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Bought our apartment in the Netherlands recently, and we're trying to replace the beat up, landlord grade, hollow core doors, with something a bit nicer. The issue I'm having is that I've no idea what is likely to be going on inside the doorframe to attach the hinges. They have these little metal washers that are working as a frame attachment, but would like to know if anyone knows what these fittings for a metal frame are called, or how they work?

I assume they're similar to a drywall anchor on the inside, but I don't want to break one if it turns out they're welded on. A link to what the hinges look like off the door enter image description here

door hinge

lupe
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    Is there a set screw on the left side, in the first pic? Do the hinges perhaps have a pin arrangement where you lift it out of the socket on the frame? – Huesmann Feb 13 '23 at 13:27
  • yeah, sorry, I can get a better picture -the hinge has two arms- one of which is undone by an allen key headed screw. The bit that goes into the door just screws in. – lupe Feb 13 '23 at 13:31
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    and, yes, if you lift the door, you can just take it off the hinge, so they're split – lupe Feb 13 '23 at 13:33
  • Based on what I can see on the website and Google's effort at translation, it looks to me like the top part screws into the door, just by turning the body, which is hollow and slides down onto the pin in the bottom part. The bottom part—with the pin—looks to have a dowel and a screw. It looks to me like the dowel goes into a hole in the frame, and the screw gets screwed into another hole, using the hole in the body on the opposite side (where I thought it might be a set screw). – Huesmann Feb 13 '23 at 13:35
  • Yeah, that sounds right - what I'm less sure about is what it screws into on a metal doorframe - the white washer bits on the left I assume are some sort of anchor, but my best efforts (and a dutch friend) couldn't identify them – lupe Feb 13 '23 at 13:47
  • Without taking the hinge off, hard to say. Are you unable to remove the door and the hinge? They look like they might be some kind of threaded insert. – Huesmann Feb 13 '23 at 14:05
  • First thing to do is try to raise the door enough so it slides off the hinge pins. You'll have more room to explore then. Open the door fully first, though. – Tim Feb 13 '23 at 15:11
  • Thanks, I'll try that on a door I care less about, in case I screw them up :P – lupe Feb 13 '23 at 18:55
  • A search for threaded inserts turned up this, which looks pretty plausible as the right thing https://nl.rs-online.com/web/p/threaded-inserts/4257553 - they expand like drywall anchors as you screw into them – lupe Feb 13 '23 at 18:59
  • Any luck lifting a door to explore hinge details? – Huesmann Feb 15 '23 at 11:57
  • Got a chance this weekend, will report back! I've found a small bag of threaded inserts as well, got them on order, because I think based on a heavier door I want to fit, I need to add an extra hinge, and they're a thing that would work – lupe Feb 15 '23 at 18:52
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    @Huesmann found the answer - they're a https://berkvens.nl/model/berdo door - little white washers are built in mounts, welded in place. However, removing the entire doorframe, and turning it round turns out to be very simple. They're like if Ikea made doorframes, and the quality feels similar :P – lupe Feb 28 '23 at 11:44

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After a whole bunch of research, and some removal of doors I have an answer to my question

The doorframes are a Berkvens Berdo door mounting system. The white washers are integral to the doorframe, welded in place as part of the system. Apparently super common in the netherlands.

The particular type of doorframe basically has an internal clamp system, which it turns out made my next project much easier - in order to reverse the opening direction of one of the doors, you undo all the bolts in the doorframe, trim off any silicon or other sealant, and the doorframe comes off in pieces, like a kind of heavyweight ikea structure.

You then turn the pieces round, check they're level, and rescrew and reattach the doorframe. It was about an afternoons work for my slow, not exceptionally handy self, and just needed something to unscrew the door with, and a little resealing and repainting where I scuffed the wall a bit. All in all, pretty painless

Link to their instructions if anyone else ends up struggling https://berkvens.nl/model/berdo

lupe
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The white washers you refer to are the flanged part of the hinge anchors you see outside of the frame. To support the weight of the door they are most likely welded or press-fitted to the inside of the frame, and are tube like within the metal door frame. One being smooth for the indexing dowel. The other threaded for anchoring the frame part of the hinge.

You unscrew the frame part by using a tool through the hole aligned with the threaded top anchor screw. (The type of tool, slot, Philips, Allen needs to be determined by looking in that hole.) The anchors in the frame will remain intact. Removing them may be difficult.

Your intention is to replace the door. Perhaps you need only to find a suitable door that can accept the same hinges. Remove the part from the old door and reuse it. Then there is no issue with the frame side.

RMDman
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