What's the difference between a pivot hinge and a side-mount hinge?

A pivot hinge is secured top-to-bottom. It's this hinge type that allows a door revolving door to spin, while staying in place. Only most pivot-hinged shower doors mount top-to-bottom at the corners of the door, allowing the door to swing 180 degrees in each direction. (Pivot hinges that are center-mounted create a true revolving door.)

Pivot Hinge Pros	Pivot Hinge Cons
Pivot hinges are mostly attached at the far corners of the door, creating an uninterrupted frameless view.	Pivot hinges can't be sealed for extra water protection.
Pivot hinges that mount floor-to-ceiling can reduce the cost of glass fabrication.	If your pivot shower will not run floor-to-ceiling, then a metal header is required for the pivot to attach to a top structure. ** Ask your Dulles Glass and Mirror project manager for alternative options.
Pivot hinge doors carry the weight at the bottom of the door, and are thus very stabilized by a structurally sound floor.

A side-mount hinge is similar to the door hinges in your home. One side of the hinge is anchored on the side of a frameless glass door. The other side of the hinge is mounted to a wall or another glass panel.

Side-Mount Pros	Side-Mount Cons
Side-mount wall hinges avoid the need for a header or top support bar, which detracts from a frameless look.	Using side-mount hinges to mount a glass door to another glass panel (b/c no wall is available), may require a top header.
Side-mount hinges can be sealed to improve water tightness.	Using glass-to-glass side-mount hinges means a second glass panel gets precision cuts to hold its end of the hinge. This adds to the total project cost.

Keywords: pivot hinge, side mount hinge, side-mount hinge, frameless shower pivot hinge, frameless shower side mount hinge

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