Flush Hinges vs Butt Hinges

A door hinge.

If you are planning a project where you will have to install hinges, it is important that you know the differences between standard butt hinges and flush hinges. Different types of hinges have different advantages and disadvantages, and because of this, the hinges you choose for your project may mean the difference between success and failure. What follows should give you all of the information that you need about the comparative advantages and disadvantages of flush hinges and butt hinges.

Butt Hinge Advantages

Butt hinges are the most common type of hinge. This is because they are simple, applicable to most projects, and useful enough to come in many varieties. Butt hinges, simply put, are any hinges that are made up of two leaves connected with a kind of joint, where one leaf is connected to the door and the other is connected to the jamb. This simple but reliable hinge has proven its effectiveness with its popularity.

Butt hinges come in several types, each with their own particular advantage that helps them do their job more effectively. For example, there are the ball bearing type butt hinges, which use ball bearings instead of a single central pin hinge. This type of butt hinge is much better to be used on heavy doors.

Additionally, there are security butt hinges, which are designed for doors that would have their hinges exposed to the outside, where they could be broken into if someone removed the pin. Security butt hinges lock when the door is closed in such a way that they become inaccessible. In addition to these options, there are also rising butt hinges, which raise their doors as they open.

Butt Hinge Disadvantages

Unfortunately, butt hinges do have one downside. Butt hinges require a recess to be cut in the door and jamb they are installed in to function properly. This forces whoever installs the hinges to do extra work. Additionally, not all doors are thick enough to survive having a recess of the required depth cut into them. This disadvantage is quite serious in some cases, as it can actually prevent butt hinges from being usable. Fortunately, there is an alternative to traditional butt hinges.

A man works on a flush hinge.

Flush Hinge Advantages

Flush hinges are smaller hinges that, by allowing one leaf to fit inside the other, manage to take up far less space. This design has many advantages. For one thing, flush hinges are quite light. They also do not require a recess to be cut in the door they are installed on, which butt hinges do, giving them a serious benefit. Because of this, they are a very good type of hinge to use on cupboard doors, and it is no surprise that you will often find them there.

Flush Hinge Disadvantages

Flush hinges do have a few disadvantages. They are relatively light, which may mean they are not as sturdy as butt hinges. Additionally, they do not come in as many varieties as butt hinges.