I have built two sets of French doors, oak, fairly heavy, 84″ tall, each door 30″ wide. I have three heavy 4″ hinges for each door. What is the best placement for the hinges (measurement from top, bottom), center hinge centered?
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4 7/8" from the top of the door to the top of the top hinge.The mortice on the jamb is 5", this gives you a 1/8" top reveal.
7" up from the bottom of the door to the bottom of the hinge.
Center the middle hinge in between
Will,
The placement that I use for a three-hinge door of that height is 11" from the bottom of the door to the bottom of the hinge, 7" from the top of the door to the top of the hinge, and the middle hinge centered between those two.
...and don't forget to keep the side with the three knuckles on the jamb side and the part with two knuckles on the door.
-Peter
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a time.
What difference does it make which half of the hinge goes on the door?
i don't know ---i always turn them so the pin won't fall out
As much as I hate to be practical....
Three knuckles on the door.
So when you have an eighty pound, solid core door balanced on your toes, with the pins between your teeth, and you need just a little more umph to get the first hinge aligned, you can push up on the bottom knuckle and ease the door into place without pinching your finger between the two halves of the hinge.
Mr TDo not try this at home!
I am a trained professional!
You put those things in your mouth? Sheeewwwwhhhh, what's Missus T think about a smooch after that?
So, which hinge you put the pin in first, after you spit it out , of course ;) It's okay, I can fix it!
> with the pins between your teeth,
How about this:
Before you even start the big juggling act, put the pins into the top knuckles of all three hinges. If a pin stays put pretty well when it's about 3/4 of the way into the first knuckle, OK, leave it that way. If it's kinda loose, use a little tab of masking tape on the head to hold it in place. That way they're standing by and easy to push in the instant you get them lined up.
-- J.S.
If you do this a lot, you may want to consider a new product called a dorminator - really neat..
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
i like to have a partner for the heavy doors---when i have to swing them alone i like to split the bottom hinge & use something that drops freely in the hole( i use a #2 phillips).
Alright you knuckleheads, Spreadout!
Why Soitenly! Nyuck Nyuck!Do not try this at home!
I am a trained professional!
I'm a five and dime guy...5" down to the top o the top hinge...
10" up to the bottom o the bottom hinge... makes it a whole bunch easier to pop out the lower hinge pin...
but I am also friends with 7/11 guys, go figgure...
and I am a knucklehead, but that knuckle idea is new to me, makes sense, though... It's okay, I can fix it!
Two schools of thought, standard hang 7" from top, 11" from bottom, center hinge in the middle. Flip Jig hang 9" from top, 9" from bottom, center middle hinge. A flip jig is a homemade mortice template that does right or left hinge mortices depending on which way you flip it.( like the pre-hung setups) I usually make one up for larger (7' or 8') jobs out of scrap 3/4 plywood where I have to hang a number of doors that won't fit my Bosch jig or have odd sized hinges. Header cut for French doors, add 1/4" to the size of both doors. Also, I would bevel 30" doors slightly, 3 degrees.
As for the knuckleheads, the reason you put the same knuckle type on French jambs is so you can lay a level across the hinges and adjust the height of the lowest jamb. Perfect fit everytime!
Also I have been giving my customers the option of ball catches on both doors instead of the traditional pins on one door, anybody else like this setup?
sometimes board sometimes knot
I like magnets or ball-catches. The trouble with bolts on spec houses is that at least half of the new owners want the doors switched (i.e. if the left door opens, they want it switched to the right one).
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario