How pivot doors work

The pivot

A hinged door hangs from the side and the hinges carry the whole weight in shear, which limits how big a leaf can be. A pivot door stands on a pivot set into the floor, which carries the weight from below, and is held upright by a second pivot in the head of the frame. The pivot point is set in from the edge of the leaf, typically 100 to 250 mm, so the leaf swings around a line inside its own width. That is what creates the balanced motion and the characteristic gap on both sides when the door is open: the larger part of the leaf swings one way and the smaller part the other.

Why size is possible

Because the floor carries the load, pivot leaves can be built at the scale of the facade: 1.2 to 2 m wide and 2.4 to 3.5 m tall are common on Dubai villas, and larger is possible with the right pivot system. The leaf is built on a stiff engineered core with a thick veneer press or a painted skin, so it stays flat at that size. A leaf this large is heavy, and the pivot system is specified from the leaf weight, with the heaviest leaves on hydraulic floor pivots that also act as closers.

	Hinged door	Pivot door
Weight carried by	Hinges on the frame	Floor pivot
Typical size	Up to about 1.2 m wide, 2.4 m tall	1.2 to 2 m wide, up to 3.5 m tall
Motion	Swings from the edge	Swings around a line inside the leaf, balanced
Floor	No floor work	Pivot box set into the floor before the finish
Sealing	Full perimeter seal, best for sound and weather	Drop seals and brush seals, good in a sheltered porch
Closer	Overhead or concealed	Hydraulic in the floor pivot, or overhead
Suits	Standard openings, renovations	Tall contemporary entrances, new builds, full renovations

What the floor needs

The floor pivot sits in a box that is set into the floor slab or screed, so the floor build up and the finished floor level must be known before it is installed. In a new build or a full renovation the box goes in with the floor; in a finished house it means cutting the floor at the threshold, which is possible in stone and tile but is planned with care. The threshold also has to be wide enough for the leaf to swing without catching, and the porch floor on the outside should be level with the inside so the drop seal works.

Closing, sealing and weather

A pivot door does not sit inside a rebated frame on all four sides the way a hinged door does, so sealing is done with a drop seal at the foot, brush or blade seals at the edges and a stop at the head. In a sheltered porch this seals well against dust and heat. On a fully exposed facade we recommend a deeper porch or a hinged door, and we say so at the site visit. Hydraulic pivots close the leaf gently and hold it open at ninety degrees, which is useful on a heavy leaf.

Locks, pulls and smart locks

A pivot door is locked with a mortice lock and a multipoint strike at the frame edge, with a long pull bar on the outside and a matching pull or a lever inside. Smart locks are fitted to pivot doors in the same way as to hinged doors, and the leaf is prepared in production for the specific model. The pull is often the full height of the leaf and is drawn as part of the design.

Choosing a pivot door

Decide the size from the facade, the face design from the architecture, flush, grooved or panelled, the species and finish from the exposure, and the pull and lock together so the leaf is prepared in production. Main doors start from around AED 13,000 for the door, and a pivot door sits at the upper end of that because of the leaf size and the pivot system. Installation, removal and hardware are itemised separately.

See our pivot doors, the pivot versus hinged comparison, or draw one in the designer.