Special problems in fitting doors and windows may call for special types of hinge. For example, a door or window that has to fold flat against a wall needs a ‘parliament’ hinge. This has an offset pivot that moves the door well away from the face as it opens, allowing it to be opened much further than normal. It makes the door swing very wide in the first few inches of opening, so that the lock side needs a heavily angled bevel cut on it. Casement windows often have a rebated edge and frame to keep the rain out. These must have a special L-shaped hinge called a ‘stormproof’ hinge
Unlike butt hinges, these come in left- and right-handed versions, depending on which way the window opens (though of course, they are generally bought two pairs at a time for paired windows). They are installed in the same way as butt hinges, but the window frame can be a looser fit than usual, since the rebated front seals it.
In houses with irregular floors or thick carpets, there is often a problem with the door catching on the floor as it opens. If enough wood is taken off the door to clear it, the wind whistles through the huge gap underneath. The solution is to use ‘rising butt’ hinges, which raise the door as it opens.
To stop the top of the door from catching on the frame as it rises, a special tapered bevel has to be cut along one-third of the length of the top edge of the door at the hinge end. The only way to get the shape of the bevel right is by trial and error removing a very little wood at a time. The length, angle and depth of the bevel vary with particular installations. The hinge is installed like a normal butt hinge, so if you hang the door temporarily on single screws and keep taking it off, planing a bit more wood off and replacing it, you should soon get the shape of the top edge right. Certain types of hinge are installed in plain view on the front (or back) of the door. These include the long sheet-metal hinges found on cottage and outhouse doors, and special self-closing spring hinges, which have such huge pivots that it would be impossible to hide them. Both types are very easy indeed to install, because the screws are exposed and you don’t have to keep taking the door off to get them positioned correctly.