Setting-out sheet / hinge fitting
How to Fit Door Hinges: Positions & Spacing
Choose hinges for the actual leaf and frame, enter the positions you intend to use, mark each full hinge outline, recess to the entered hinge thickness, pilot and fix, then transfer the same marks to the lining or frame and check the swing.
Editable marker
Direct answer / convention warning
Treat every prefilled position as an editable start.
The marker begins with a 1,981 mm leaf, 76 mm hinges, three hinges, a 150 mm top offset and a 225 mm bottom offset. Those values reproduce a clear worked example; they are not requirements. A secondary UK guide records commonly used starting conventions, but a particular door, hinge or doorset may specify something else. Keep that limitation beside the numbers by reviewing the Doors2Floors hinge-guide source record.
Enter the offset to the top of each hinge, not to its centre. The last top mark is calculated from the bottom offset and hinge length. The app rejects marks outside the leaf, a last mark that is not below the first, and intervals shorter than the hinge length. A successful plot is a setting-out record only; it does not choose the hinge or assess the door.
The Marked Door · Hinge setting-out worksheet · Entered positions
Hinge Position Marker
Plot hinge tops from one datum
Formula v1.0.0Researched 2026-09-04
Worked example — editable starting conventions
Hinge top marks
Equal top-mark interval: 765 mm
Entered hinge thickness: 3 mm. Use that entered value when setting the recess depth.
- Hinge 1 top: 150 mm
- Hinge 2 top: 915 mm
- Hinge 3 top: 1,680 mm
Assumptions register
Door height: 1,981 mm. Hinge length: 76 mm. Hinge count: 3. Top offset: 150 mm. Bottom offset: 225 mm. Entered hinge thickness: 3 mm.
Every plotted value is a top mark measured down from the top of the leaf. Intermediate top marks are evenly spaced; no fixing pattern, load capacity or product choice is inferred.
The Marked Door / worked example hinge-position record
Job/reference: ____________________ · Printed date: ____________________
Canonical record: https://neoporte.com/door-hinge-positions/ · Formula 1.0.0 · Researched 2026-09-04 · Sources: doors2floors-hinge-guide, doorsuperstore-butt-hinge-definition, doorsuperstore-fit-butt-hinge, wickes-hang-internal-door, gov-fire-door
Current-record printing is available only while the plotted marks match every current input.
Choose and inspect
Match the hinge to the door and frame before setting positions.
A butt hinge has two leaves joined around a pin or knuckle. That basic part naming is supported only as terminology by the Door Superstore butt-hinge record; it is not evidence for a universal capacity, size or quantity. Identify the exact hinge, its orientation and any supplied template. Check that the leaf edge and the lining or frame offer sound material where the chosen fixings will sit.
Read the door and hinge information together. Door mass, construction, width, usage, closers, glazing and required performance can change hardware selection and quantity. If actual mass matters and no trustworthy product figure is available, keep that as a separate question rather than guessing from appearance; the door mass estimator records an estimate from user-entered dimensions and density.
Check the intended handing and closing face before laying out recesses. Mark one unambiguous top datum on the hinge edge and keep the same orientation throughout. If the door or frame is damaged, wet, split, loose or visibly moving, do not use a neat plotted diagram to hide that condition.
Mark the leaf
Set every top mark, then trace the real hinge outline.
Measure each plotted position down from the same top datum on the hinge edge. Use a square to carry the top mark across only as far as needed. Place the actual hinge leaf against the edge in its intended orientation, hold it still and trace the full outline with a sharp pencil or marking tool appropriate to the finish.
Label the marks H1, H2, H3 and H4 as applicable. Recheck the top and bottom offsets, hinge length and clear distance between outlines before cutting. The plotted interval is between hinge top marks; it is not the clear gap between hinge bodies. A two-hinge record has only first and last marks. Three- and four-hinge records distribute intermediate tops evenly between them.
Recess / pilot / fix
Set recess depth from the entered hinge thickness.
Mark the recess depth from the thickness of the hinge leaf you measured and entered, while following any specific product detail. Do not substitute the worksheet’s 3 mm example for the real hinge. Define the outline cleanly, remove material in controlled stages and test the hinge leaf in the recess. Keep the bed even and stop before the hinge sits deeper than intended. If the job calls for a powered recessing method, compare current router hire options only after the template, cutter, depth control, extraction and door construction have been checked.
