At a glance
| Hinge type | Typical base metals | Typical finishes | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butt hinge (plain, ball-bearing or washered) | Steel, stainless steel, brass, bronze | Almost any plated, plated-then-lacquered, polished or satin finish | Heavy doors, joinery doors, fire doors where the hinge is rated |
| Concealed (cup and arm) hinge | Mostly steel, often nickel plated | Visible parts only: the cup, arm and cover are out of sight when shut | Cabinets and wardrobe doors |
| Pivot hinge or pivot set | Steel, stainless, brass | Visible plate only at the top and floor | Heavy or tall doors; the load path is through the floor or head |
| Piano (continuous) hinge | Steel, stainless, brass | Plated, satin or polished; full length shows | Lids, flaps, long narrow leaves |
| Flush-folding (butterfly) hinge | Steel, stainless, brass | Plated or satin | Folding screens and bifold doors |
| Fire door hinge | As rated: the hinge is part of the tested door set | Only the finishes the rating covers | Fire and smoke doors; the hinge is a certified component |
Practice summary, not a standard. Typical bases and finishes are the common ones; a partner workshop or hinge maker confirms what is made for a given size and load.
Parts, types and where each is used
A butt hinge is two leaves joined by a pin through a column of knuckles. Everything a designer can see or touch (leaf, knuckle, screw head) is a finish decision. Everything that carries the door (pin, bearing, the leaf and its screws) is a load decision. They are specified together.
The type follows the door: a butt hinge for an ordinary or heavy door; a concealed cup-and-arm hinge for a cabinet or wardrobe door; a pivot for a tall or heavy leaf; a continuous piano hinge for a lid or flap; a flush-folding hinge for a screen. The table at the top lists them with common bases and finishes. It is a practice summary: no standard sets those pairings.
Base metal and finish: two decisions, not one
The base metal sets strength and corrosion behaviour. The finish sets colour, feel and how it ages. A brass-coloured hinge can be solid brass, brass plated over steel, or a lacquered finish over either. They look alike on day one and differ on day 500, so the schedule should say which.
| Base metal | Why it is chosen | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Steel (plated or coated) | Strong and widely stocked; the usual base for rated hinges | The finish is the corrosion protection; a scratch or a thin plate is where rust starts. See our plating and coating thickness sheet. |
| Stainless steel | Corrosion resistance does not depend on a coating | Grade (304 or 316) and finish must be stated; a mix of finishes across handles and hinges is common. See stainless 304 vs 316. |
| Brass | Warm colour, takes polish and lacquer, matches brass handles | Solid brass or brass plated over steel is a different part with a different price and wear life: write which. See brass alloys explained. |
| Bronze | Darker colour, develops a patina | Patination changes the colour over time; see lacquered vs unlacquered brass and copper. |
Match the finish across every visible metal part of a door: the hinge, the handle or pull, the lock case or escutcheon, the screws and any rails. Mixed metals in contact can corrode through galvanic action; our galvanic corrosion sheet covers that, and our ironmongery finish codes sheet covers the codes. Sample the hinge and the handle together, because two suppliers’ ‘satin brass’ rarely match: see metal finish sample approval.
The eight digits on a hinge
BS EN 1935 classifies a single-axis hinge with an eight-digit code. Read it before you accept a substitute: it tells you the duty, the tested door mass, whether the hinge is suitable for fire doors, and the corrosion grade. A trade guide to the 2002 edition lists the digits and the fourteen grades in its Table 1, which the table below follows.
| Digit | What it describes (BS EN 1935:2002, as summarised in the guide) | Values given |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Category of use | 1 light, 2 medium, 3 high frequency by the public, 4 frequent violent use. Grade 1 hinges should not be used on fire-resistant or smoke-control door assemblies. |
| 2 | Durability: test cycles | 3 is 10,000 cycles; 4, 25,000; 7, 200,000; the scale runs 2,500 to 1,000,000. |
| 3 | Test door mass | 1 up to 20 kg; 2, 40; 3, 60; 4, 80; 5, 100; 6, 120; 7, 160; 8, 200; 9, 250. |
| 4 | Fire behaviour | 0 not approved for fire or smoke doors; 1 suitable, subject to assessment of the hardware against the door assembly. |
| 5 | Safety in use | 0 none defined; 1 meets the safety in use requirement. |
| 6 | Corrosion resistance | 0 to 4, from none to very high, following BS EN 1670. |
| 7 | Security | 0 not for burglar-resistant sets; 1 suitable, subject to assessment. |
| 8 | Hinge grade | Grades 1 to 14 in Table 1 of the standard; grade 11 is category 3, 200,000 cycles, test door up to 80 kg. |
Some points from the same guide that matter on site. Hinges for doors with closers should assume a heavier effective door: 20 per cent more than the actual mass for a closer without back-check, and 75 per cent more with back-check. Timber doors with closers should normally have three or more hinges, and a closer with a hold-open or back-check calls for grade 12, 13 or 14. The guide also recommends limits on friction torque so that the closer can shut the door. Check these against the current standard and the hinge maker’s data.
