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Why can't I locate a swinging door for my kitchen? Is it that all I need to do is buy special hinges?

I moved into my grandparents’ old bungalow, and the swinging door that led from the dining room to the kitchen that I remember from decades back is gone now. We had tenants in the place for a long time, and I guess they removed it, but it’s nowhere to be found. I did an online search for ‘swinging doors, but came up empty. I don’t want a regular hinged door, a bifold door, or a cafe door. It needs to go all the way to the floor and be sturdy enough to keep my cat out when I need her to, but be easy to move from room to room while carrying dishes of food. Am I searching for the wrong thing? Am I just supposed to buy a regular six-panel door with no knob hold to fit, but hang it on special hinges?

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 3rd, 2011 at 10:22 am and is filed under Kitchenaid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 Responses to “Why can't I locate a swinging door for my kitchen? Is it that all I need to do is buy special hinges?”

  1. You are on the right track. Your swinging door is just a standard door with floor hinges. Check out some salvage yards to find one already installed to see if that will work.

    I like the http://www.historichouseparts website.

  2. GO TO AN ANTIQUE BARN OR FURINTURE STORE. THE DOOR , IF I AM NOT MISTAKING, THE HING IS A LOB, OR A ROD AT THE TOP, AND BOTTOM. EVEN IF YOU CAN’T GET THE SAME SIZE DOOR, BUY THE DOOR AND JUST USE THE HING. IF YOU HAVE TO GO THE ROUTE OF GETTING A NEW MODERN DOOR, THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO PUT THE SWING HINGS, EVERY 20 INCHS, OR THE DOOR IS GOING TO LEAN.

  3. There ate two way hinges available at lowes ,cost about $40 a pair. Attach to a regular door

  4. There are special hinges that you will need for the door to swing both ways. For safety, the door you use should have at least a small window in it so that persons on both sides can see if someone is coming through from the other side at the same time. It could keep your dishes from ending up broken, you from getting burned from having hot gravy dripping down your new blouse, and you from picking yourself up off the floor wondering what just happened while rubbing your sore head. Yes, it happens. Most accidents happen at home.

    If another door was never installed there since the swinging one was removed, there probably is no strip of wood to be removed acting as a door stop on the jamb that the door would close against preventing the door from swinging too far when closing.

    The thickness of the door and it’s weight is a factor in deciding which hinges will be appropriate. There are several different options you have in selecting your favorite hinge. You may want to be able to adjust the closing speed of the door.

    Look at these:

    Double acting swinging door hinge hardware set with solid brass cover plates available in 4 finishes. The floor mounting bracket measures 3 1/2" by 2 7/8" and the brass cover plates measure 10 1/2" by 2 1/2". The cut out on the door needs to be 7 3/4" from the edge and 1 1/2" tall. The back mounting bar is 4 1/2" tall. This hinge swings up to 116 degrees in each direction with stops at 0, 88 and 116 degrees. The spring tension is adjustable for regulating closing speed. This hinge is designed for wood doors measuring between 1 1/4" and 1 3/4" thick and has a maximum load weight of 75 pounds.

    http://houseofantiquehardware.com/s.nl;jsessionid=0a0109441f43f47f070d05bc46008596eabb4db9b70e.e3eTaxmKbNaNe3yLe0?it=A&id=293&sc=10&category=41

    The Stanley Hardware 3-inch double acting hinge allows doors to swing in both directions. The fully adjustable spring tension also returns the door back to the opening. This set of two hinges accepts doors 3/8 to 1-3/8-inches thick, and up to thirty pounds and two-feet wide. A door weighing up to thirty-eight pounds and 32-inches requires three hinges. These satin brass-finished hinges come with an adjusting rod, stop pins and screws.

    http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Hardware-3-Inch-Double-463040/dp/B00004Z11Z

    I like this one:

    http://www.hardwaresource.com/Store_ViewProducts.asp?Cat=1688

    Many of these swinging doors are heavy solid wood. A strong hinge without a tension adjustment may put quite a strain on a lighter door.

    If you don’t mind the door swinging and booting the cat into next week, you might consider a set of these:

    http://www.doityourself.com/invt/u617050

    A feature to hold the door open in either position would be useful for when you need it, and you will wish you had it for more times than you think.

    http://www.door-hardware.net/newhinges.html

    Best Wishes

    .

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