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Self Closing Hinges For A Door

  
  
  

self closing door hingesA garage entry fire door needs to have self closing hinges. It is likely that there are already self closing hinges on the door, but it may be that the spring has sprung (meaning it doesn’t self close anymore). Fortunately, these are not difficult to replace.

When you buy new self closing hinges, you will need to buy the right size to fit into the existing mortise at the edge of the door. They are usually 3 ½” or 4” tall, but they get larger for bigger doors. Buy the right size and you won’t have much work to do. You may need to chisel out the corners if you buy hinges that have 90-degree corners and are replacing hinges that have rounded corners. You usually only need to install a self closing hinge at the top and bottom hinge positions.

Once the hinges are installed, you need to set the torque to close them. There are two different styles for this. Once style uses a ratcheting method. Stick an allen wrench into the top of the hinge and simply turn it. You will hear the “click click click” of the ratcheting mechanism applying torque to the hinge. You want enough torque to close and latch the door, but not so much that it slams and knocks the pictures off of the wall. To release the torque push the allen wrench down into the hinge.

The other style uses a pin to hold the torque. Again, stick an allen wrench into the top of the hinge and turn it. Place the pin into the holes and it holds the torque. Repeat this until you have the right amount of torque.

Comments

Thanks for this post as I haven't worked with self-closing hinges so I'm glad to know these are an option and certainly good for garage and basement doors when there is a step down. Once had a problem with a basement door where the customer expected it to latch with a slight push ... and it didn't but that was because the customer gave us a warped door.
Posted @ Tuesday, August 16, 2011 2:37 PM by tinagleisner
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