Inch Cupboard Door Swing Chart

A swing chart is a visual aid used to guide the opening/closing angle of a door and to illustrate where gravity will inevitably pull the door. There are two factors that affect a door's swinging angle, hinge force and gravity. To solve this problem we can use two pieces of information, the hinge force and the desired opening angle when the door is closed, to create a simple but effective double door swing chart

The force required to open or close a door is determined by its weight (pounds) divided by the distance it needs to travel (inches). In our example, if we wanted to open a 100-inch wide closet door at an angle of 45 degrees we would have to exert an upward force of 5 pounds on each side of the door. If we wanted to do this with only one hand then we would need a minimum of 60 pounds per side! Obviously this is not possible without some assistance from gravity

So how does this help us? By calculating how much force you need for your specific situation using some simple math you can determine what size hinge you should use for your application. The chart below shows an example for a closet with two doors: one opening 90 degrees and one opening 45 degrees angled down towards each other