Q: I am manufacturing a 6" thick hidden panel door constructed of a 2 x 4 frame sandwiched between two standard 32" interior slab luan doors. Not sure of the total weight (50-70 lbs). It will need to open 180 degrees. I want the hinges to be wide enough for the screws to attach to the 2 x 4s and not just the 1-3/8" slab door styles. What size hinges do I need? How many? Plain pin or ball bearing?
A: I would certainly use an 8" hinge and ball bearing. Something like as seen here:
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and here:
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and this video here will help as well:
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Q: The hinge as shown here:
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is broken on the frame at the the bottom location. Isn't there a hinge that I can use that will mount on the face of the frame so that I can avoid the broken hinge plate altogether?
A: Jim if it's broken on the frame why not just drill holes and then pop rivet it back on? The head of a pop rivet should be small enough to still allow the door to close.
Having said that you can replace the bottom hinge with what is called a half mortise hinge it would mount to the edge of the door like a normal hinge but then wood mounted to the face of the jamb itself.
See this link here:
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The vertical axis of pivoting would be compatible with the other hinges but we would need to know certainly the size of the hinge to make sure that a half mortise is made in the size that you require but also we have to know the dimension of the face of the steel frame because the gym portion of the hinge is surface mounted so that Dimension becomes critical see the link to the template here for an indication of what that Dimension would be::
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Q: It would be difficult to hold the plate in place while you are trying to drill through it and not sure how well the rivets would hold long term . Can you send me a picture of it and how it is fastened? As well as the cost? The y want a price for changing the jamb and I think there has to be a more cost effective alternative.
A: True it's going to be difficult to drill that hole through the hinge plate but you have the hinge screwed down to the plate and you can obviously use that as a handle so to speak and keep the plate in place while drilling.
I certainly feel this is a solution. I don't know that it is the best solution meaning you're going to have to know for sure (if you want to change outthe bottom hinge) what the dimension is on the face of the frame because in the image the drywall has been brought up to the face of the frame of that and could cause a conflict with the overall width of the hinge leaf. Also we do need to know the height of that hinge to be sure that I can get my hands on a half mortise hinge for your application.
Having said all of this the best solution maybe just simply pop riveting that plate back to the frame and I'm not saying that you should do it or that it's a better solution than an actual hinge replacement but please remember it is the top leaf of the door that carries 70% of the entire door weight and therefore the bottom hinge is actually doing very little work of actually carrying the doors weight.
And again you have the hinge plate captive because it's screwed to the bottom hinge so you can use that as a handle as you are drilling through the frame drilling through the thick piece of steel and then running the pop rivets in.
If you use the half mortise hinge solution above you are in essence going to abandon the location on the frame and since the hinge plate is loose you're literally going to have an open void in that bottom frame hinge location which you will have to somehow mitigate.
Let me know how to proceed.
Q: Rich thanks for response and I think I will try the rivets and see how that goes I can always revert back to the half mortise if I need to . Much appreciated. Jim
A: Anytime -
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Q: What is the standard screw size used on steel doors with 4 1/2" or 5" hinges?
A: Industry standards for hinge reinforcement and preparation for both door and frame, unless otherwise specified all products prepared for butt hinges will have mounting holes drilled and tapped for 12-24 screws. The most common hinge used is a full mortise butt hinge, typically 4 1/2" or 5" high offered in standard and heavy weight, they are all supplied with a 12-24 screw. This is called a template machine screw, TMS for short, and usually features a flat head #3 phillips drive, though sometimes a #2 phillips drive, with an undercut head and thread forming screws.
An image of this typical fastener is seen here:
View Image