Figure 2. One type of geared continuous hinge is full-surface, which mounts to the surface of the door and frame. industry-standard door sizes. If, however, you need to cut one to match a non- standard door or situation, such field modifications are not only possible but also very easy. Geared continuous hinges, much like traditional plain or ball-bearing hinges, come in a variety of types. These include: full-surface, which mounts to the surface of the door and frame (Figure 2); half-sur- face, which mounts to the surface of the door and frame rabbet; and concealed/ full-mortise, which mounts to edge of door and frame rabbet (Figure 3). Other options include wide throw, which helps the door clear nearby obstructions, and swing clear, which allows the door to fully clear the opening. Basic Installation Process Always follow the manufacturer’s in- structions before installing a continuous hinge; that goes for all products we in- stall. The following step-by-step guide is a walk-through to illustrate how straight- forward the process of installing a full- surface geared continuous hinge can be. 26 KEYNOTES MAY 2019 Figure 3. Another type is full-mortise, which mounts to edge of door and frame rabbet. 1. Remove the door from the frame and remove existing hinges. Disconnect the door closer (if applica- ble) and remove the door from the frame along with the hinges. If a door sweep is present, remove it as well. I keep lock- ing hardware on the door for two rea- sons. First, once engaged with the strike, it helps to secure the door into the frame, which aids in safety. Second, aſter I have shimmed the door, I can check the rela- tionship between the locking hardware and its strike(s) to make sure everything is good to go. 2. Install the continuous hinge to the frame surface only. The distance between the top of the door and frame header should be ⅛". Since the top of the hinge should be installed in line with the top of the door, it is there- fore necessary to set the distance between the frame header and the hinge to the ⅛" clearance. I like to position my con- tinuous hinge and mark its top hole on the frame with a marker. This can all be done with two hands. Now that I don’t Figure 4. The geared continuous hinge is positioned along the frame. have to juggle the hinge, a screw and my drill, I’ll then use a self-tapping screw to drill the hole. Next, hang the geared continuous hinge with that one screw, position it along the frame, install the bottom two screws and finish it up by installing a screw in the second-from-top hole (Figure 4). 3. Place the door back into the opening, shim into place and fasten the hinge to the door. Before we attach the continuous hinge to the door, we need to make sure that it is positioned properly in the frame. I can- not stress how important it is that you do this step right; if not, you’ll end up with the results seen in Figure 5. Not only is this not done right, but it can also have a larger, negative impact on more than just visual aspects. We know that a ⅛" distance between the frame header and the top of the door is necessary but this distance is also re- quired between the latch side of the door and frame as well. The distance between the door and the hinge side of the frame WWW.ALOA.ORG
