Door handing chart
Door handing chart: LH, RH, LHR and RHR.
A door’s hand tells the frame shop and the hardware supplier which side the hinges go on and which way the door swings. Read it standing on the outside of the door.
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Which hand is my door?
Stand on the outside of the door: the corridor, street or key side. Plans below are drawn from there, with you at the bottom.
Each plan is seen from above, with you standing outside at the bottom. A dot marks the hinges; the arc is the door's swing.
How to read the hand
Stand on the outside: the corridor, street or key side. If the hinges are on your left and the door swings away from you, it is left hand (LH); hinges on the right and swinging away, right hand (RH). If the door swings toward you, add reverse: LHR or RHR.
Which side is the outside?
For an exterior door, the street side. For a room off a corridor, the corridor. Between two rooms, the side from which the door is locked with a key.
Why the hand matters
Frames are prepared for hinges and strikes on one side, and locks, closers and exit devices are made or set for one hand. A wrong hand on the schedule means a frame reworked on site or hardware sent back, so check it before ordering.
Pairs of doors
A pair is usually handed by its active leaf, the one with the lock or exit device. Follow the hand given in the hardware schedule for each leaf.
Common questions
What is a left hand door?
Standing on the outside, the hinges are on the left and the door swings away from you.
What does RHR mean?
Right hand reverse: standing on the outside, the hinges are on the right and the door swings toward you.
Does the hand change if I stand inside?
No: the hand is always read from the outside. Seen from inside, an LH door looks like an RHR door, which is why the side matters.
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