Fire doors: the hinge is a certified component
On a fire or smoke door, the hinge is part of the tested assembly. The trade guide says digit 4 of the code marks a hinge as suitable for such doors only subject to a satisfactory assessment of the hinge against the door assembly, and that the effect of hinges on smoke control can only be found by testing a full-size assembly. So the rule for the schedule is simple: name the hinge the door maker has evidence for, and treat any change of hinge type, number, size, metal or finish as a change to the certified door set until the door maker or certifier says otherwise in writing.
Our fire door specification guide covers the door; this sheet covers the hinge.
What makes a hinge bespoke, and why it changes the quote
A hinge is bespoke when its size, leaf shape, metal, finish or movement is not in the maker’s catalogue. The cost drivers are qualitative: special tooling or machining set up for a short run; small quantities; a non-standard finish that is done in its own batch; and testing or certification evidence for the intended use. A bespoke hinge also lacks a catalogue rating: the grade, load and corrosion evidence in a standard classification belong to a tested product, so the maker has to say what evidence a made-to-order part carries. For a fire door that evidence is the door set’s, not the hinge’s alone.
Make Bespoke Studio coordinates manufacture through partner workshops. Which hinges a partner fits, and which are made to order, is confirmed project by project and is not stated on this sheet. This sheet gives no prices.
Specification wording
Paste into your schedule or specification and replace anything in [square brackets] with your own figures. Wording is a starting point: your specification governs.
Hinges: [maker], model [ref], [102 x 76 x 3] mm, base metal [stainless steel 304 / solid brass / steel], finish [satin / polished and lacquered / plated], [3] per leaf, with matching screws [length and head] in the same base metal and finish. BS EN 1935 classification [3 7 4 1 1 3 0 11] or better, from the hinge maker's data. The hinge maker's data sheet is submitted before ordering.
Hinges, handles, escutcheons, screws and rails on [door ref] to be one finish, [finish name], approved on a sample board with the real hinge and handle side by side, against the approved sample dated [date]. Mixed base metals in contact are not accepted without [supplier]'s written confirmation of corrosion compatibility.
Hinges on fire and smoke doors are those named in the certification of the door set: [door maker, certificate ref], [number] per leaf, [make and model]. No change of hinge type, number, size, metal or finish without the door maker's written confirmation. Hinge test evidence and fixing details are submitted with the door set certificate.
Where a hinge is made to order, [supplier] states in writing, before quotation, the base metal and finish, the load and door mass it is made for, the cycles and corrosion grade it is expected to meet and the evidence for them, and what happens to the fire-door certification if it is used on a rated door.
Terms used on this page
- Butt hinge
- Two leaves joined by a pin through a column of knuckles, fixed to the edge of a door and the frame.
- Knuckle
- One of the rolled sections of a hinge leaf that fit together around the pin.
- Single-axis hinge
- A hinge whose door turns about one fixed axis, as covered by BS EN 1935 (axis within 30 mm of the leaf face, as one trade listing summarises the scope).
- Hinge grade
- The last of the eight digits in the BS EN 1935 classification, 1 to 14, which combines use category, cycles and test door mass.
- Continuous (piano) hinge
- A hinge that runs the full length of the leaf edge.
Standards and sources
- BS EN 1935:2002: BSI Knowledge, read 7 Nov 2026: Current, under review; 15 March 2002; identical to EN 1935:2002; no amendments listed. The standard was not read.
- Guide to interpreting markings for single axis fire door hinges (overview of BS EN 1935:2002): read in full 7 Nov 2026: eight digits, Table 1, closer notes. An older trade guide to the 2002 edition.
- BS EN 1670:2007: BSI Knowledge, Current, 31 May 2007, as summarised by a search listing; not read. Five corrosion grades, neutral salt spray test; its own notes say the salt-spray result is not a direct guide to service life.
Questions we are asked
What does grade 11 mean on a hinge?
In BS EN 1935 the last digit of the classification is the hinge grade. A trade guide to the 2002 edition shows grade 11 as category 3 (high frequency), 200,000 test cycles and a test door of up to 80 kg. Grade 11 on its own does not say the hinge is suitable for a fire door: digit 4 does, and then only subject to assessment against the door.
Can I swap the hinges on a fire door for a different finish?
Not without the door maker or certifier confirming in writing. The hinge is part of the tested assembly, and a different finish, metal, size or number is a change to it. Ask for the confirmation before ordering.
Solid brass or plated: how do I tell?
You cannot reliably by eye. Write ‘solid brass’ or ‘brass plated over steel’ on the schedule, ask for the maker’s data sheet, and have a partner workshop confirm what is supplied. Plated parts show their base metal where the plate wears through.
How do I match hinge finishes to handles?
Specify one finish name for all the visible metal on the door, then approve the hinge and handle together on a sample board. Two makers’ versions of the same named finish often differ in tone.
Why do bespoke hinges cost more?
Because of tooling, short runs, separate finishing batches and the evidence a made-to-order part needs. This sheet gives no prices: the supplier should explain in writing which of these applies.
Download the factsheet
A two-page A4 PDF with the hinge types, the eight-digit code in plain words, the fire-door rule and wording for a hinge schedule.