swing

To swing a door is to install it on hinges and adjust it so the door hangs plumb and operates smoothly through its full arc. The work involves setting hinges into mortises cut into both the door edge and the frame, then hanging the door and shimming it until it clears the frame on all sides, closes with even gaps, and latches without binding.

The quality of the swing depends entirely on hinge placement and frame geometry. Standard interior doors use two hinges spaced with the top hinge 7 inches from the top of the door and the bottom hinge 11 inches from the bottom; exterior and heavy doors require three hinges. If the frame is out of square or the mortises are cut at the wrong depth, the door will bind, gap unevenly, or swing shut or open on its own due to gravity.

Variants and complications

A door can be swung on butt hinges, ball-bearing hinges, or pivot hinges depending on load and traffic. In masonry or metal frames, hinges are often bolted rather than screwed. When a door swings poorly after installation, the problem is usually a twisted frame, a miscut mortise, or hinges that have shifted; shimming the hinges with cardboard or metal shims can correct minor issues, but a severely twisted frame requires structural correction. The term also applies to hanging windows that swing outward on casement hinges, though this is less common in modern work.

Carpenters distinguish between swinging a door (the installation act) and hanging a door (sometimes used interchangeably, but more precisely the act of setting it on hinges without full adjustment). A door that swings well requires dead-level and dead-plumb framing, true hinge installation, and correct mortise depth; any deviation adds friction and wear.