Question about door hinges... no joke.

[DoctorFeelgood]

So, here I am in my deluxe verandah suite, retreating from the horrid passengers on my cruise, when I noticed something that intrigued the engineering part of my brain. I was looking at the door and noticed that the hinges were not spaced symmetrically as they are at home. On my doors at home, there is a hinge smack in the middle of the door, one 3 or 4 inches from the top, and another 3 or 4 inches from the bottom.

 

BUT... on the ship, every door has the "middle" hinge NOT in the middle.. it's usually about 2/3 of the way up the door.

 

I tried to Google this but couldn't find any answers. Does anyone know?

[RDWills]

Curious...not only that they do it that way, but that people notice. My 'guess' is that it probably better supports the door and is easier to install and maintain.

[CaptData]

It may be due to the idea of water against the door Aids in water not coming in all at once/water tight) in case of a disaster. Just an idea.

[OCruisers]

DrFeelgood .... In light of your other thread (which I really enjoyed reading) ... maybe you should have told ALL of your fellow PAX about this "Door Hinge Situation"! It would have given them one more reason to WHINE! :D Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[cruzincurt]

The hinge location might be an "European" thing since most ships are built there. I will check with my architect buddies tomorrow.

[cruzincurt]

Double post.

[cruzincurt]

Double post due to slow internet.

[DoctorFeelgood]

All of the doors on the smaller boats that I have been on (i.e. private sailboats up to 60 feet) are "normal". And as far as I recall from my time in Europe, their doors are "normal" too. I wonder why big ships have this offset hinge arrangement?

[DoctorFeelgood]

Curious...not only that they do it that way, but that people notice. My 'guess' is that it probably better supports the door and is easier to install and maintain.

 

It was just one of those things... like people who notice which way the water in the sink swirls, or similar trivia.

[jhannah]

Those doors are fairly heavy. Maybe the physics of weight just work better to have more support along the upper half of the door. Of course, that's just a thought ... I have no clue. Interesting observation, however.

[momqat]

Just off the Westerdam New Year's cruise with daughter, son-in-law and 2 family friends my daughter's age. We were sitting in the girls' cabin discussing this very topic. One of the girls mentioned that in her college, her dorm doors were set up the same way, with the "middle" hinge up high like that. That middle hinge pin can be rotated to adjust how fast or slow the door closes. She said the first thing the kids did every year when moving into their dorms was to rotate the pin so the doors would stay open. Try it next time :)

[since1982]

While on a cruise on Carnival I notice that the door to the bathroom had three hinges and the pins to the hinges were upside down (hanging from the bottom up). The first or second night out at about 3AM the door fell. As jhannah stated the doors are VERY heavy. It sounded as if we hit an iceberg. The door fell about one foot from someone’s head.

 

During the day the door was rehung with the pins in the wrong position, again. I told the cabin steward about the pins who finally told maintenance. After I explain it to maintenance again they corrected the problem.

[jhannah]

... the door to the bathroom had three hinges and the pins to the hinges were upside down ... during the day the door was rehung with the pins in the wrong position, again.

Holy cow! What were these people thinking?

[since1982]

They just did not get it, why the door was falling. Obviously it had fallen before because the pins were in the wrong position.

[DoctorFeelgood]

Maybe those were the pins that were supposed to be used for the Southern Hemisphere?

[Orcrone]

While on a cruise on Carnival I notice that the door to the bathroom had three hinges and the pins to the hinges were upside down (hanging from the bottom up). The first or second night out at about 3AM the door fell. As jhannah stated the doors are VERY heavy. It sounded as if we hit an iceberg. The door fell about one foot from someone’s head.

 

During the day the door was rehung with the pins in the wrong position, again. I told the cabin steward about the pins who finally told maintenance. After I explain it to maintenance again they corrected the problem.

But if the ship had capsized, at least your door would be secure.:eek:

[Grumpy1]

Ahhh, another use for duct tape... to keep the hinge pins from falling out.

 

Grumpy

[98Charlie]

Duct tape rules. Don't leave home with out it. We don't.

Dianne

[since1982]

But if the ship had capsized, at least your door would be secure.:eek:

 

True but I would not be able to use ANY of the facilities. Unless I strapped myself down with Duct tape. Hey, is that another use for the tape :-).

[DoctorFeelgood]

Just off the Westerdam New Year's cruise with daughter, son-in-law and 2 family friends my daughter's age. We were sitting in the girls' cabin discussing this very topic. One of the girls mentioned that in her college, her dorm doors were set up the same way, with the "middle" hinge up high like that. That middle hinge pin can be rotated to adjust how fast or slow the door closes. She said the first thing the kids did every year when moving into their dorms was to rotate the pin so the doors would stay open. Try it next time :)

 

Momqat,

 

Thanks for speaking up. I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices strange things like that. Thanks for the insight... I wish I was smart enough to understand how rotating the middle hinge can make the door stay open or closed!:p

[saltydog28]

Momqat--Thanks for the info..But...I'll be the first to tell you, I'm a little slow on the tech stuff. Can you find out and post, how you rotate the middle hinge?

Thanks in advance,

Pat.

[momqat]

Dr, the middle pin is "spring-loaded" (I think that's the term) so creates a pressure on the hinge. More pressure makes it harder to open/close, less pressure makes less drag, so easier to open/close. You can buy hinges like that at Home Depot, Walmart, etc. and put them on your own doors -- we have one on our door from the house to our garage -- it makes it "self-closing" and works well in a household where people "forget" to close the door...:rolleyes:

 

BTW, it is the PIN that is rotated in the hinge.

[RevNeal]

I've seen LOTS of amazing subjects, interesting subject, unusual subjects, and esoteric subjects on Cruise Critics ... but NEVER have I EVER seen one about the pins and hinges on our cruise-ship stateroom doors. :D

 

Methinks some of us need to get aboard a cruise ship ... and FAST. :eek: ;) :D

 

I love it.

[jhannah]

Methinks some of us need to get aboard a cruise ship ... and FAST.

Amen, and AMEN!

[saltydog28]

Greg- When I was in second grade and my brother was younger, I came home for lunch and he ran up stairs and locked himself in the bathroom, and then he couldn't unlock the door. My grandmother was besides herself. I could tell that by the way she was twisting the bottom of her apron. But she spoke very calmly to my brother.

Her first thought was to call one of my uncles, but she discarded that. (In those days you didn't call someone home from work because someone was locked in the bathroom.) Next...Get one of the 'boys' down the street to put up their ladder and go through the skylight. No.. they would have to break the glass and Michael might get cut. The next option..."Patty go see if Mr. Shwartz is home and tell him what your brother did. Five mins. later Mr. Shwartz is there with tools. He had to take the hinges off the door-I think he tapped the pin out.- and slide the door free of the frame. While all this was going on my sister was complaining that she didn't have lunch and was going to be late for school, my great-grandmother was saying, don't let him touch my teeth. (they were in a glass on top of the toilet tank.) And my grandmother was trying to keep order, because other neighbors came in. Because of this one incident, when I had children I made sure the doorknobs could be opened from the outside. And I always notice the hinges on bathroom doors.

Some memories are just too good to forget.

Take care,

Pat.