I Do I Have a Left Hinge or Right Hinge?

Imagine how frustrating it would be to spend time picking out an attractive and durable screen door only to find, after getting it home, that it can’t be installed because the hinges are on the wrong side! Unfortunately, this is a real possibility.

You see, though you’ve probably never noticed it before, a door can swing two different ways – called “left-hinged” or “right-hinged.” And, if you don’t correctly answer the question, “Which way does my door hinge?”, you may wind up with the wrong screen door hinge side. Now, while every PCA door comes with a completely flexible installation package that allows for either type of installation, this isn’t necessarily true of doors made by other companies. So, before ordering, you should ask yourself, “do I want my door to hinge left or right?”

Fortunately, answering this question is easy. Simply stand facing the doorway where you want to install your screen door, making sure your viewing the door from the outside looking in. If you’re hinge will be to the left, your door is left-hinged, and if it will be to the right, it’s right-hinged.

Voilà, easy as pie. However, there’s one more thing you may need to specify when ordering. You see, some doors are called in-swing – that is, they swing open towards the interior of your home or the room to which they serve as an entryway. While some, on the other hand, are called out-swing – they open towards your home or room’s exterior. And, while PCA’s installation package also allows you the flexibility to choose either in-swing or out-swing, once again, this isn’t always true of doors made by other companies. So, even if you specify whether your door hinges are on the left or right, you might still wind up with your hinges on the wrong side if you don’t also say whether you need an in-swing or out-swing door.

Finally, when figuring out how to hang a screen door over steps, it’s very important that the screen door hangs so that it doesn’t swing open over the descending stairs; this is mandated by code in some parts of the country. Otherwise, someone leaning against an unsecured door is likely to tumble down the stairs, leading to a potentially severe injury. And, of course, this is especially dangerous for children who may not yet know that leaning on doors is a bad idea.

Knowing whether you have a left hinge or a right hinge helps to avoid the time and expense of replacing it with the correct one. And, when choosing in-swing or out-swing, if you keep in mind that a crucial rule for how to hang a door over stairs is that it should never swing open over them, you’ll keep yourself, your family, and your visitors safe from a potentially treacherous fall.

When you order a PCA screen door, you don’t need to worry about getting it wrong. Besides making our doors out of the best functioning and most durable materials, we also want to make installation as easy as possible. And that’s why every PCA screen door comes with a completely flexible installation package, allowing you to install your screen door in whatever way you want as soon as it arrives.