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What distance from the hinge is the best spot to install door stop?

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user443854
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  • I wouldn't install that personally, unless it's commercial and subject to abuse. For residential a "hinge door stop" should meet the need. – Tyson Jan 03 '17 at 03:59
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    Hinge stops aren't great, they should only be used when you have no other choice IMHO -- they warp and break if subjected to force over time, they put strain on hinges and screws and can make them loose. These floor mounted ones leave a hole in the floor which is hard to patch if you ever need to, plus would be harder to clean around. Baseboard mounted ones are a better choice for residential -- and if you ever have to remove/move it a tiny bit of caulk/putty and some paint will completely hide the hole. – gregmac Jan 03 '17 at 04:57
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    You appear to have a laminate floor. Those kinds of floors need to "float" -- they move around a lot. Pinning down a spot with a floor stop may possibly create a depression in the floor and can lead to premature cracking/warping. It also voids some warranties, but the floor will probably be okay for the warranty period irregardless. – Brock Adams Jan 03 '17 at 17:54
  • @BrockAdams: nope, solid oak. – user443854 Jan 03 '17 at 18:12
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    If that's true, and every strip is nailed, then you're good. I'd test it though, unless you installed it yourself or witnessed it going in. – Brock Adams Jan 03 '17 at 18:41

5 Answers5

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Farther from the hinge the better. When possible I use base mount door stops, one would work here as well. But if you prefer to use the floor mount, keep it a few inches from the edge of the door. Do not use hinge type door stops only when absolutely necessary, if the door swings back too hard on it it will either pull the screws out of the hinge or if it is a hollow core door it will put a hole in it. Been there, done that.

Jack
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    +1 for baseboard mounted stops, I find floor mounted stops are a tripping hazard and a nuisance when vacuuming/cleaning/polishing. Even a wall-mounted rubber stop at handle height is preferable to me (YMMV). – RedGrittyBrick Jan 03 '17 at 10:00
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    Base mounted door stops are garbage! They always, always break off from the baseboard. It's a large lever with a tiny screw; one bump sideways by a vacuum cleaner and they tear out. I implore everyone reading this to install floor mounted door stops! They are sooo much easier to clean around. – Zach Mierzejewski Jan 03 '17 at 14:48
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    It depends on the grade of base mount stop. The cheap ones are just that. The height it is mounted makes a difference.. "Spring type" will get past some issues too. – Jack Jan 03 '17 at 15:22
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    Agree with @ZachMierzejewski. I have a pair of toddlers in the house, they will most certainly break anything that is breakable (including baseboard mounted door stops). – user443854 Jan 03 '17 at 16:44
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    @ZachMierzejewski - I've got them on almost every door (and did in my last house, too). I've also got 2 toddlers and a crawler - the baseboard door stops have never broken, regardless of how much abuse my kids (or my vacuum) tries to do to them. – warren Jan 03 '17 at 17:41
  • @ZachMierzejewski so mount the doorstop high enough up the skirting board so there's room underneath for a vaccuum foot to pass underneath. – Criggie Jan 03 '17 at 19:31
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    @ZachMierzejewski I recall springs mounted on baseboards as a kid. Never had one break. Rather, the springs eventually get bent out of shape. I remember the noise it makes when the spring is bend over and released, whether by vacuum cleaner passing or kids playing. They don’t pull out or break off. – JDługosz Jan 03 '17 at 22:06
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The door stop should be about two-thirds of the way from the hinge if you want to minimise the forces on the hinges and flexing of the door.

The distance two-thirds is the centre of percussion for a flat sheet of uniform density hinged at one edge.

You might be able to fine-tune the location by using a bit of 2x1 wood butted up against the baseboard and testing where the least unsatisfactory bang and rattle occurs.

Andrew Morton
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    True, but that's only if your door stop is a vertical bar spanning the height of the door. Here, it probably doesn't matter that much; you're guaranteed to get twisting of the door when your teen throws it open against the stop. – Daniel Griscom Jan 03 '17 at 15:47
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    @DanielGriscom The OP might be able to put the stop half way up the door, which would be a bit better. Although it wouldn't usually look very good inside a house. – Andrew Morton Jan 03 '17 at 15:55
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    @AndrewMorton: I believe this is the right answer. I have experience with floor mounted door stops installed as far from the hinge as possible, and it produced unpleasant "rattle" (solid-core doors) due to reactive forces and the door flexing. The solution, intuitively, is to equalize angular momentum around the point of contact (the door stop). Two-thirds sounds about right. Thanks for the link! – user443854 Jan 03 '17 at 17:09
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    @user443854 I see from the photo that there are mains outlets behind the door - you might want to position the door stop a little further out than where it would prevent the door handle hitting the wall so that the door also does not hit any plugs. – Andrew Morton Jan 03 '17 at 18:38
  • @AndrewMorton: I am also budgeting for a mirror on that wall, so the plugs will be safe. – user443854 Jan 03 '17 at 19:40
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I'm using wall mounted soft stops that match the location of the doorknob (or even cover the hole left by not having a stop).

For what you show, the best place is at the edge of the door. Just like it’s easier to push a door at the farthest point from the hinge (as opposed to in the middle or close to the hinge) it is more effective at stopping the door and less like a lever for ripping the stop out of the ground by placing it as far from the hinge as possible.

JDługosz
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  • +1 for "the hole left by not having a stop" (and for it being a good answer). – SQB Jan 03 '17 at 12:00
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    The problem with wall-mounted stops is that there's rarely structural backing at just the right place. Gypsum wallboard is not a suitable structure for repeated impacts by a door, especially heavy solid-core slabs. – isherwood Jan 03 '17 at 14:05
  • My interior doors are hollow core. I suppose (if it's not already punched from the knob) you can drill a hole where tge bumper will cover, and insert support through the hole. For repeated slamming if a heavy door, the small stop and tiny screw shown in the OP is rather lacking, too. I worry it will rip out of the floor. – JDługosz Jan 03 '17 at 22:03
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The farther from the hinge, the better.

When you screw it in to the floor, leave the screw a bit loose so the stop can pivot. Then gently open the door to the stop, allowing the stop to "square" to the door. Then tighten down the screw.

Also, think about how far the stop should be from the wall. If the door is a typical hollow core internal door, it can flex quite a bit. You want the stop far enough from the wall that if the door is opened forcefully, the handle doesn't touch the wall. Otherwise, you could could end up with a ding or hole in the wall.

longneck
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The correct place to install it is vertically under the position where the door-handle would strike the wall if the stop were not there. Like others have said, install solidly with long screws going down into the substrate.

Peter Flynn
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