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Hinges or Pivots
Glass
slips - What to do
How to Reverse the Hinge Pin
 Hinges for Shower Doors come in so many kinds and types, and shapes, and brands that it can be confusing. If you want the best hinge for the money, get a square edged Geneva with a 28" door, and we're done with this topic.
Except that you should know that Geneva has features that the slightly cheaper Chinese knock-offs don't have. Geneva and most of the other hinges on this page have a built in reversible hinge pin. They also have little nylon tabs to keep the hinge from opening so far that movable parts hit the body of the hinge and soon there will be a big scratch right at the spot. Not all hinges have the nylon tabs but Geneva does. You might save $10, on your $1000 purchase, by using a Chinese knock-off but you won't get these two features.
There
are two basic styles: Square Edged  and Beveled Edged . There are a lot more as you can see below. For instance the Roman is contoured , the Classique is round and the Cathedral is just devine. But these are less often used because of price and/or other constraints.
The next consideration is the backing plate. If we are supplying or installing your shower we will recommend a short backing plate. See below. Not all hinges come in all backing plates.
Pivots come in rectangular,
beveled, round and shell shaped. There is also the Madrid.
See Gallery page for photos
of shower using these hinges.
If you leave the
selection of hinge to us we'll choose either Geneva or Vienna depending
on the size of the door.
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SHORT
BACKING PLATE
We recommend
this hinge for wall mounted doors. The glass cannot hit the
backing plate. See photo below. The cutout for this hinge is 1/16"
deeper than the full backing plate to allow the glass to come
closer to the wall if necessary.
This hinge
will work when the Full Backing Plate won't. It has saved
us from buying new glass several times. Highly recomended.
Bad Aspect:
Like the Full Back Plate, the wall-mounting screws are visible
from the outside. See Offset Hinge for nicest look.
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SQUARE EDGED
Vienna
holds more weight than Geneva.
cutout
specs
Up to 34", 140 lb Door
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BEVELED
EDGE
Maxum Beveled
Hinge for large doors.
50 lbs/hinge
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There is no Cologne Short Back plate.
Use Maxum Beveled. |
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Full Backing
Plate Hinges might be a bit stronger than Short Backing Plate, since the screws are a little farther apart. On the other hand the short backing plate has the screws closer to the base. The Vienna is rated for slightly larger door than the short back version.
Bad aspects are that the glass cannot be moved all that close to the wall.
3/16" is really not quite enough gap. 1/4" gap is
safer. |
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SQUARE EDGED
Geneva
Industry Standard
specs
Cutout
2
hinges - 28" - 80 lb.
3 hinges - 32" - 120 lb
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CONTOURED SHAPE
Roman Hinge
specs
like Geneva but nicely contoured
Up to 32", 120 lb Door
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BEVELED
EDGE
Cologne
Similar
to but larger than Pinnacle
cutout - Spec
Up to 36", 140 lb Door
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BEVELED
EDGE
STAINLESS STEEL
Ultimate Hinge
Stainless Steel
specs - cutout
Same as Pinnacle
but Holds more weight.
Up
to 32", 130 lb Door |
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OBSOLETE SQUARE
Concord
Old Style Hinge
with no 5° hinge pin.
Same cutout as Geneva.
specs
Cutout |
OBSOLETE BEVELED
Estate
Similar to Concord
with Beveled Edges
Same
cutout as Geneva.
specs
Cutout
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FOR
1/4 AND 5/16" GLASS FULL BACKING PLATE HINGES
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Hinges for 1/4" Glass
are very small and expensive. You can't tell by the photo.
1/4" Thick Shower Doors cost almost as much as 3/8" So the reason to use 1/4" is not cost. But there are a lot more kinds of 1/4" glass, such as Green, Reflective, Half Silvered Mirror, and GreyLite14 (which is very dark) |
Jr Geneva
1/4 to 5/16" Glass
Specs - Cutout
3" tall
2 - Hinges 28" 62 lb door
3 - hinges - 32" 92 lb |
Trianon
1/4 to 5/16" Glass
Specs - Cutout
3" Tall
2 - Hinges 28" 62 lb door
3 - hinges - 32" 92 lb
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Adjustable Full Backing Plate Hinges
If your wall is not at 90° to the glass. Adjustable closing angle.
