Written by Terry Smith

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Buy the best tee hinges for sheds and garden gates

You don’t have to be a DIY expert to have noticed that there are a lot of different types of hinges to choose from. Butt hinges, strap hinges, double action spring hinges; the list is practically endless, and knowing which type, and sub-type, is best for you might not be all that clear if you’re new to using them. Trying to cover them all, and their many uses, would take a lot more time than I’ve got today, so I’ve decided to focus on just one type; tee hinges. These hinges get their name from their shape (surprise surprise) and have a rectangular knuckle that sits vertically and is connected to the long, triangular vertical part of the hinge. I’m sure you’ve seen them, especially on older buildings, timber structures, and when fitting shed doors.

Table of Contents

In this article we will give our honest opinions on a selection of the best tee hinges that you can have delivered direct to your door, taking the guesswork out of the equation for you, and making things that little bit simpler.

First though, here’s a little bit of extra info about tee hinges and how to use them:

What are tee hinges used for?

Tee hinges are most commonly seen on wooden gates, shed and garage doors, and quite often on large chests. I recently installed tee hinges on my garden gate installation. I showed you how to easily fit tee hinges when fitting a garden gate frame too. They can also be spotted on traditional home and cottage doors, or more modern places going for that ‘old-school’ look. The popularity of tee hinges never seems to wane, and a lot of it comes down to the fact that they are so easy to fit; their flush mounted design just makes it a doddle to secure them in place and there is very little chance of error, even for beginners. Tee hinges are a good choice for wider doors and gates because the long horizontal section provides a good deal of support and distributes the weight in an even fashion.

For many, the reasons for choosing tee hinges is because of the way they look, as they add a certain traditional feel. There are even ornamental versions of tee hinges available for people looking to give their gate or door a bit more ‘elegance’.

What size tee hinges should I buy? And how many to fit?

There’s no set rule to answer either of these questions as there are always variables that come into play. Having said that, I think most would agree with me if I told you that your tee hinges should be about half of the width of the gate or door that you will screw them on to. Personally I on’t mind much less, it’s more about the actual fixtures used to fit the tee hinges than the hinges themselves. Take a look at the double garden gates. The hinges are galvanised and cost about £10:

Best tee hinges for garden gates – cheap and effective

Of course, there are exceptions to this, some heavy duty and decorative hinges that are made from cast iron are smaller but can handle the same amount of weight.  As for how many you should use: two is usually enough, but a third might be needed if it’s a very heavy door or gate.

Best Tee Hinges

Time to take a look at some popular products to see which are the best tee hinges you can buy at the present time. Due to covid, there are a lot of online products that aren’t available at the time of writing, but we will definitely update this page, and our other review pages, with the latest items as they become available again.

Comparison table: Buy the best tee hinges for sheds and garden gates

ProductWhat We ThinkPrice

Securit Pair of Heavy Duty Tee Hinge

  • Heavy Duty Tee Hinge in Black

TamBee 8inch Strap Hinges

  • Heavy-duty application
  • Affordably easy to reclaim doors and cabinets
  • Tight pin for left or right hand applications
  • Thickness - 0.11inch / 3mm
  • Dimension - 8inch*7.5inch*0.11inch / 200mm*190mm*3mm

XFORT® 2 Pack Zinc Plated 300 mm T-Hinge

  • APPEARANCE: The distinctive arm of a T hinge is synonymous with cottage and barn doors...
  • APPLICATIONS: T hinges offer additional support to doors allowing the door hinges to be used on a number of...
  • LONG LASTING: This XFORT door hinge is made of high quality steel and finished with a zinc plating...
  • OPERATION: This XFORT gate fixing is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects- your door and the door...
  • INSTALLATION: T-hinges are not recessed like many other types of hinges for doors...

Black Cast Iron Spear Hinges Leaf Design

  • ✅DIMENSIONS 12" Total length: 288mm
  • ✅QUALITY SAND CASTING: We only use suppliers who work to the highest standard of workmanship...
  • ✅ANTIQUE IRON FINISH: Each bracket is manufactured using the sand casting practice...
  • ✅Manufactured from cast iron
  • ✅Supplied with the necessary fixings

2X Pairs of Galvanised 250mm/10

  • 2x Pairs - (4x Hinges)
  • Finish: Silver Zinc Galvanised
  • Size: 250mm / 10"
  • Commonly Used For: Gates
  • High Quality Strong Hinges

Securit are offering a pair of their heavy duty tee hinges for just over six pounds at the moment on Amazon, giving you the opportunity to snap up a very good deal.

These 400mm tee hinges are much sturdier than I thought they would be for the low price, although at just a couple of millimetres, they aren’t that thick. They would be great for general use, such as a shed door, but maybe not quite strong enough for large industrial applications.

The tee hinges have a black paint covering to help keep the rust away, and I have to say, it looks like security have done a good job with the coating and it should last a while. I rubbed the paint quite hard between my fingers and also gave the hinge a knock or two on the wall and there were no paint chips coming off. Because of the low price, these hinges don’t come with any screws to fit them, so you’ll have to buy them separately. To be fair, the size of the screw you’ll need will largely depend on the job at hand, thickness of the wood, etc. so I sort of understand Securit’s decision not to include any.

