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Shop 4 Classics Old House Blog
The Shop 4 Classics Old House Blog is a forum for homeowners of old homes or new homes with vintage appeal. The Shop 4 Classics Old House Blog features tips and tidbits on clawfoot tubs, clawfoot tub faucets and showers, heat registers and cold air returns, antique reproduction door hardware, and many more products for classic homes. For more tips and anecdotes about the old home experience, take a break and visit the Shop 4 Classics Old House Blog or peruse the complete list of topics discussed on the blog at the Shop 4 Classics Old House Blog Archive.
Fri, 17 May 2013 18:17:00 +0000 Loose Pin Door Hinges: Butt Hinges with Removable Pins
A loose pin butt hinge is a door hinge that has a center pin that can be easily removed from the barrel to separate the hinge. Naturally, they are also sometimes called removable pin door hinges. Opposed to loose pin door hinges, butt hinges are also available with a fixed pin. Fixed pin door hinges are sometimes also called tight pin door hinges or rigid pin door hinges. Fixed pin butt door hinges have a permanent pin that cannot be removed from the hinge.
 | IDH Loose Pin Butt Door Hinge |
The advantage of having a loose pin door hinge is that the door can be uninstalled without having to uninstall the hinge from either the door or the door jamb. The hinge pin can be tapped out of the loose pin door hinge to allow the door to be lifted away with little effort. Removing a door isn't an everyday event but it can be helpful to remove a door to refinish it or to paint the door frame. Removing doors can also be beneficial when moving furniture or appliances through doorways. Anyone that has done much of this is sure to have encountered a situation where one extra inch is needed to fit through a doorway. Tapping out two or three hinge pins and lifting the door out of the way can be the difference between a clawfoot tub installed in the bathroom and one resting in the hallway.
Removable pin door hinges are commonly used on interior residential doors. They can be used on exterior doors as well but should not be used on outward swinging exterior doors. If the pin is exposed, as it would be for an outward swinging exterior door, the pin can be removed by a burglar to easily gain entry to your home. Choose a fixed pin door hinge for outward swinging exterior doors.
Shop 4 Classics offers loose pin butt door hinges from IDH by St. Simons (IDH). The IDH loose pin door hinges are available in the most typical sizes and most popular finishes. They feature classic ball-tipped finials. Ball tipped door hinges are common in old homes of most any architectural era but are especially ubiquitous in Arts & Crafts period homes. IDH loose pin door hinges are beveled at the barrel to provide a tight fit in both the open and closed position. The knuckles are precision aligned to ensure smooth operation.
We have one final caution about choosing loose pin door hinges. In some cases, it can be important to know whether a door is a right hand door or a left hand door before choosing removable pin door hinges. Choosing the wrong handing could result in a hinge that is upside down. While it may not look any different, the pin will eventually work its way loose if it is inserted from the bottom of the barrel rather than the top. This is not an issue with IDH loose pin butt door hinges. The knuckles on IDH loose pin butt door hinges are threaded at both ends. This allows the ball-tipped finial to be threaded into either end of the hinge so the pin can always be installed through the top of the barrel. Handing is unimportant for IDH loose pin door hinges because there is no strict top or bottom.
Shop 4 Classics offers loose pin butt door hinges, fixed pin butt door hinges, and door hinges of all types, sizes, and finishes from IDH by St. Simons, Nostalgic Warehouse, and others. Visit Shop 4 Classics for tremendous selection and great prices on door hinges.
| Fri, 10 May 2013 19:32:00 +0000 Resin Grille Air Return and Heat Register Vent Covers: Decorative Options for Wall and Ceiling Vents
 | Distinguished Design Retro Resin Air Return Grille |
Decorative vent covers featuring resin grilles are fast becoming a popular option for wall and ceiling air return as well as heating vent applications. There are many advantages to resin vent covers over traditional iron, aluminum, brass and even wood vent cover grilles that have led to their popularity. One of their greatest advantages is that resin grille vent covers are very light in weight making them easier to install on ceilings and walls. Resin grille vent covers are also generally less expensive and typically available in a wide range of sizes. Although resin grilles are not designed to support weight and therefore are not to be used on floors, quality resin grilles also have durability advantages as they will not rust and are resistant to warping, insect damage, corrosion, and moisture. Shop 4 Classics has just added high quality resin grille heat registers and resin air return grilles from Distinguished Design. Distinguish Design’s collection of resin vent covers are currently available in twelve designs with grille patterns that range from classic to contemporary. Each Distinguish Design pattern is available as a heat register with pre-attached dampers for air control and as a simple air return vent cover. Their resin grilles are available in a paintable option as well as black, brown, and  | Distinguished Design Caspian Cross Resin Air Return Grille |
white.
| Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:33:00 +0000 Clawfoot Tub End Game: Dual Clawfoot Tubs vs.End Mount Clawfoot Tub Faucets
A dual clawfoot tub is a tub that is rounded at both ends of the tub. It is also sometimes called a double-ended clawfoot bathtub. The clawfoot tub faucet is usually installed in the center on the side of the tub.
Frequently, customers ask, "can I get a dual clawfoot tub with the faucet mounted on the end of the tub?" While they prefer the symmetry of a dual clawfoot tub, they are bound by plumbing that is configured near the corner of a room rather than the middle. If the faucet were mounted on the end of a dual tub, the customer could have their symmetric tub without changing the plumbing. Unfortunately, this bit of nirvana is not easily obtained.
There are two important reasons clawfoot tub faucets are not normally mounted on the end of a dual tub:
- Installing a faucet at the end of a dual tub defeats one of the double-ended tub's important advantages. Because both ends of a dual tub are rounded, a person can comfortably sit at either end of a dual tub or two people can simultaneously share a double-ended tub. This would not be the case if a faucet was installed at one end of a dual tub rather than centered along one side. If the faucet was mounted at one end of a double-ended clawfoot tub, a person could not recline comfortably with their back to the faucet end of the tub.
- The waste and overflow holes for the clawfoot tub drain will always be in the center of a double-ended tub. The overflow on a clawfoot tub drain requires a relatively plumb vertical surface. The only relatively plumb vertical surface on a double ended bathtub is the side walls. The ends of dual tubs are sloped at an angle that would make it difficult to accept the overflow. Also, if the drain plug were at one end of the tub, the faucet would be the least of the discomforts for the person seated at that end of the tub.
For these two reasons, double-ended clawfoot tubs are not offered with faucet holes drilled through the rim at one of the ends. However, you can choose a double-ended clawfoot tub without faucet holes and install a wall mounted clawfoot tub faucet or a freestanding clawfoot tub faucet wherever you like around the perimeter of the tub. Wall mounted faucets and freestanding faucets are independent of the tub. Installing a freestanding faucet or wall mounted faucet at the end of a dual tub would make it awkward to sit at that end of the tub (see reason number 1) and the drain will always be centered on the side of the tub (see reason number 2) but this would be the one way that you can end mount a faucet for a double-ended clawfoot tub.
 | Arcadia Dual Clawfoot Tub from Sign of the Crab |
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