Motiseless hinges - pro/con?

[Eigenvector]

On the new interior doors that I've replaced I used the motiseless hinges. It covers up my lack of skill making mortises and for hanging hollow core doors its a snap.

What do you all think of them. Personally I wouldn't use them for a heavy door, nor would I use them for a door that I gave a crap about - not enough securing it to the frame in my mind. However on those interior doors where its not under load and a secure connection isn't an issue - I love them. Simple to install, and they look just fine.

[dadiOH]

1. Most hollow interior doors are made with junky wood frames overlaid with thin ply/hardboard.
2. When a hinge is morticed, the door is hanging on the mortice. The screws are just to hold the hinge in the mortice.
3. With no mortice hinges, the hinges are hangin on screws inserted into junky wood frames.
4. Cutting a mortice is easy. Particularly with a router and template (home made or purchased).
5. They are your doors, do what you want.

[scott21230]

If I saw that, I would be thinking that the person who did it was real lazy. Mortises are real easy to make.

[Eigenvector]

And therefore not heavy.

Assuming your mortise is perfect.

Assuming you buy junky hollow core doors. They aren't ALL crap you know.

Yup, I agree. Personally I use a chisel.

I alway do, but it never hurts to try new things does it?

I'll give you an example of why I find them nice.

Suppose you cut the mortise for the door and you happen to be about 1/8" low, and maybe an 1/16" of an inch too high on the frame. So you try to hang the door and discover that it either won't sit in both top and bottom mortises or swings cockeyed and maybe closes badly.

Assuming you didn't care or it didn't affect the door too much no problem. But with the motiseless hinges it doesn't matter, take the hinge off and remount it somewhere else. It you're feeling really anal you can fill in the old screw hole with putty or something. It isn't hard to be 1/16" off on a door that is 80" long and not perfectly dimensional to start with.

But hey I'm not here to change your mind, I just wondered. Sounds like you hate them.