If you have ever had the opportunity to observe door hinges, you may have noted the different corners of every hinge type. You may have seen some hinges with square corners and others with rounded corners. The hinges featuring rounded corners are the ones we refer to as radius corner hinges.
The functionality of both the hinge types is more or less the same, with barely any difference. So if you're starting a clean door slab right from scratch, you can choose any hinge type, whether square or round, as you wish.
On the other hand, if you merely have to replace the hinges on one or more of your existing doors, you will have to select hinges that match the door's cutout. You cannot, after all, force a radius (rounded) hinge into a square hole. It might even go in smoothly if you try, but you know it would not fit well or even look good for that matter.
Now that we're clear on what a hinge radius us, let us briefly examine how one can determine the radius of a particular hinge.
DETERMINING THE RADIUS OF YOUR HINGE
There are two ways of determining a hinge's radius: one with the help of a tape measure or ruler and the other with the help of 35 cents (if you have it).
If you opt for the first way, take your ruler or tape measure and determine from the top of your hinge right down to where your hinge's rounded area ends. If you have a hinge radius that mounts to 5/8," then it will measure the same from the top to the bottom of its radius.
Similarly, if you measure a ¼ hinge's radius, it will measure the same from the top right till the hinge's rounded end. But didn't you hear us mention something about 35 cents being a handy measurement tool? Yes, we did!
In this method, you have to line the corners of your hinge with a dime and a quarter. If your radius corner measures 5/8", the quarter will fit inside it. However, if the hinge's radius is ¼" then the dime will fill the inside of it. Can there be an easier way of measuring the hinge radius? We don't think so!
Choosing the type of hinge becomes easy once you determine what radius does your hinge feature. You can choose from a specialty hinge, ball-bearing or a standard hinge, whatever goes best with your application.
In most cases, a door hinge of the residential grade will suffice for most of your needs. Hinges of residential-grade will work well for hollow-core doors and even solid-core doors that stand at the height of 8 feet.
We can categorize door hinges into three basic types. These include:
- 5/8" radius corner
- ¼" radius corner
- Square corner
FINAL THOUGHTS
There are three basic types of door hinges. You can find them in square corners, meaning no rounded edges, just as the name implies. The other two options remain the radius hinges that feature rounded corners of two separate measurements. With two simple ways of measuring the hinge radius, you can easily determine which would be better for your application.
For more than a decade, HingeOutlet.com has delivered the highest quality door hinges at the best possible prices. We offer the largest selection of door hinges online, as well as door accessories like wood screws, door hinge stops, ball catches, flush bolts, and more. In addition to our premium product offering from the leading hinge manufacturers, HingeOutlet.com manufactures a custom line of door hinge products.
