Different Types of Hinges and Their Uses - How to Choose Right Hinges for Doors

Hinges come in a variety of types that differ in materials, load capacity, mounting style, and other aspects. Based on their characteristics, here we’ll talk about different types of hinges and their uses, to determine which type of door hinge is the best for you, you need to know how to choose right hinges for doors.

What are Hinges

As one of the hardware can be made with CNC services, hinges are a type of mechanical bearing that used to join two solid parts together, and only allows a limited angle of rotation between them. Hinges are usually used for doors, gates, window shutters, cabinets, and other applications. Hinges can be designed and manufactured to a diversity of varying specifications to suit different uses. So, there are lots of types of hinges on the market.

Different Types of Hinges and Their Uses - Type of Door Hinges

Butt Hinge

Butt hinges are a common type of exterior door hinge, which has two identical leaves attached by a knuckle, but one of them is required to be attached on a fixed position and another is free to move in certain directions and angles. When a butt hinge mounted on the door, the leaf plates are hidden between the door and frame, the movable leaf allows the door to open and close, when the door is closed, only the barrel of the hinge is visible. Butt hinges are usually made of steel or stainless steel, and can bear a lot of weight, so it is suitable for heavy doors, butt hinges are also the popular choices of various entry doors, cabinet doors and passage doors. Butt hinges can be divided into life-joint butt hinges, rising butt hinges, and ball-bearing butt hinges.

Flush Hinge

Flush hinges consist of two different leaves and one leaf can fit inside another, when they are screwed to the surfaces of the connected parts, close them, the inner leaf will fit into the outer leaf snugly. Unlike the butt hinge, the flush hinge requires only one mortise be cut in the door or door frame, which saves space, and they are not as strong as the butt hinge. So flush hinges are generally used for lightweight applications such as small box construction, cabinets, and light doors.

Barrel Hinge

Barrel Hinges are a type of hidden hinge that consists of two barrel-shaped parts with threads, the threaded parts will be screwed into a pre-drilled hole or mortise, which makes the hinge concealed. A jointed connection between the pins pivots to allow the door or cabinet to open and close. Barrel hinges are perfect choices for light-duty applications such as cabinet and furniture doors.

Pivot Hinge

Pivot hinges are named because they pivot on a single point rather than around a pin, mainly designed for taller doors to keep them aligned. When the door opens, the pivot hinge can keep it in place. Pivot hinges are often attached to the top and bottom of a door, and to the head of the frame and the floor. Pivot hinges can also be used for overlay cabinet doors or entertainment centers and cafe and louvered doors, in which one arm of the hinge is mounted on the inside frame of the door, the other on the inside surface of the cabinet.

Strap Hinge

A strap hinge consists of two pieces of triangular-shaped pieces of metal connected by a rotating axis in the middle, which allows the hinge to open and close. One strap is screwed into the surface of a moving part like the door or gate, and the other into the adjacent stationary surface. Strap hinges are distinguished by their long and narrow leaves, which provide stability for the door. The typical uses of strap hinges are barn doors, shed doors, garage doors, cabinet hinges, both interior and exterior doors.

Piano Hinge

A piano hinge is known for its long length and used for supporting the lid of the piano. It’s a type of continuous hinge with a central pin and same-sized leaves that run the length of the lid or door. Piano hinges can be made from plastics instead of steel or other metals. A 2-inch plastic piano hinge can typically support up to 100 pounds of load per linear inch of the hinge. A heavy-duty piano hinge is much stronger than a shorter one. Piano hinges also used for fold-down workbenches and desks, storage boxes, and cabinet doors.

Spring Hinge

Spring hinges are a type of self-closing hinges, also known as spring-loaded hinges, a spring mechanism in the barrel allows the hinges to automatically close a door without pushing or pulling. It works by using the tension of the spring to move the door and how much tension is needed to be determined by the weight of the door and the desired speed of the closure.

There are also bullet hinges, flat hinges, euro-style hinges, latch hinges, stop hinges, concealed hinges, butterfly hinges, and more. The classification may be based on their shape, function, application, and characteristics.

How to Choose Right Hinges for Doors

With so many different types of hinges available, how to decide the right hinge for your application? There are some things you should consider.

– The load. What is the weight of the door? The load indicates how strong the hinge needs to be to support the weight of the door. Because the load can be vary depending on the center of gravity if the equipment is mounted on the door and people or objects hang from the door. If you need strong hinges, butt hinges are your choice, while flush and barrel hinges are suitable for lightweight applications.

– The material. The material indicates what the hinge is made up of, the material selection depends on the required strength and also the environment, temperature chemicals, UV radiation, and moisture. Hinges are usually made of metals or plastics add other materials like rubber. The most common type of hinge material is 304 or 316 stainless steel, brass, aluminum, and plastic.

– The type of hinge. We list common types of door hinges above, there can be used as removable door hinges, fixed door hinges, concealed hinges, etc. Ask yourself what type of hinges you need based on their advantages and disadvantages.