Hinges for a Heavy Leaf

Three hundred pounds of ornamental leaf hangs on two small components, and they are the parts owners are least likely to grease. The hinge specifications recorded at Pearland Iron Gates, TX Elizabethbaron separate the top and bottom duties, because on iron gates in Pearland the two positions fail in completely different ways.

Different Loads at Each End

The bottom hinge carries almost all the vertical weight and turns under compression. The top hinge is being pulled away from the post as the leaf tries to rotate outward, so it works mostly in tension. A pair of identical hinges will therefore wear at different rates, and the top one usually loosens its fixing first.

Bearing Against Plain Pin

A plain pin in a barrel is simple and wears into an oval, at which point the leaf drops and starts to catch on the latch. A ball or roller bearing hinge keeps the pin loaded on a rolling surface and stays tight for years. On any leaf over about six feet the bearing type earns its cost in one season of use.

Adjustable Hinges

An adjustable barrel lets the leaf be moved in and out or up and down after the post has settled, which on clay ground is not optional. Adjustment range is small, so it corrects seasonal movement rather than a badly set post. A gate hung on fixed hinges into moving ground has to be cut and re welded instead.

Grease and Salt Air

A sealed bearing hinge still has an exposed pin collar that collects grit. A greasable barrel with a fitting on it takes ten seconds twice a year and is the single cheapest maintenance on the gate. Where a hinge has already started to squeal, the wear has begun, and grease slows it rather than reversing it.

Fixing to the Post

Welded straight to a steel post is strongest. Bolted through with a backing plate is next, and lag screws into anything are last. On a masonry pillar the hinge is fixed to a plate cast or resin anchored into the structure, since brick alone will not hold the reversing load of a gate in wind.