Brett Field
A pivot door turns on a pin at the top and bottom of the door, not on hinges down one side. That lets it carry a wider, heavier door than hinges can. Door makers sell pivots for big front entry doors: Hume's pivot frame is made for oversized doors.
Below is how a pivot door works, how it differs from a hinged door, the sizes door makers sell, what sets the cost, how to keep one sound on the coast and what changes when it goes into an existing doorway. Figures come from door and hardware makers and the QBCC, checked on 10 November 2026. They are a guide, not a quote from us.
How does a pivot door work?
The door sits on a pivot in the floor and is held by a second pivot at the top. Pivot hinge maker FritsJurgens says its systems use a pivot hinge in the bottom of the door and a top pivot in the top of the door or in the ceiling, with a plate set into the floor. The hinge is hidden inside the door, so nothing shows on the edge.
The bottom pivot carries the door's weight, so a pivot can take a heavy door. FritsJurgens' pivot hinge range is rated for doors up to 500 kg, and its slim models up to 209 kg.
Some pivots close the door by themselves and some do not. FritsJurgens says only its System M+ is self-closing. Hume's pivot entry frame has a hidden hydraulic closer with adjustable closing speed, a soft close and a hold-open point at 90 degrees.
Pivot doors also work inside the house. FritsJurgens says an internal pivot door can act as a movable wall between two rooms.
What is the difference between a pivot door and a hinged door?
A hinged door hangs from hinges screwed into one side of the frame, so that side carries all the weight. A pivot door stands on a pivot in the floor, so it can be wider and heavier.
| Hinged entry door | Pivot entry door | |
|---|---|---|
| What holds it | Hinges on one side of the frame | A pivot at the bottom and the top |
| Hardware | Hume: three hinges for doors up to 2040 x 820 mm, at least four for larger doors | A pivot set or a pivot frame |
| Typical width | 820 mm is the most common door width | Hume's pivot frame takes doors up to 1,200 mm wide |
| Weight it can take | Set by the hinges and the frame | FritsJurgens: up to 500 kg |
| Closing | A separate door closer if you want one | Some pivots have a closer built in |
Hume says doors larger than 2040 x 820 mm need at least four hinges or a pivot system. So once a front door gets wide and heavy, a pivot is the usual answer. Our guide to door jambs and door frames explains the frame parts a hinged door hangs on.
What sizes do pivot doors come in?
Most off-the-shelf pivot entry doors are 1,200 mm wide and 2,040 or 2,340 mm high, 40 mm thick. Hume's 2026 catalogue lists these sizes for its wide entrance doors:
| Size (height x width x thickness) | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2040 x 1200 x 40 mm | Standard size | Hume Doors catalogue, 2026 |
| 2340 x 1200 x 40 mm | Standard size | Hume Doors catalogue, 2026 |
| Up to 2400 x 1200 x 40 mm | Made to order | Hume Doors catalogue, 2026 |
| Up to 1,200 mm wide | Door width Hume's pivot frame allows for | Hume Doors catalogue, 2026 |
The most common hinged door is 2040 x 820 mm, so a pivot door is usually much wider than the opening you have now. Our guide to standard door sizes in Australia lists the common hinged sizes.
Weight matters as much as size. A wide solid door can be heavy, and the pivot has to be rated for it. Our guide to hollow core vs solid core doors explains why solid doors weigh so much more.
How much does a pivot door cost to buy and fit?
We could not find a published, dated Australian price for a pivot door when we checked on 10 November 2026, so we have not put a number here. A written quote that lists each part is the way to compare.
The price is made up of these parts, and each one can swing it:
- The door. Size, timber and any glass set most of the cost. Hume sells its pivot frame without the door and says the door costs extra.
- The pivot frame or hinge set. A factory pivot frame, or a hidden pivot hinge with its top pivot and floor plate.
- Making the opening fit. Going from an 820 mm door to a 1,200 mm one means widening the wall, which is the biggest extra (see below).
- The floor. Some pivots need a plate set into the floor.
- Painting and sealing. Hume says the whole door, top and bottom edges included, must be painted straight after fitting.
For hinged entry doors, which do have published prices, see our door installation cost guide.
Do pivot doors handle Gold Coast wind, rain and salt air?
They can, but only with cover over the door, the right paint and rust-proof hardware. Both door makers we checked say an entry door must not be fully exposed to the weather.
- Cover. Corinthian says entrance doors must be installed in weather-protected openings, and its warranty does not cover doors fully exposed to the weather. Hume says pivot systems installed fully exposed, or opening outwards, are not warranted. Corinthian's 2026 guide sets the cover by climate. For a coastal home, it says the awning or roof over the door should be as deep as the height from the door's base to the underside of the awning, or half that for an east-facing door. It should be at least as wide as the door frame.
- Colour. Corinthian says dark colours absorb more heat, which can cause warping and fading. Hume's warp guarantee excludes entry doors painted a dark colour (a light reflectance value under 50) or stained dark.
- Glass and wind. The QBCC's guide to windows and glazed external doors says they must comply with AS 2047, with ratings set from a wind speed assessment for the site. If your pivot door has glass, ask for its rating label.
- Salt air. The QBCC calls anywhere within 1 km of a surf coast, or 100 m of a bay, the sea spray zone. It says the basic galvanised coating on steel fittings suits dry, indoor spots only, and harsher spots need more, such as stainless steel. FritsJurgens sells stainless steel floor plates.
Hume's frame has a full perimeter seal and an aluminium bottom seal. Even so, Corinthian says to keep doors from getting wet, even once finished, and never to hose one down.
Can a pivot door go into an existing doorway?
Yes, if the opening is wide enough or can be made wider. A 1,200 mm pivot door will not fit an 820 mm doorway, so most swaps mean cutting the wall back and fitting a new frame.
- The lintel. A wider opening needs a longer lintel, the beam over the top that carries the wall and roof above. Sparky's cost guide says that if the wall is load bearing, an engineer designs it and the work needs a building permit.
- The floor. The bottom pivot has to sit on a solid, level base. Ask the maker how it fixes: FritsJurgens uses a plate set into the floor, while Hume builds the fittings into a factory frame. Plan this before new tiles or boards go down.
- The top pivot. FritsJurgens says the top pivot anchors the door in the ceiling, so there has to be something solid above the door to hold it.
- Order the door and frame together. Hume says to order them together so they fit.
In Queensland, door and frame work valued over $3,300 must be done by a QBCC licensed contractor. The QBCC's carpentry licence covers installing windows and doors, including the framing. We fit new doors, frames and windows across the Gold Coast. If a door has glass, it comes glazed from the maker. Brett holds QBCC licence 15316127. See our carpentry page for the door work we do.
Where do these prices come from?
Checked on 10 November 2026: FritsJurgens, Pivot hinge and Pivot doors pages (undated); Hume Doors, 2026 catalogue (version 1.0), including its pivot frame page and door warranty; Corinthian Doors, Care and maintenance page (undated) and Overhead protection guide (February 2026); the QBCC's guide to selection criteria for windows and glazed external doors (October 2022), its article on corrosion protection for connectors (20 July 2020) and its pages on who must hold a licence (16 April 2026) and the carpentry licence class (30 August 2021); and Sparky, Door and window costs (published 1 March 2026). We found no dated Australian pivot door price to publish. We will check these sources again every three months.
See our carpentry work, or check what your job will cost.
