Pivot or hinged glass door: a breakdown
The two main glass-door configs. When each works better, hardware, real use scenarios.
A glass door is either hinged (side hinges) or pivot (top-bottom pivot). They look similar, engineer differently. Each has its scenario.
01Hinged: classic
Hinges along one side (3 hinges over 2 m). Opens one way. Standard for bedroom, bath, office doors. From 28 000 ₽ for 80×210 cm, 10 mm tempered, Pinet hinges.
02Pivot: both directions
Pivot hardware in floor and ceiling. Rotates around centre axis. Opens both ways. From 48 000 ₽ for the same size.
03Side-by-side
| Param | Hinged | Pivot |
|---|---|---|
| Base price | from 28 000 ₽ | from 48 000 ₽ |
| Acoustic | 32–38 dB | 26–32 dB |
| Lock | yes | magnetic latch |
| Both directions | no | yes |
| Max height | 2.4 m | 3.0 m (floor-to-ceiling) |
| Visible hardware | 3 side hinges | hidden in floor/ceiling |
| Cycle life | 250 000 | 200 000 |
04Use cases
- Bath, bedroom, office: hinged (acoustic + lock)
- Open-space entry, kitchen-living: pivot (throughput, aesthetics)
- Shop/restaurant entry: pivot with floor closer
- Floor-to-ceiling premium: pivot only
- Child's room: hinged (control)
Common mistake — pivot in a bathroom. Looks great, but 6 months in: condensation on floor because pivot doesn't seat tight against the jamb. Pivot belongs in dry zones.
05This service at REAL GLASS
If you've read this far, the topic is probably relevant to a real project. We make glass doors in-house in St. Petersburg, with a measure within 1–3 days, 1-year warranty and a fixed contract price. All numbers in this article come from our actual 2026 quotes.
For a project-specific estimate — see the service page or request a free on-site measure.