Available in packs of 2, 4, or 6, with savings made on the larger packs, Securit’s black tee hinges do offer you very good value for money and are perfect for wooden gates or shed doors. If you have a wooden garage door, I would probably try to find something that is thicker and better suited to the task. Just be prepared to pay a bit more for it.

Looking to give your home a bit of traditional flair? Then Tam Bee’s beautiful tee hinges should be right up your street. With their eye-catching curves and points, they are just the thing to bring that ‘old world’ charm to your home. Not only are they a winner in the looks department, they are also 3mm thick and strong enough to hold the thickest of cupboard, shed, and garage doors, and really live up to the ‘heavy duty’ tag.

Available in three sizes; 5 inches, 6 inches, and 8 inches long, with each pack you buy containing four hinges, you should be able to find just the right hinge for the job at hand, and their design gives you the option of using them on the left or right hand side.

Just like with the Securit tee hinges, these have been give a black paint coating to prevent rusting, and again; it has been very well-done and is sure to last a long time. While these might seem a little pricey to some people, I assure you that you do get what they look great, and they are much stronger than cheaper variants. Also, the fact there are four hinges in the pack actually makes them a good deal.

So, to sum up; I would recommend these to anyone restoring old doors, furniture, chests, etc. and those looking to create a traditional aesthetic in their home or garden. In my opinion, they are worth paying the extra for.

I’m often asked whether I think galvanised hinges are worth buying, and my answer is nearly always yes. Here’s the thing, if you are buying hinges to be used on any gate or door that will be outside, and therefore exposed to the elements on a daily basis, you’re going to be fighting an ongoing battle with rust and there’s no way around it.

While well painted tee hinges can provide good protection from premature rusting, I’ve often found that some paint will chip off next to the screws when you fit them, and if you don’t touch this area up immediately, you will still end up with rust related issues.

With galvanised tee hinges, or any type of hinge for that matter, this is much less of a problem, and they tend to last longer while still retaining their original look. These X-fort tee hinges are available in four different sizes: 150mm, 200mm, 250mm, and 300mm, and all sizes come in either a galvanised finish or a black painted one, and all are very reasonably priced.

When it comes to quality, X-forts hinges are very good for the price, being made of high grade steel, and feeling strong and durable. Again though, these are really only good for light to medium weight doors, and not really suited to heavy duty work, but this is the case for pretty much all tee hinges in this price bracket.

These hinges are another good low-cost option if you’re just looking to replace your garden gate, or a lightweight shed door. Both the galvanized and painted versions of this hinge are decent, and I like that X-fort gives you the choice.

From Bridewell ironmongery, we have this excellent pair of spear design tee hinges, available in 6-, 9-, and 12-inch sizes. Just like the Tam Bee tee hinges, these are ideal for fitting on traditional looking doors and furniture. In fact, because of these hinges being made from sand casted wrought iron, I would say that they are even more authentic looking.

The workmanship that has gone into these hinges is of a really high quality, they have been sand casted for better details, hand fettled to smooth things out and get rid of imperfections, and then finally, they have been shot blasted and given a gloss lacquer coating. The end result is a tee hinge that not only looks fantastic, but is extremely solid and durable.

Honestly, for the low price I wasn’t expecting these hinges to be as good as they were, but I’m always happy to be proven wrong in cases like these. I have a relative who has recently moved into a cottage in Lincolnshire, and so it was the perfect opportunity to test these out on a thick, old, wooden kitchen door. The results were excellent, with the hinges showing no sign of any unwanted movement, and also looking just the part at the same time.

All in all, a great little product that, if anything, I think is underpriced. Great workmanship delivering a wonderful aesthetic and good durability.

Not everyone is looking for the most heavy-duty tee hinges. For a lot of people, they just want something inexpensive that they can use to hang a small garden gate on, and if that’s all you want, then this low-cost product from White Hinge will more than likely suit you down to the ground.

Now, when I say low-cost, I’m not kidding. For the crazily low price of three pound fifty (at the time of writing) you get one or two of these tee hinges, but a pack of four! That is excellent value. As you expect for that price, these aren’t indestructible, heavy duty hinges to hang barn doors on, but I think for a smaller sized garden gate that is fairly light, these 250mm hinges will do just fine.

What’s more, they are sure to last you a while due to the fact that they are zinc galvanized and resistant to rust and other weather-based damage. I do have to say that the zinc coating is not the best I’ve ever seen, but again, it is good enough for the very low price.

As with anything in life, you get what you pay for, and it is certainly true in the world of door hinges too. These galvanized tee hinges aren’t going to wow you or blow you away any time soon, but they are very cheap, and will be just fine for light jobs.

And that brings this article to a close for now. When the COVID-19 situation improves, and more products become available, we will of course update this page along with all our others, so please pop back and see us.


About Terry Smith

I’m Terry Smith from gardentoolbox.co.uk, a professional landscape designer, hobbyist gardener, and barbecue fanatic with 20 years experience building and restoring. So as you go through my site you'll watch me document some of the professional garden installs I make as well as the major projects I take on at home. While sharing those experiences and guiding you, I'll be recommending some great tools I use to enable this along the way so you can really buy in confidence. Always feel free to pop me a message: info@gardentoolbox.co.uk

View all posts by Terry Smith