Replacing internal doors - door hardware

[Gragson]

Have 12 internal doors going from the cheap empty ones to solid, about 35kg.
Done gates, garage side wood doors etc but these are expensive and need to hang good and last.

Door handles I won't have a choice on... But want to make sure that latch mechs, hinges, plates, screws etc are decent.
Recent experience of B&Q cheese hardware, screws that snap or round off even with pilot puts me off.

Any reccos of either on line or in store for quality door hardware ?

 

[gaz1]

door handles are just as important as the latch mechs if poor quality they wont spring back that handle or that mech inside the door

as goes for hinges it depends on the weight of your door either fit 2 or 3 hinges buy decent hinges and not the tin crap that you can buy

latch mechs there not as good as what they used to be there all roughly made the same way finding a decent mech is hard

as goes for doors themselves i prefer proper wood doors than the egg box style crap

hinge screws we just fit pozidrive screws instead and throw away the flat head ones as goes for the door handle screws there just plain crap

 

[brightspark]

door handles are just as important as the latch mechs if poor quality they wont spring back that handle or that mech inside the door

as goes for hinges it depends on the weight of your door either fit 2 or 3 hinges buy decent hinges and not the tin crap that you can buy

latch mechs there not as good as what they used to be there all roughly made the same way finding a decent mech is hard

as goes for doors themselves i prefer proper wood doors than the egg box style crap

hinge screws we just fit pozidrive screws instead and throw away the flat head ones as goes for the door handle screws there just plain crap

i rarely ever use the sh.ite screws that come with any sort of fittings

 

[hotponyshoes]

Stainless steel fire door hinges seem to be about the only thing that are made to any sort of quality/standard.
I'm sure I've got a box of really nice ones somewhere...

 

[minimutly]

We just had two new internal doors, supplied by one of the trade only distributors, hung “professionally”.
These things are solid chipboard, oak effect, with 4 inlaid safety glass panels - seriously heavy. The hinges supplied were two off 3 inch, three, inch wood screws. Even these weren’t that tightly screwed in.
I’ve bought some 4 inch hinges to replace them, probably will do it myself, more dicking around after a so called pro..

 

[skotl]

Not recommendations on the fixings (other than agreeing with brightspark about ditching the supplied screws!) but these two tools made it way easier for me to hang a few dozen doors over the last couple of years:

Inflatable door wedges - you slip them under the door and then pump with your foot while holding the door in place to get the right height. Quick toe-poke to empty them means you can set door height & angle without needing anyone to hold the door up

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07RVJ1LF3

Jig for doing mortise locks and hinges - nice and accurate - takes a lot of the guesswork out

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mortiser-Maintenance-Woodworking-Installation-Mortising/dp/B01IJ9XLS6

Square chisel to make the round corners from the above jib into a square!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trend-Corner-Chisel-Black-70mm/dp/B001UQ5PD0

 

[addjunkie]

All mine have 3 hinges….solid oak engineered doors. Agree that the screws are plastic rubbish! If using them makesure you use the correct driver bit, you only get one go.

Ive a set of the inflatable wedges too, worth every penny!

With handles etc, you get what you pay for!

 

[MattF]

Definitely ditch any manufacturer screws, & use your own.

Hinges, the ball bearing hinges are generally best. The type mentioned above, for fire doors etc.

With regards to hanging doors, another useful item, if you have the tools to make one, is a length of wood shaped like the boat on a lantern toolpost, around 2' to 3' in length. Allows you to control/alter height & placement with one foot. Put one end under the door, & your foot on the other end. The curved face faces the floor.

 

[Bladevane]

Back in 2016/7 I changed out 9 doors and frames for oak. I thoroughly recommended International Door Controls Ltd. and bought their stainless hinges, 3 to a door.

Monarch hinges part no. M433-CE3SS

I also recommend a hinge jig Unika Combi Jig 102mm Hinge Plate (KFS-COMBIJIG102P) to router the hinge recesses in the frame and door, which I bought from Kitchen Fitting Supplies.

 

[tigdlo]

I have used Eclipse hinges from Toolstation and they appear to be good quality, though I haven't put 20 years of regular use on them. The supplies screws aren't as good as Hinge-Tite, although I have used the the supplied screws without issues when I haven't got anything better.

 

[qwakers]

Get some of the decent stainless hinges from howdens. The only decent hinges on the market imho

 

[Gragson]

Thanks all, good information.
I'm definitely going with 3 hinges per door now, Howdens not far so will take a look.

@skotl I've got some decent MightyWedge pumps, but that jig looks really helpful given the amount I need to do - in the basket

 

[Robotstar5]

i rarely ever use the sh.ite screws that come with any sort of fittings

I always bin the little plastic bag of screws and wall plugs and use proper ones

 

[addjunkie]

If youve not bought the doors yet…….some have a much thinner plane ing * section down each side than others. 6mm and10mm rings a bell.

 

[qwakers]

Just remember howdens are trade only so you'll have to get a friendly builder or carpenter to order for you

 

[MetalMonkey]

I think it is probably overkill for internal doors, but anything designed for Fire Doors will be heavier duty

Fire door Ball bearing hinges, for example.
Altro Easi T latches are really well built - but they are a heavy mechanism so you need a good spring on the handle set too.

Abloy were always decent for locks, ERA are also good.

I imagine anything designed for modern cardboard internal doors is probably just the same thing sold under a million different brand flavours.

 

[MoreWellie]

I had to laugh at

three, inch wood screws. Even these weren’t that tightly screwed in

We had all the upstairs doors replaced about 25 years ago with hardwood mahogany like doors that are nice and heavy. I know of at least two doors that still only have one screw in the door side of each hinge. They still open and shut without issue and fit as well as they did the day they were hung

a 3 inch screw into a hardwood door will hold quite a lot it seems

I am going to fit more screws I just have to remember for more than the normal goldfish 30 seconds after I notice them

 

[brightspark]

Just remember howdens are trade only so you'll have to get a friendly builder or carpenter to order for you

tell em your a landlord and you get an instant account thats what daughter did