique" and find a place for themselves both in private country houses and in apartments.

When choosing overhead hinges as a door fastening, first of all, attention is paid to the simplicity of their design and installation - the hinges are simply fixed to the screws, and the door is inserted into the box using improvised means without using any ingenious devices.

An interesting design idea for a traditional and conservative flat card is considered to be such a type of overhead loop as a butterfly loop. It folds down to the thickness of an ordinary card thanks to an intricate cutout shaped like butterfly wings. For such hinges, there is no need to carry out a sample either in the frame or in the sash body.

Mortise hinges in their design and method of fastening are completely identical to overhead ones. The only difference is that they cut into the end of the installed door and are fixed with screws. When the door is in the closed position, only parts of the plates covering the rotary axis are slightly visible.

In addition to the division into "with tie-in" and "without tie-in", overhead and mortise hinges on the door can also be universal and detachable.

According to the established tradition, mortise removable hinges are called mortise canopies, and universal ones are called mortise hinges.

The main difference between detachable overhead hinges and universal hinges is the increased rigidity of the universal hinge design, which allows it, with significantly smaller dimensions, to withstand a large applied load, while the sash sagging in the opening is always minimal or absent altogether.

Another difference between such modifications of overhead hinges can be called the division of detachable canopies according to the method of opening into left- and right-handed ones. Universal hinges are not separated according to this principle - there is no difference in their installation for opening the door.

Screw-in (screw-in) hinges

The design of screw-in hinges consists of two symmetrically arranged parts, having the shape of cylinders, in which holes for screws are made. "Kegs", as they are commonly called by the people, are considered analogues of flat cards in terms of their functionality. One cylindrical wing is fixed with screws on the door leaf, and the other on the frame.

Loop screw mechanisms are universal, that is, it is not necessary to select hinges on the right or left side. A feature of such hinges can be called the fact that after installation it will be impossible to remove the door - this is both an advantage and a disadvantage of screw-in hinges. Screw-in hinges are allowed to be used only on doors with a quarter (European lock), the door leaf, made according to domestic standards, is not adapted for fixing to such canopies.

Angle hinges

The main external difference between such hinges from mortise or overhead ones is the fastening on the axial rod not of a simple pair of flat wings-plates, but of a pair of profile corners. This form of cards is mounted mainly on doors with a vestibule.

Fastening at the end of the door is carried out in a mortise way using screws, and the hinges themselves, although they are conveniently placed in the opening, are easily visible against the background of the door structure.

Hidden hinges for interior doors deserve special mention largely due to their aesthetic characteristics - when the door is in the closed position, the canopies are not at all noticeable. They, as well as screwed hinges, are universal, which can be attributed to another advantage of this type of canopies.

The design feature of hidden hinges should be called the presence of at least three rotary axes. Hidden hinges are not easy to install, so it is better to use the services of specialists to install the door.

Double-sided hinges allow the door leaves to open freely both in one direction and in the other.

Such hinges are mainly used in office doors, they are very rarely installed in interior apartment doors - they are simply not needed there.

Classification of loops according to the material of manufacture

The materials for the manufacture of hinges on the door do not differ in a wide variety.

Recently forgotten steel products are gradually regaining their leading positions. For many years, blacksmiths have been improving the technology for making hinges from pure steel, but the development of aluminum-alloy production pushed this material back for some time. During the Soviet Union in our country, steel hinges were used mainly for the production of ordinary consumer goods without any special frills and aesthetic qualities, without any anti-corrosion or decorative coating.

Nowadays, the installation of simple steel canopies on interior doors is unpopular, they are used mainly for street and garden gates, and are installed on doors in non-residential premises. Forged door fittings, stylized "antique" or stainless steel hinges are now being installed in the apartments.

The main advantage of steel canopies should be called the highest mechanical strength and resistance to abrasion. Canopies made of stainless steel are also highly resistant to moisture, temperature extremes, and therefore they are actively used for hanging entrance doors facing the street.

Thanks to the development of design ideas and the improvement of technologies, enameled hinges or covered with special chemical compositions “bronze-like” or “gold-like”, brass, chrome-plated are widespread. As the main material, alloys of copper, steel, aluminum or zinc are used, which are subsequently coated with special compositions for decorative or anti-corrosion purposes.

The world's leading manufacturers of door fittings prefer to make hinges entirely from brass, rather than spray coating them. This is especially true of elite and expensive models. Such canopies are able to retain their decorative and aesthetic properties for a long time, and in terms of wear resistance and strength, brass products are in no way inferior to steel ones.

Hinges for folding doors

Folding interior doors entered the interior of our apartments relatively recently. Normal operation of doors of this design, consisting of separate sections, is ensured by special fittings included in the kit.

Hinges for folding interior doors are mainly used mortise, of a special design. Their goal is to connect the sashes, which can be several, from above and below.

Each type of door uses its own type of fittings, the quality of which determines not only the appearance, but also the duration of the operation of the door.