# Left or right hand door?



## Harry Homeowner (Feb 4, 2009)

How do you tell if a door is a left or right hand door? are they refering to hinges or to the lock set? and from what perspective looking in or looking out?


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## RippySkippy (Feb 9, 2007)

put your butt/back on the hinge side of the door jamb so your looking a the latch catch and the way the door swings....is the swing.


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

:yes: Rippy's way is the easiest.


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

Never heard that one before. I always say to look at the door from the hinge side (so you see the hinge barrels). If the lock bore is on the left, it is a left hand door; if on the right, a right hand door.

Be carfull if trying to order exterior doors, especially an out swing unit, it is easy to mess up. As a diy, I would recommend taking a sketch of your situation to the supplier and ordering face to face. I recently received three Weathershield units that were hinged wrong, even though they were ordered by the mill suppliers own sales person. Seems they use a quirky nomenclature on their exterior units referring to rh/lh hinged, insted of rh/lh swing, which the mill shop person did not even know about


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## Just Bill (Dec 21, 2008)

The butt to butt rule usually works, but most companies hand doors as looking in from the outside.


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## Maintenance 6 (Feb 26, 2008)

Back you butt up to the door on the inside. Reach out and touch the hinged edge of the door. Whichever hand physically touches the hinge is the hand of the door. If you can't touch the hinge itself, then it is a reverse door (opens out). Some pre-hung door manufacturers (Pella) have some screwed up nomenclature for handing that's contrary to the rest of the door and hardware industry. There may be others. Here's a quick link to door terms:
http://www.precisiondoors.com/door.htm


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## jaros bros. (Jan 16, 2009)

Look at the door from the hinged side. If the doorknob is on the right it is right swing, and if it is on the left, a left swing. You also should mention whether it is an outswing or inswing door.

Josh Jaros


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

This has always, for some odd reason, been a confusing issue. It needs not be. So I have to second the comment on Rippy's explanation. It is the bare bones simplest way to determine swing, bar none.


It's Butt-to-Butt
Open the door
Stand in the doorway wiith YOUR butt up against the Butt hinges of the door. (That's what they're called, "BUTT" hinges.)
Whichever way the door has already been "swung" is the SWING.
If the door is on your right, it's a "Right-hand Swing"
If the door is on your left, it's a "Left-hand Swing."
You can't get much simpler than "Butt-to-Butt".


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## cobracdn (Jan 27, 2009)

We've always stood outside... hinges left.. left swing.. hinges right.. right swing. Trying to line your butt up to anything on site would lead to weeks of ridicule lol
Cheers


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

I’ve been a GC for 25 years, and I have had as many as 250 men working for me at one time, BUT.................. I still instruct in the most basic and simple terms I can envision. And to this day, my work gloves have an “R” and an “L” on the backs of them in magic marker. (It saves time) :wink: :whistling2:

I would certainly hope that any of us who have been in the business any length of time can see a door far across the room and tell you the size, style and swing at a glance. But our professional assumptions can sometimes leave an accountant or a dentist struggling to manage a home project almost totally lost. This isn’t fair. :yes:

This is a DIY Forum, and I try not to expect anyone here to know any more about my trade than I do of their profession. True, some of my explanations are long and laboriously generic and basic. But we all know what they say about assuming something. (Throughout my life, I've already made an ass out of myself enough.) I suspect that if someone was on a job somewhere, trying to figure out a door swing, they would either not be too concerned about appearing less than knowledgeable about their attempts, or they would casually sneak their butts up to the hinge side of the door for a quick peep at the swing.:thumbup:

A lot of us teach and instruct or guide daily. And it all starts with a first, small step for many people we are hoping to help. :thumbsup: Just relax, and let 'em learn slowly.


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## [email protected] (Feb 27, 2009)

I'm a GC too, and butt to hinge jamb is the best way to tell if your not construction inclined. Then, you have RHR, LHR, too. which is, R for reverse. Reverse is to the outside of the dwelling or room. If the door swings into a room or dwelling, it's standard, not reverse.


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## steve1234 (Sep 13, 2007)

always use a picture to clarify. YOU may know the exact definiton, but the person you're communicating with may not. I ordered a bunch of interior doors and the guy taking the order was convinced he knew the swing definition. I went to make a payment before the order was placed, and brought my sketch.......we fixed the order before anything was made incorrectly!


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## [email protected] (Feb 27, 2009)

steve1234 said:


> always use a picture to clarify. YOU may know the exact definiton, but the person you're communicating with may not. I ordered a bunch of interior doors and the guy taking the order was convinced he knew the swing definition. I went to make a payment before the order was placed, and brought my sketch.......we fixed the order before anything was made incorrectly!


 



good job. I make the mistake often, of not so much as explaining things how they can understand, but explaining things how they CAN'T misunderstand.


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## bentod (Mar 2, 2013)

*Inside/outside*

Saying to stand outside to tell the swing of a door is no help at all. For example:
If I stand outside my bedroom and look at the door the hinges are on the right.
If I stand outside my house and look at the door the hinges are on the right. However, one is LH and one is RH.

Use the butt to butt rule. Most people won't have to actually stand in the doorway to figure it out.

In case it wasn't already said, that is not why they are called butt hinges.:yes:


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