Concealed door hinges: selection and installation features

Hidden door hinges are an important element of door hardware and are widely used in the installation of entrance and interior systems. Appearing on the mass market about 25 years ago, the products immediately caught the attention of consumers and quickly gained popularity.

Hidden hinges are a structure consisting of a metal body, a hidden hinge inside this body, a lever and an anti-friction bushing designed for better sliding. The lever, in turn, consists of 2 parts, interconnected by a movable axis made of steel and providing a connection between the hinges and the blade. There are three types of hidden hinges: left-handed, right-handed and universal.

And if the latter are able to function, being installed on either side of the canvas, then the first two types have a narrow specialization and can be installed only on a certain side. Internal hinges provide 180 degree mobility of the curtain and can withstand up to 200,000 open-close cycles. In addition, the devices provide an easy and quiet movement of the door leaf, prevent the door from spontaneously moving away from the frame and have the ability to fix it in extreme positions.

The material for the manufacture of hidden door awnings is an alloy called tsamak., which contains aluminum, magnesium, copper and zinc. Tsamak is absolutely safe for the health of others and is highly durable and durable. The alloy is well cast at sufficiently low melting temperatures and is characterized by a smooth surface and uniform structure.

Hinges for heavy metal doors are made of high-alloy steel. The metal has a significantly higher strength in comparison with the alloy and is able to withstand serious weight loads. In addition, the steel hinges do not corrode and are highly resistant to extreme temperatures. This allows you to install internal hinges in garages, warehouses and entrance loops of private and apartment buildings.

Hidden hinges are an indispensable type of door hardware when installing overlapped doors (with a quarter). The peculiarity of such systems consists in the method of the door leaf to the door frame, which can be made in the form of a quarter on the leaf and a mating quarter on the box, or a quarter made only on the canvas and forming an overlap at closing. The design features of the door block do not imply the use of classic hinges and are designed only for the installation of interior fittings.

High consumer demand and the growing popularity of hidden hinges is due to a number of indisputable advantages of this hardware.

• Doors equipped with hidden hinges are highly burglary and significantly reduce the likelihood of illegal entry into the premises. Concealed models are completely hidden in the door leaf, so it is almost impossible to cut or cut them.
• A wide variety of models of different power and size allows you to choose a product for both a wardrobe and a powerful armored door.
• Due to the large opening angle, the canvas is able to swing open to the adjacent wall, which is quite convenient when moving bulky items through the door.
• The technology for installing hidden models assumes their full penetration into the frame and door leaf. This allows the hinges to withstand very serious mechanical loads and gives the structure sufficient rigidity.

• Aesthetic component. Internal hinges do not clutter the door leaf and can be installed on any type of door structure, including systems with an "invisible frame" and secret doors in an office or apartment.
• The high reliability of the inner hinges allows them to withstand loads much higher than traditional canopies can withstand. For example, models for interior doors can easily withstand a weight of up to 50 kg, while their overhead counterparts are designed for only 30 kg. The situation is the same with products for metal cloths: especially durable models are capable of withstanding up to 300 kg of weight, which also exceeds the endurance of conventional loops by more than 90 kg.
• The ability to adjust in three planes makes hidden hinges indispensable elements of door hardware when installing in new buildings. Often, new houses, several years after construction, begin to settle down, which inevitably leads to skewed door frames and poor door closing.
• The versatility of many models is due to the ability to install them on both wooden and plastic and metal canvases.

The disadvantages include the rather high cost of many products. For example, a fairly common model for interior doors Armadillo 3D-ACH-40, adjustable in three planes (depth, height and width) and belonging to the middle price category, costs 1,890 rubles. Hinges for metal doors are much more expensive. So, the Italian model SPEV250 will cost two and a half thousand rubles. There are, of course, options for 600 or even 300 rubles, but these will most likely be low quality products that are not able to be regulated and can quickly fail. In addition, some awnings have a non-separable design, which is why, if necessary, remove the doors, you will need to completely dismantle the hinges.

Also, the disadvantages include the rather large sizes of secret models., which is not always convenient during installation. First of all, this applies to products for interior paintings, when installed, it is often found that there is simply no place for the location of such loops. This is especially true for door frames, in which the thickness of the walls is so minimal that the depth for installing the canopy may not be enough.

Hidden door hinges are classified according to a number of characteristics.

