Skip to content
Commercial door hardware, shipped direct from US distributor warehouses
  1. Home
  2. Buying guides
  3. Commercial hinges and pivots: bearings, weight and security pins

Commercial hinges and pivots: bearings, weight and security pins

A commercial hinge is specified by size, weight class and whether the opening is exterior outswing.

The short answer

Commercial hinges and pivots

A commercial hinge is specified by size, weight class and whether the opening is exterior outswing. Ball bearing hinges are the commercial standard because plain bearing hinges wear out under a door closer.

How to choose

What actually decides the part number

SizeCommonly 4 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches on standard commercial doors, full mortise into the door and frame. Size follows door thickness and width.
BearingsBall bearing hinges carry the load a door closer puts on an opening. A plain bearing hinge under a closer squeaks, then sags.
NRPNon removable pin hinges stop the pin being driven out from the unsecured side, which matters on any exterior outswing door.
Continuous gearedA geared continuous hinge spreads load along the full height of the door and is the answer to a door that has already sagged, or to a very high traffic opening.
PivotsA pivot set carries the door from the floor and the head of the frame instead of the jamb, on heavy, offset-hung or center-hung doors. It is replaced like for like, often together with a floor closer.

Before it ships

What we confirm with you

Confirmed in writingSize, door weight, how it mounts, whether the opening is exterior outswing, and the finish.
AvailabilityHager ball bearing hinges, Pemko continuous geared hinges and Rixson pivots, about 90 part numbers. Electrified hinges are under electrified hardware. Most are special order from the manufacturer, typically 4 to 6 weeks and sometimes longer, and the quote states it.

Not sure which you need

Send a photo instead

You do not need a part number. Send a photo of the hardware and the door it sits on, plus the ship-to zip code, and we will identify it and quote it the same business day.