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Discussion Forum

left or right hand door?

fengelman | Posted in General Discussion on February 17, 2006 01:57am

Is there any rhyme or reason to the fact that everybody seems to callout interior doors differently…?

I was just involved in a situation with my employer…I called out the interior doors tha way our main supplier ask for: handed, right handed, or left handed, where the door opens away from you, as you stand outside the room, and the hinges are on the right, for a RIGHT HAND DOOR, and on the left, for a LEFT HAND DOOR…

so he goes to HD, as they are the only place in the NYC area to get these particular reeded glass doors, and they confuse the heck out of him, and he screws up the order….why– because every door company calls their doors something different…

Back when I was just a little carpenter, there was a book called The Archetectural and Graphics Standard, and thats the way I learned to call out a door, but not HD….they call it something different, JUST TO BE CONFUSING!

We got the order straightened out, but he about had a heart attack when he realized that he’d not ordered them the way they needed to be..

Id like to hear from others about this…Isn’t there a way to get this confusion straightened out, once and for all?

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  1. Framer | Feb 17, 2006 02:08am | #1

    On interior doors you put your butt up against the hinges and if the door opens to the left it's a left handed door if it opens to the right it's a right handed door. That's the way I've always done it and the lumberyards I use do it with never any problems.

    Joe Carola
    1. BoJangles | Feb 17, 2006 03:07am | #4

      Joe,  This is called  "Butt to Butt" and has been the industry standard as long as I can remember (which is a long time).

      1. Framer | Feb 17, 2006 06:27am | #7

        "Joe, This is called "Butt to Butt" and has been the industry standard as long as I can remember (which is a long time)."Your right. That's what I usually call them and was told that years ago from the guy at the lumberyard.Joe Carola

        1. BillBrennen | Feb 17, 2006 10:52am | #11

          Same here, Joe. Butt to butt is just so easy to remember!Bill

    2. User avater
      JeffBuck | Feb 17, 2006 05:28am | #5

      Ditto.

       

      just told a guy I'm subing for ... stand with yer back against the hinges ... and swing yer arms. He was talking about a "left hand-reverse" ... for an interior door. I said ...

      "don't confuse the poor order taker ... it's an interior door ... there ain't no "reverses" ...

      he never heard of my method ...

      I like the turn on the phrase ... "butt to butt" ...

       

      I'll pass that along.

      Jeff    Buck Construction

       Artistry In Carpentry

           Pittsburgh Pa

      1. stinger | Feb 17, 2006 06:16am | #6

        It would be nice if we could all simplify and use the "butt to butt" method for calling out door handing, but a few things get in the way.

        Doors swinging toward you when they open.  That's one.

        The hardware industry.  That's another.

        Window companies that make doors . . . Andersen and Pella come to mind, but there are others.

        Using B to B on a closet door that swings open by pulling it toward you, and calling it out as RH, you will need to order LHR (left hand reverse) hardware for it.  That's unless you are getting a lower-end lockset and don't care about screws showing.

        The B to B approach might tell you that an outswinging exterior glass door from a window company is RH, but you had better call it out as LH if you want it to swing as expected.

      2. BUIC | Feb 17, 2006 06:30am | #8

           Doors can be right handed or left handed, as described in butt to butt before.

           Door HARDWARE can be right or left handed. It can also be right hand reverse or left hand reverse.  These variations describe the four possible combinations of door swing and key placement. 

          They only come into play when ordering hardware for the door... Buic  

  2. hammer | Feb 17, 2006 02:15am | #2

    Your definition is right (or is that left) Instead of talking inside or outside of the room, which might not work since closet doors usually swing out. ..

    I always face the hinges and if the knob is on the right i'ts a right hand door, on the left it's a left hand door.

    You were right, but I'm not at all surprised the guy at HD got it confused.  Maybe he's the same one that said their is not such thing as a left or right swing door handle on a lever lock bath knob.

  3. FastEddie | Feb 17, 2006 02:57am | #3

    I always have a sketch in hand showiung all the doors, and ask the order writer to look in the book and tell me how the manufacturrer calls the doors.

     

     

    "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

  4. woodway | Feb 17, 2006 06:39am | #9

    Wait! Wait! Now I'm confused again.

  5. rob26 | Feb 17, 2006 07:29am | #10

    The way I was taught is to stand in the doorway with your back pressed against the hinge side.  If the door opens into the room to your left, it's a left-handed door, and vice versa.  I've had no mistakes since committing that tip to memory.

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