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Pivot doors

Urban Front are a leading manufacturer of pivot hinged doors in the UK with over 17 years of design & development experience. 

We handcraft one of the most well-designed & airtight pivot front doors available on the market. And we sell them not just in the UK, but to many countries across the world - with a lot of those locations experiencing wildly varying weather types!

If you’re looking for a statement entrance, this type of door might well be the one for you.

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Watch our pivot doors in action

Straight from our showroom. Watch a few of our doors with pivot hinges opening and closing and learn about some additional options below.

All of our doors are made bespoke, so the doors shown here are just a couple of examples of what we can create for you.

Sprung pivot

The "Barn" in our showroom has a sprung pivot opening. A "sprung" pivot, is an additional mechanism that allows the door to hold open in various positions and self-close gently when pushed. Perfect for doors going into architectural glazing. We also have a similar soft self-close option for our hinged doors.

Flush pivot

The "Quattro" in our showroom is a flush pivot door. "Flush" refers to the look of the door, not the opening itself. "Flush" just means that the face of the door sits directly in-line with the frame rather than being slightly set back in the frame. This gives a seamless, smooth finish and is ideal when you have a very modern or minimalist style you're looking to achieve.

Standard pivot

The last video shows an animation of our standard pivot in our Milano design. Visually, you can see how the door sits back slightly in the frame, this is the "non-flush" style. 

We do recommend that pivot doors are installed with protection in the form of a canopy or porch. Keep reading below to find out why. 

What you need to know about pivot front doors

Before purchasing a pivot door, it’s important to make sure you understand as much as possible about the suitability of this door type for your property.

Learn more in the dropdowns below.

1. What are the benefits of a pivot door v.s a hinged door?

The main benefit of a pivot door is the stylish design element of how they open. 

Pivot doors literally hinge from the bottom and top of a door instead of on the side and offer a very contemporary look.

In the past, pivot hinges were used for bigger doors. However, Urban Front can make doors up to 1500mm wide on specially designed 3D heavy duty hinges too.

So your choice of a pivot or hinged door will be partly determined by the desired aesthetic for your entrance way. However, a pivot opening comes with a few more considerations than a hinged door might - keep reading below!

2. Is a pivot door fully weather sealed?

No, there is an area of 2mm around the top and bottom hinge of the door that the drop down seals don’t cover.  This means that the door could have some water ingression in driving rain or a little draft in very windy weather. 

We always recommend pivot doors to be installed in a semi or fully protected location.

3. Is a pivot door suitable for an exposed area?

No, it wouldn’t be due to the points raised in Question number 2.

However, if the door has a porch, is set back or has an overhang of a minimum of half the door size then the door would be fine. The examples in our picture gallery show a selection of pivot doors with different types of covering. Click or swipe across to view more examples.

4. Can I use a pivot door if I am air testing my new build?

You can still use a pivot door, but you will get air leakage in the door area.

This is usually not taken into consideration because of the relatively small area in comparison to the size of the house. Our doors are regularly air tested by our clients on their new build projects with good results reported. But for best air test results consider our e80 Hinged or e98 Passiv Range.

Our hinged doorsets can still be made up to 1500mm wide. 

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5. Will I lose space in the walkthrough area?

Yes, the pivot hinge needs to be placed at least 200mm – 350mm from the edge of the door (depending on the width of the door).  

This means that on a standard doorset of 1200mm wide, you would actually have an opening of 930mm. On a hinged doorset of 1200mm wide your walkthrough would be 1113mm.

6. Does a pivot door cost more?

All of our doors over 1200mm wide are the same price for pivot or hinged options. A pivot door does need a minimum width of this size.

This is why they are more expensive than other doorsets that are at a narrower width. Doorsets narrower than 1200mm are only available with a hinged opening.

7. How do I know that a pivot door is right for my project?

We’re here to help! If you have any questions or want to discuss your property and location in more detail, simply contact us via our our general enquiry form here or give our office a call on +44 (0)1494 778 787.

Our door experts are on hand to give you personalised advice and help you find your perfect door.

Enhance your pivot door with a protective canopy feature

Think of pivot door protection as an additional chance to create a standout entrance way. Our article discusses all the benefits of canopies & porches and gives lots of stunning examples to help you in your planning. 

Ready to choose a modern pivot door design?

All of our front door & internal door designs can be made with a pivot system.

However pivot doors look exceptional on some of our ultra-contemporary door designs. In particular, the Manhattan, the Sorrento and the Parma tend to really suit a pivot door style.

Urban Front pivot doors start from a minimum width of 1200mm up to a maximum width of 1500mm and up to 3000mm in height (including the frame).

Keep this in mind if you are planning to include one or more side wood or glass panels as you will need to ensure your structural opening has enough space.

Browse all of our front door designs by following the link below. 

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