Any angle from 0 to 90° can easily be selected like magic.
Available in square and beveled edge hinges.
Picture
of the set screws
Problems
if the angle is too great.
There are also Adjustable 180° Hinges
and Adjustable 135° Hinges. |
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OFFSET
Backing Plate:
Good: All mounting screws are on the inside of the shower
and so exterior looks nicer. There are Brackets for the fixed panel that match these hinges. Find them here.
Bad: Only three screws, but hinge is rated for the same
weight. Vienna is exception.
The gap between the glass and the wall needs to be at least 3/16" and 1/4" is safer. They are similar in this respect to the Full Backing Plate. Some Offset Hinges
have scalloped area in the backing plate to let the glass come a little closer. |
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REGAL
Opens outward only.
Requires Strike Jamb
Adjustable Closing Angle
Glass Holes, not cutout.
Specs - Cutout
2 - Hinges 90 lbs 30"
3 - Hinges 130 lbs 34"
5/16 and 3/8" Glass Only |
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SPECIALTY
BACKING  PLATES:
When the door is hinged off a Knee Wall and the upper hinge
is a glass to glass hinge, then the pivots will not line up
if a normal wall mt. hinge is used. The Special Knee Wall
Hinge solves that problem.
The GEN245 is for NEO angle situations and the GEN280 is for
in line door and panel.
The CHMI is the big expensive desirable hinge.
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CHMI - GWH-202 Buttress Mt. |
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I believe every named hinge series has a glass to glass version. There are too many to list them all.
Good aspects of these hinges: They allow the door to be placed away from the wall. This eliminates the problem of towel bars and the problem of the door hitting a sink or toilet.
Bad: Glass to glass hinges end up cost a couple of hundred more than a wall mount door. Glass to glass hinges require another cutout in the glass. No one wants to use a header so to stiffen the panel that the door hangs on we generally use 1/2" glass for the panels and we also use the more expensive bolt-through-the-glass brackets (clamps).
Adjustable 180° Glass to Glass Hinges are available. Leaves an odd gap if
angle is large.
Adjustable 135° are also available.
Picture
of the set screws
Problems
if the angle is too great. |
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Pivots
Good: Either Left or Right Wall Mounting Brackets are
available. When used with a curb Mounted Pivot, the weight of
the door is no longer on the wall.
The Pivot point is furher out from the wall so there is more
clearance for towel bars.
Only four holes to drill.
Bad: Rated for less weight than many hinges because the
pivot itself can only be made so large. The weight of the door
is all on one point. The sloped sill causes problems only when
the slope is greater than normal. |
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SQUARE
3/8" and 1/2" glass
Horizon is a little larger than Prima and holds 3/8"
or 1/2" glass |
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Pivot with Adaptor Block for header |
CHMI Glass to Sidelight |
Glass to Transom Pivot |
Prima Glass to Glass Offset - Used when you have a full height
sidelight and no transom. |
CHMI Wall Mount Pivot
These
would be used with a normal curb mount Pivot at the bottom. |
Prima Wall Mt. |
Horizon Wall Mt. |
Vertical Brackets also available |
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 Zurich
Hinges are used to make Bifold doors. These bifold doors can
be installed in California because they will not trap a fainted
person in the shower.
There are seven types of Zurich Hinges. Click the photo for
views of a four panel Bifold Tub Enclosure.
Zurich hinges can support a forty inch door. That is the widest
rating of any production hinge, however there are no springs
to automatically close the door.
A really cool trick is to combine these hinges with our own
Top Hung Sliding Door track. This will allow any width and any
number of panels (almost.)
Click the photos below to order. For a little more information and photos. |
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  Hinges
on a Jamb Rail come with two hinges on either 72"
or 78" tall aluminum jamb with vinyl seals. The strike
rail and a vinyl for the bottom of the door are included.
They provide a tight seal for steam showers or in situations
where you can't drill four holes such as with glass block
walls.
Slightly defeats the frameless, all glass looks. Handle
sold separately.
Click the drawing at right for a larger drawing. |
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 Glass
to Glass and Wall to Glass Hinges in Stainless Steel |
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and
Hours:
M-F: 7 to 4:30 and Sat: 10 to 2 PST