With the leaf seated in its outline, mark fixing centres from the actual holes. The Wickes hanging source supports its limited pilot-hole and initial-fixing sequence; select screw size, depth and every other detail from the actual hinge, door and substrate information. No universal fixing pattern is supplied. Keep the drill controlled around glass, panels, edge construction and concealed features.
Support the door while initial fixings take the load, then recheck that each hinge is seated, aligned and free to move.
Transfer to lining or frame
Present the door at the recorded height and transfer the same outlines.
Support and wedge the hinged leaf in the intended closed position, using the hanging plan’s floor and working-gap record. Bring each hinge to the receiving jamb without forcing the leaf. Transfer the top and bottom of every hinge, then present the actual mating leaf and trace its outline. Do not independently remeasure a second set of “similar” offsets from another datum.
Form the mating recesses to the relevant entered hinge thickness and product detail, mark through the actual holes, pilot for the selected fixing system and fix while the door remains controlled. The Door Superstore fitting source uses case or carcase wording; this page says lining or frame only as the job’s receiving member, not as a quotation or universal taxonomy.
Open the door slowly and watch the knuckle line, hinge edge and screw movement. Close it without forcing and compare the gaps with the hanging record. If the hinge side binds, a leaf sits proud or deep, or fixings move, stop and inspect before enlarging recesses or removing door material. For a wider sequence, plan the full hanging sequence; for an existing symptom, record where the door rubs or misses.
Two / three / four layouts
Count changes the intermediate marks, not the first and last formula.
For two hinges, the marker plots the entered top offset and the last top derived from door height minus bottom offset minus hinge length. For three hinges, one top mark sits halfway between those points. For four, two intermediate top marks divide the same span into thirds. Decimal results remain in the record and are displayed to three decimal places where needed.
Hinge length matters twice: it moves the last top mark upward from the entered bottom offset, and it defines the non-overlap check. If the interval between adjacent top marks is shorter than the hinge length, the outlined recesses would overlap and the plot stops. This is a geometry check, not a judgment about hinge selection or door performance.
Stop conditions
Weight, fire performance and maker instructions outrank the marker.
Stop if the hinge type, quantity, load information or fixing method is unknown; if the leaf cannot be controlled; or if the receiving material is split, loose or unsuitable for the selected fixing system. Do not add a third or fourth hinge merely because the app can plot it. Quantity and distribution must come from the relevant door, doorset and hardware information.
Do not use generic hinge positions to alter a fire door or doorset. Keep the exact documentation, hardware specification and competent inspection route with that assembly. Official England guidance says, within its stated scope, that an inadequate existing fire door requiring replacement must be replaced by a competent person and that fire doors must be kept in good order; see the GOV.UK fire-door source record.
Also pause for damaged glass, an uncertain edge construction, concealed services, a visibly moving frame, unexplained hinge-side crushing or a door that still binds after the hinge leaves have been checked. The worksheet can show where entered rectangles sit; it cannot inspect what lies behind them.
Method / worked example
1,981 mm leaf with three 76 mm hinges
Using the editable example, the first top is 150 mm. The last top is 1,981 − 225 − 76 = 1,680 mm. The span between top marks is 1,530 mm; dividing by two intervals gives 765 mm. The plotted tops are therefore 150, 915 and 1,680 mm. The separate 3 mm thickness entry is echoed for recess setting but does not change those positions.
Blank no-JavaScript/manual worksheet
Hinge positions, recess and transfer record
Job/reference: ____________________ Door/location: ____________________ Printed date: ____________________
| Door height | ______ mm | Hinge length | ______ mm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinge count | 2 / 3 / 4 | Entered thickness | ______ mm |
| Top offset | ______ mm | Bottom offset | ______ mm |
Top marks from top datum
H1 ______ mm
H2 ______ mm
H3 ______ mm
H4 ______ mm
Leaf recess and fix
Outline checked: ____________________
Depth from entered thickness: ______ mm
Pilot/fixing instruction: ______________________________
Transfer and swing
Door support/datum: _________________________________
Mating outlines: _____________________________________
Swing and final observation: __________________________
Canonical record: https://neoporte.com/door-hinge-positions/ · Formula 1.0.0 · Researched 2026-09-04 · Sources: doors2floors-hinge-guide, doorsuperstore-butt-hinge-definition, doorsuperstore-fit-butt-hinge, wickes-hang-internal-door, gov-fire-door