Measuring Side Play in a Hinge

Side play in a hinge is measurable in fractions of an inch, and that number predicts the next repair better than anything else on the gate. The wear thresholds recorded at Gate Maintenance Mount Pleasant, SC thetaxpayers are written as measurements for that reason, since two people looking at the same Mount Pleasant leaf will disagree about whether it moves too much.

Taking the Measurement

Close the gate and support the leaf so its weight is off the latch. Push the free edge horizontally toward the post, then away from it, and watch a fixed point near the hinge rather than the far edge. Movement at the pin itself is what matters. Movement at the far edge is that number multiplied by the length of the leaf, which is why a small amount of wear reads as a large sag.

What the Numbers Mean

Anything under a sixteenth of an inch at the pin is normal clearance and nothing to act on. An eighth means the bush or the pin is wearing and the interval on that gate should shorten. A quarter means the alignment is already being carried by the latch and the catch rather than by the hinge, and the gate is dropping.

Where the Wear Actually Is

Three things wear: the pin, the bush or barrel around it, and the fixing into the post. Feel which by holding the strap while somebody moves the leaf. Movement between strap and post is a fixing problem and is often just a loose bolt. Movement inside the barrel is component wear and no amount of tightening addresses it.

Load Is Not Shared Evenly

On a two hinge gate the top one carries tension and the bottom one carries compression, so they fail differently and rarely at the same time. A heavy ornamental leaf usually wants three, and adding a third to an existing gate is a cheaper answer than repeatedly replacing a top hinge that is doing work meant for two.

When to Replace

Replace when the play exceeds an eighth, when the barrel is scored, or when the gate no longer closes onto its catch without being lifted. Doing it at that point is a hinge and an hour. Doing it after the leaf has dropped onto the latch means realigning the whole gate as well.