Choosing the Right Hinge for HUGE, Custom-Designed Recycled Timber Doors
February 2025
When designing large, heavy timber doors for oversized entryways, selecting the right hinge is crucial for smooth operation and long-term durability. At Thor’s Hammer, we build custom oversized doors and carefully select hinges based on the door’s weight, size, and intended use. Factors like how the door moves, how often it will be used, and how it will be installed all play a role in determining the right system. The goal is always to ensure smooth, controlled movement, long-term durability, and minimal maintenance.
Looking for a custom-designed door, hand made in Canberra using high quality recycled Australian hardwoods?
We’ve got you covered. Make an enquiry via the button below, call us on 02 6282 9900, or email us at hammer@thors.com.au and one of our designers will chat through your project with you.
Thor’s Hammer has been designing and making custom furniture and joinery for 30 years—we know what we’re doing, and we love doing it.
How We Choose the Right Hinge
Standard hinges aren’t built to handle high weights, and without the right system, a heavy door can sag, become difficult to open or close, and be hard to adjust over time. A properly chosen hinge must support the door’s weight, allow for smooth movement, and remain easy to adjust when needed.
When designing a large door, hinge selection depends on several factors—weight, width, height, and how the door is expected to move over time. Once a door exceeds 100kg or is wider than 900mm, these considerations become even more critical. The right hinge needs to not only support the weight but also account for movement control, long-term stability, and ease of maintenance. We estimate the weight of our doors based on timber density, but if the exact species weight is uncertain, we confirm it by physically weighing the finished door before ordering hinges.
A door’s proportions also play a big role—a wide, low door places more leverage on its hinges than one that is both wide and tall. We factor this into hinge selection not only to reduce strain but also to ensure that necessary adjustments can be made easily. Choosing the right hinge system means maintenance stays a one-person job instead of a four-person lift (like in the case of the door below).
Let’s explore two huge doors we’ve custom-designed and built recently—both extremely large, but with different hinge systems chosen to match their design.
#1 — 140kg Insulated Clad Door with a FritsJurgens Pivot Hinge
Upstairs in our showroom, we’ve installed a 2400mm high, 1500mm wide, 140kg insulated clad door. With a recycled timber exterior and an insulated core, it’s designed for both thermal performance and durability. A door this size and width needs a hinge system that can handle the weight while allowing for smooth movement and easy long-term adjustments.
Photo: Rohan Thomson
We used a FritsJurgens System M+ pivot hinge, which supports the door for every part of the door movement, from both the top and bottom. Unlike traditional side-mounted hinges that can strain under heavy loads, pivot hinges distribute weight evenly, helping to prevent sagging and ensuring reliable operation. Over time, buildings settle—timber expands and contracts, foundations shift, and doors that were once perfectly level may tilt slightly. The advantage of using a FritsJurgens system is that with a simple Allen key adjustment, this door can be fine-tuned without needing to be taken down. This is a huge plus with a heavy door that may take 4 people to lift off its hinges.
Movement control is another key factor. A 140kg door in motion needs to be stable and predictable. FritsJurgens hinges offer the option for soft closingand allow it to be held open at a set angle. Features like soft close, latching control, and precision adjustment help keep movement controlled and consistent.
The downside of a pivot hinge is that because of the way the door pivots, perimeter seals can’t be used all round the door, and brush seals need to be used for the top and bottom of the door. Brush seals aren’t quite as effective as perimeter seals for weather protection. We use a double brush seal with our pivot doors to give the best protection against draughts.
From an aesthetic perspective, many people love the pivot hinge option as the hardware is concealed within the door itself, leaving no visual interruption—just a solid timber panel that moves with precision.
Video: Tideline Productions
#2 — 200kg Solid Timber Door with Simonswerk VARIANT Hinge System
A recent project in Crackenback, in the NSW Snowy Mountains, called for a 3.6-metre-tall, 200-kilogram solid timber door—a door that needed serious stability. With the cold mountain winters, weather protection and draught sealing was also crucial.
We used four high weight capacity, adjustable butt hinges on this door. These support this heavy door and still allow us to install full perimeter seals for draught sealing. For these doors, we used the Simonswerk VARIANT VX hinge system. These hinges are built for commercial-grade performance, making them ideal for solid timber doors that need to remain structurally stable under frequent use. And the best thing about them is that they are adjustable without removing the hinge or the door. This is a very unusual feature in a butt hinge, and super important considering that it took 6 strong people to lift these doors into position.
For high-traffic spaces like public buildings, large residential entries, or commercial feature doors, this level of structural support, long-term reliability and easy maintenance is essential.
Images: SIMONSWERK
Thor’s Hammer Custom-Designed Oversized Doors
Like all our work, every oversized door is custom designed and built in-house, using 100% recycled Australian hardwoods salvaged from demolition sites across the country. We tailor each door to match its space, considering size, function, insulation, and hinge requirements.
Customisation options include:
Dimensions (height, width, depth)
Design elements such as insulation, paneling, and glazing
Recycled timber species chosen for durability and aesthetics, as well as the unique history of its past life
Hinge selection based on door weight and movement requirements
From residential entry doors to large-scale commercial projects, every door is built with precision, care, and an emphasis on smooth, controlled movement—no matter the scale.
Explore Our Standard Door Designs
If you’re looking for a custom build or a standard door style, take a look at some of our designs.
Want something different?
We custom design and build doors of all sizes, to suit your space and needs. We make all of our pieces from high quality salvaged and recycled Australian hardwoods.
If you have a project in mind, please make an enquiry via the button below, or get in touch with us via phone (6282 9900) or email (hammer@thors.com.au) to explore your options. We can’t wait to create something with you.
Words: Ellie Keft