• Adjustment. According to this criterion, the models are divided into regulated and unregulated. The first ones are the most versatile and allow you to change the position of the door leaf without removing it from the hinges. The adjustment, as a rule, is carried out in three planes, so that you can not only raise or lower the door, but also adjust the tightness of its fit to the door frame. Such models are somewhat more expensive than unregulated products, but the difference in price is fully justified by the convenience of their operation. It is reasonable to install non-adjustable hinges on stable systems that are not prone to deformation. For example, in a metal garage or wardrobe, the installation of such products will be quite appropriate.

• Power. On this basis, the models are divided into products for interior doors and awnings for heavy steel sheets. The former are able to withstand up to 60 kg, while the latter can easily cope with a weight of 300 and even 350 kg. Often an important condition for the operation of awnings on massive canvases is the need to use three or more copies at once, which allows more evenly distributing the load on the hinges and significantly increases their service life.

• Functionality. On this basis, simple products and models with a closer are distinguished. The latter appeared on the door hardware market relatively recently and immediately attracted the attention of consumers. The engineers managed to combine the hinge and the closer in one device, due to which the need to install two mechanisms on one door at once automatically disappeared. Outwardly, the improved models are not much different from the traditional ones, however, they have in their design a spring shock-absorbing mechanism, which, when the door is opened, stretches and then slowly returns to its original position.

At the same time, the sash also slowly begins to close until it reaches the door frame. The smooth running of the blade is due to the presence of an oil shock absorber. The oil moves through the valve system along the spring-loaded cylinder, thus creating the desired resistance and preventing the spring from being compressed quickly.

When choosing hidden loops, you should pay attention to a number of nuances. So, it is better to purchase products from trusted manufacturers that produce high quality products and have a good reputation. The most famous and reliable canopy manufacturers are the Italian AGB, Armadillo and Krona Koblenz. These companies have long specialized in the production of door fittings and produce high quality and time-tested models.

In addition to the brand, it is necessary to focus on the technical components of the products. It is necessary to decide on the location of the door and, in accordance with this, choose the model of the right or left execution. If the future arrangement of the furniture is still not known for certain or the side of the door opening has not yet been chosen, then it is better to purchase universal models that can be operated on both sides.

Installation of hidden awnings is not particularly difficult and can be done by hand. The whole work consists of several successive stages, the first of which is the formation of a niche in the canvas. To carry out carpentry work, you need to stock up on a good tool, for example, a hand cutter. The use of chisels can lead to inadvertent damage to the wooden covering, after which it will become impossible to restore the original appearance of the door.

The hand milling cutter must be equipped with a removable bed, which is fixed to the door leaf or frame. The bed usually comes with several special templates, without which it will be impossible to form a neat niche. Using the first template, a space is cut out for the outer part of the hinge, and with the second, a recess for the deep inner part of the canopy.

However, the bed and templates are not cheap, so there is no point in purchasing such a tool for a single use.In this case, you can use homemade templates, according to which, provided that they are correctly made, you can form grooves no worse than the factory ones. To make them, you can use a piece of sturdy plywood or a couple of planks.

Sometimes it happens that when forming the lower recessed niche, the dimensions of the cutter may not be enough. In this case, take a drill, put a feather drill on it and make several blind drills around the perimeter of the inner template. Then, carefully, using a knife and a hammer, you need to tap out the excess wood and clean the edges of the niche. This is followed by a very important stage in transferring the markings to the door frame strip. To do this, it is necessary to press the striker against the door and draw risks in the right places. Then, using the same technology as described above, you need to form a niche in the door frame.

Adjustable canopies are reinforced and lightweight. The vertical adjustment of the latter is carried out using a thin hex wrench. The adjustment screw for such models is usually located at the top at the joint of the holders. The maximum adjustment travel is 1.5 mm. Horizontal adjustment is also performed using a hexagon, and the adjustment screw is located in the part of the canopy that is cut into the blade. The maximum working stroke of the mechanism is 1 mm. Adjustment of the leaf pressure to the door frame is carried out using an eccentric and is also performed with a hex key. The eccentric is located in the part of the canopy that is installed in the box. The maximum stroke is also 1 mm.

Reinforced hinges are adjusted in a slightly different way. Vertical adjustment is carried out with six screws and is carried out with a hex wrench. The screws are located on the part of the canopy cut into the box. The horizontal adjustment is also carried out with a hexagon using two screws located in the door. The clamp is adjusted by two screws that are in the box.

In the next video you will find a sidebar of hidden loops.