Selecting the right pivot hinge may seem a bit daunting, but it is not hard at all. In this article, we walk you through the options you should consider when selecting the pivot hinge that suits your pivot door. You can also do this in our online FritsJurgens Selector.
How do I choose the right pivot hinge?
In-depth
09 February 2023
FritsJurgens pivot hinge - System M+
In this article: find the right bottom pivot
FritsJurgens offers four types of bottom pivots. The bottom pivot is mortised inside the bottom of the door, and the top pivot is mortised inside the top of the door. In this article, we talk about the bottom pivots – FritsJurgens also offers various top pivots, which you can choose depending on your pivot door and its functionalities. The bottom pivot is, however, the first choice you make. Continue reading to dive into your options for your bottom pivot.
FritsJurgens - System M+
General considerations
Choosing the right pivot hinge is a step-by-step process depending on your door. Think about the kind of material your door is made of, whether it will be an interior or exterior door, its measurements – especially your door’s width and weight, the location of the pivot point, and the functionality you want your door to have. Think of, for example, how much control you want over your door movement, if you have a door that should latch adequately, or if you want a 360° rotating wall.
Can any door be a pivot door?
The answer is simple: yes, almost every door can be a pivot door. Before finding the right hinge, you might wonder if your door design is suitable for pivoting. Because FritsJurgens’ hinges are mortised inside the door and not in the floor or ceiling, it is very easy to install such a pivot door. Various bottom pivots and top pivots offer solutions for narrow doors, wide doors, heavy doors, and light doors alike.
Gap calculator
In the process of determining the measurements of your door and your door frames, it can be helpful to consult FritsJurgens’ gap calculator. This tool helps you determine the space you need around your door based on the door’s width, pivot point, and thickness.
The right hinge in three steps
You can find the right pivot hinge for your door in three steps.
1. Side or middle placement
2. Door functionalities
3. Door width and weigh
If you already know your door’s measurements, weight, and the functionalities you would like to have, you can also go through the selection process in FritsJurgens’ online pivot hinge selector.
Side or middle placement
The position of the pivot point is the first decision to make. Middle placement will lead to System One or System 3, while side placement leads to System M or System M+.
Door functionalities
FritsJurgens’ pivot hinges offer different types of functionalities. You can opt for various pivot hinges based on the way you want your door to rotate or move.
System One
- A single pivot point with free 360° rotation.
FritsJurgens - System One
System 3
- 360° rotation.
- Hold positions at every 90° angle.
- Self-closing from 45° angles toward a 90° hold position.
FritsJurgens - System 3
System M
- Hold positions at every 90° angle.
- Damper Control (movement adjustability): hydraulic backcheck protects the door from touching the wall or objects behind the door when opened with force. Soft close ensures a smooth, fluid closing movement at all times.
FritsJurgens - System M
System M+
- Hold positions at every 90° angle.
- Damper Control.
- 30° Speed Control: adjustment for the last 30° of the door’s closing movement to finetune the door’s speed to perfection. Ideal for double doors.
- Latch Control: gives the door extra closing speed through the last few degrees of the closing movement to ensure proper latching, even when moist- and draught-repellent details slow the door down.
FritsJurgens - System M+
Depending on the functionalities you want your door to have, you can perhaps already cross a specific hinge off your list.
Door width and weight
At this point, you have found a hinge that suits your pivot door and your wishes. Based on the width and weight of your door, you can now select the right weight class for this type of hinge.
FritsJurgens hinges have different weight classes to cater to every kind of door based on width and weight. This way, the hinge always ensures the fluid, controlled door movement that FritsJurgens stands for.
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What is a good size for a pivot door?
A pivot door with FritsJurgens hinges can have unlimited height, depending on the door’s width and weight. The right size for your pivot door depends on the impact you want your door to have, the environment the door is in, its materials and design, etcetera. The size of your door does influence which pivot hinge is suitable for your door and which functionalities your door can or should have.
Let’s go through the steps of selecting the right hinge with two pivot door examples: a large exterior door and a pivoting wall.
Example one: large exterior door
Let’s say we have designed a beautiful exterior door. It is 3 meters tall and 1,5 meters wide. It weighs 350 kg.
Design by Hyndman Taylor, Manufacture by RBJ builders + sheet metalcraft, Photo by Simon Devitt
Step one: do we want this door to have side placement or middle placement? So, where should the pivot point be? In this case, we’re going for side placement. Middle placement would leave to little space to comfortably pass through the door, and it simply doesn’t make sense in our design.
Step two: which functionalities do we want this door to have?
As our door is a large exterior door, we want complete control over the door’s movement, and we want to ensure the door closes properly. So, we want all movement functionalities: Damper Control, 30° Speed Control, and Latch Control.
This leaves us with one possible pivot hinge: System M+.
We now check if this hinge suits our door’s measurements and weight:
System M+
- Door weight: 20 - 500 kg
- Door width: 400 - 5000 mm
The combination of the pivot point, the door’s width, and the door’s weight determine what weight class the hinge of your choice needs to be. The FritsJurgens Selector allows you to fill in all this information and shows you your options automatically.
We should go for System M+ class G: 330 – 399 kg in this case. That’s it – we found our perfect pivot hinge.
Let’s go back one step and decide that we don’t want our door to have any functionalities. We want our door to have a single pivoting point without doing anything besides how we move the door. This leaves us with one option yet again: System One.
System One
- Door weight: 20 - 500 kg
- Door width: 400 - Unlimited mm
System One doesn’t have different weight classes. Our weight and width match, so this would be the perfect hinge for our new situation.
Example two: pivoting wall
Let’s take our other example, a pivoting wall. It’s 3 meters tall and 4 meters wide. It weighs 250 kg.
Design by BLAUWBERG, Manufacture by BLAUWBERG, Photo by Tim Van de Velde
Step one: this pivoting wall needs a pivot point in the middle of the wall. This leaves us with only System One and System 3 to choose from.
If we choose no functionalities, System One is our best option. If we want this wall to have hold positions, we can opt for System 3.
However, if we select System 3, we soon find that this system and our wall design don’t match:
System 3:
- Door weight: 40 - 350 kg
- Door width: 1000 - 3800 mm
The maximum door width for a pivoting wall with System 3 is 3800 mm. Our wall measures 4000 mm. This means that System One is the right choice for this wall design.
FritsJurgens online pivot hinge selector
You can go through this process at any time via the FritsJurgens Selector. Feel free to contact us if you need assistance making the right choice for your door.
Already decided?
Do you already know which hinge you want to apply? Find one of our trusted dealers near you to place your order.