barbara278•1mo agoProlific Poster

Talking to a retired mechanic changed how I see door hangers

Met an old-timer at a supply house in Portland last week and he said the new button-style hangers are fine but the old U-channel ones just held up better after 15 years of use lol. He had a point about how much torque those doors put on the hanger over time. Anyone else still stock the U-channel ones for certain jobs?

3 comments

3 Comments

grant7281mo ago

@johnthompson nailed it about the metal gauge difference. I still keep U-channel hangers around too, mostly because I've learned the hard way that my DIY skills aren't good enough to trust the button style on a heavy door. Take that with a grain of salt though, I'm the guy who once installed a hanger upside down and didn't notice for two years.

johnthompson1mo ago

Read something not too long ago about how the new button-style hangers use thinner metal to save on cost. The old U-channel ones were built with a heavier gauge, so they don't bend or crack when a door shifts over the years. Makes sense why the mechanic liked the older design. I keep a couple boxes of the U-channel ones around for commercial jobs where the doors get heavy use.

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tyler1761mo ago

Flip that around for a second though. Button style hangers have been around long enough now that the metal quality has caught up to the old stuff. The real problem isn't the design, it's people like me who forget to check if the door frame is still square before slapping them in. If the install is clean and the door isn't sagging like my 8-year-old's pants, they'll hold up just fine.