Openchannelflow offers to different methods of mounting doors on our Fiberglass Equipment Shelters:  strap hinges and piano hinges. 

Strap Hinges

Strap hinges secure the door at two (or more for taller / wider doors) points on the doorframe.  The hinges are surface mounted to the doorframe of the shelter through the use of stainless steel cap head bolts.  Should the door be damaged, the strap hinges allow the door to be dismounted, repaired (or replaced), and then remounted. 

For some customers, this ability to dismount door from the shelter is a security concern.  For those applications tamper-resistant socket bolts (think Torx) can be used either by themselves or in conjunction with a thread lock compound.

Carrying the weigh of the door under load at only two points requires that reinforcement be molded into the shelter’s doorframe.  This reinforcement is typically wood (2x4s) or a dimensional wood replacement (high density structural fiberglass foam).  It is through this encapsulated doorframe reinforcement that the strap hinge bolts are secured.

Piano Hinges

A piano hinge (aka continuous hinge) is made up of a long, narrow hinge that runs the full length of two metal leaves to which it is joined.  The piano hinges used to mount the doors to fiberglass shelters have a series of equally spaced holes down each leaf through which pop rivets are installed to mate the door to the shelter.

Piano hinges spread the load experienced by the hinge down its full length – lessening the load on the doorframe.  As a result, the wood / structural fiberglass foam reinforcement required when using strap hinges is not necessary – making fabrication of the door frame in the shelter wall easier.

A typical piano hinge on a 3068 single door will require between 30-36 pop rivets per leaf (for factory punched piano hinges).  Plain (no hole) piano hinges can also be used, but there the holes have to be drilled in the leaves prior to installation.  The ability to self-drill the leaf holes means that fewer rivets can be used but at the sacrifice of interchangeability should the door / hinge ever need to be replaced.

Riveting of the hinge leaves to the shelter doorframe / door provides more security than carriage bolting strap hinges.  However, if the door ever becomes damaged and needs to be repaired, it will take considerably longer to dismount / remount the door than with a strap hinge arrangement, as each rivet has to be drilled out.

Openchannelflow offers both strap (standard) and piano (optional) hinges when mounting doors on our fiberglass equipment shelters.  Just let us know which you prefer and that’s the way it will be made!