Pivot Door Prototype

[Pivotal Howard]

This small pivot door was for demonstration purposes for typical pantry flush doors. The door material was 2x layers of gloss PVC wrapped 18mm thick MDF (36mm O/A). The panels were bonded together. The magnetic catch is a pair of 22mm dia. 8mm thick rare earth donuts. The flat-strap pivots are made in Canberra and are made of a Moly-Poly blend of polyamide (Nylon) with Molybdenum to enhance lubrication and increased UV resistance.

 

[robgul]

I've always liked the look of pivot doors (although pivoting one way only makes more sense for a house) - the classic pivot door I remember from years ago was the massive red door at the Habitat shop in London's Tottenham Court Road - the height of cool in the 1960s/70s

 

[Yojevol]

I can't quite see the point of this. I would like to see the pivot point as near the edge as possible. This design just creates a dead area inside the cupboard.
Just saying
Brian

 

[Dee J]

Maybe I'm missing the cultural context of 'typical pantry flush door'. To me (UK, older) a pantry is a small room accessed via a normal internal door, with normal room-door hardware. Perhaps photos in situ would help clarify?

 

[Pivotal Howard]

Maybe I'm missing the cultural context of 'typical pantry flush door'. To me (UK, older) a pantry is a small room accessed via a normal internal door, with normal room-door hardware. Perhaps photos in situ would help clarify?

Dee J, Thanks for the comment. Part of my work involves advising designers how to achieve their goals. This tiny kitchenette has an integral tiny pantry. The door exceeds the recommended width for concealed modern kitchen cupboard hinges. This pivot door solved the kitchen contractors problems. A handle will make access easier.

 

[Pivotal Howard]

I've always liked the look of pivot doors (although pivoting one way only makes more sense for a house) - the classic pivot door I remember from years ago was the massive red door at the Habitat shop in London's Tottenham Court Road - the height of cool in the 1960s/70s

Thanks for the comment. My pivot customers tell me what works for them. A large block of home units was built in Toronto NSW. The builder had installed double acting pivot doors (in & out) to all the bedrooms and bathrooms. He reported that residents had noticed the difference but it wasn't a problem.

 

[Pivotal Howard]

I can't quite see the point of this. I would like to see the pivot point as near the edge as possible. This design just creates a dead area inside the cupboard.
Just saying
Brian

Brian - Thanks for the comment. I have detailed the pivot point at 70mm from the pivot edge of the door. The closer the pivot point moves towards to the edge of the door the more the builder needs to radius the door. At 70mm to the pivot point a 35mm thick door can have a square edge door and a 3mm gap. The dead area you refer to is there with hinged doors too. If I can post an image you will see how the pivots work compared with hinges. The door is almost in the same location. The more interesting point with pivot doors, the builder can save between 20% & 30% of the total cost of door, hardware, fitting and finishing costs. It's hard to imagine that things CAN be better than the traditions we all grew up with. Howard

 

[Agent_zed]

How do you control sound travel around the door? With a trad door it butts up against the door stripping, this looks to have a clear path of travel through the gap? can you put a brush seal around?

 

[Pivotal Howard]

Zed, You have given this some thought. Thank you. Many domestic interior secret doors need no acoustic isolation. Doors to pantries, robes, closets, and access to pipes, tube and wires don't need stops. For bedroom 1 acoustic isolation can be provided with 'wiper' seals added to the door edge (Raven RP56 Google images). If traditional stops are required for other doors they can be used if the door is installed to align with the centre-line of the wall. The lock side stop goes outside, the pivot side stop goes inside. In many multi-storey apartments the bathrooms, en-suites and WC compartments require doors to be undercut up to 30mm to keep ventilation complying with building code requirement. The gap under the door makes seals and other stops redundant. Double acting doors, opening both in and out provide an affordable rescue function for old folk, like me, who occasionally falls off the throne.

 

[Sachakins]

How do you control sound travel around the door? With a trad door it butts up against the door stripping, this looks to have a clear path of travel through the gap? can you put a brush seal around?

If it swings in one direction only, its easy to fit normal tube style ru ber seals against the face of frame door closing against, on the pivot side it fits on the reverse side to the jamb.

 

[Pivotal Howard]

BLUE PIVOT HARDWARE
I suspect in the wild west when you rode into town to shoot up the sheriff you would burst into to saloon through a pair of batwing doors. This pivot was found in a junk yard shop and is best described as a double acting rising and falling butt pivot hinge for batwing doors. I painted it blue to enhance the form for the photograph. What was the designer thinking.

 

[Pivotal Howard]

THE PIVOT OBSESSION - I have done a lot of door detailing for architects. Often the ideas are mad but sometimes really interesting. The attached images are from a passive solar house where ceiling hatches were used to get rid of heat overnight. The doors, to make it work, needed to be full height 2.4M, 2400mm or 8'0".
The project was a low cost bungalow. To reduce costs the floor was insulated sealed concrete, the walls were bagged blockwork, there were no skirtings or cornices and they had no door frames or architraves. At all door openings the flush jointed block work was set-out using a laser level to make them plumb square and straight. I made aluminium pivots for this type of application in my domestic garage between 2002 and 2015 when the design was copied in China. Howard - Door & Hardware Specialist Architect - Canberra