Q: What does a "right handed door” or “right-hand lock" or “hinged right” mean? I thought I knew, but now I'm not sure.
A: There are actually a couple answers for this question:
Cabinet doors:
Looking at a door from the face that it opens toward, the edge of the door where the hinges are located indicates how the door is "handed". If the door has its hinges on the left edge then the door is a Left-handed door. This is also referred to as Hinged Left. Even though a lock on this door would be mounted on the right edge, the lock that must be ordered is a Left-hand lock, because as we just learned the door is Left-handed.
It gets a little weird if you think about kitchen cabinet doors that are mounted with concealed hinges, but it works the same. Standing in your kitchen, a door that has a pull on the left side would be a Right-hand door. Now, let's add a lock to that same cabinet door. Even though the lock would be installed on the left edge of the door, the lock you would need to order would be a "right" lock, because the door is Right-handed. I know it's a bit confusing, but this is the common language used by cabinetmakers.
Architectural doors:
The handing of Architectural doors is always done from the “secure side” of the door. This means that if a door is locked you would be “handing it” from the side that would require a key. Let's use the front door of your house as an example. In the USA entry doors into homes usually swing into the home. Looking at the door, if the knob or lever is on your right and the hinges are on the left, the door is "hinged left" or a “left hand door". To purchase a lockset for this door you would specify a Left-hand lock.
How about a door that swings towards you, like you typically find on a closet or storage room? Imagine you are standing outside of a secure storage room, or said correctly you are on the secure side. The knob or lever is at your right and the hinges are on your left. As you open the door towards yourself you need to step back in order to allow the door to swing past you. Said another way, you must “reverse” yourself. This door is called a left-hand reverse door.
