Door Hardware

So here is a tutorial of how we (Mike) installed our new door hardware. In my original door post, I talked about how I had spray painted (my fast growing hobby) our existing brass handles. While it turned out okay, it wasn't spectacular by any means. So Mike and I decided that we should spring for new door handles because why buy beautiful new, white doors just to put cheap, hand-me-down door handles on it? It's like a burlap sack on a beauty queen!

Anyways, below is a step-by-step of how we (Mike) installed them. Before I begin, I should preface that we bought a template from Menards.

#1: Tape area where door handle will go. We did this to keep the paint from chipping and the wood from splitting due to the pressure of this process.

#2: Line up the template with door jam on the door frame.

#3: Insert circular template onto drill. The template is the "white thing" for lack of a better description. This is the part that makes the circle opening. It fits into the template that is installd on the door. You have to drill on one side until it cannot go any further. Then start drilling with the same template on the other side; it should pop out after doing this on both sides of the door.

 

 

#4: Drill the latch hole. This is another drill template similar to the handle template. Just switch out the template on your drill and line it up with the door template. (I love the intense look on Mike's face - I had to post the picture!) This is the part where Mike's drill created a lot of smoke - yup, kind of like a the start of a fire.

 

#5: Create the latch ridges with the template. Mike used a hammer to create the ridges for the latch. After creating the outline, Mike wedged out with a hammer and some muscle.

 

 

#6: Remove the tape. Now that all the drilling is done, you can remove the tape. This is when I started to feel a sense of relief that the door was still intact.

It's also when my self-diagnosed OCD kicked in because of all the saw-dust (!!!)

#7: Drill the door jam onto the door frame.

#8: Insert the latch mechanism (yup that's my technical term) into the door. It's a simple insert now that the hole is created. All Mike had to do was drill in the screws.

#9: Line up the door handles and screw into place. Essentially it's finesse for this step; no skill. You literally wiggle the handles until the line up. After that, they should work together (as a normal door handle should). Once this happens, screw the handles into place.

#10: ENJOY NEW DOOR HANDLE!

Have I mentioned how lucky I am that I'm married to a man that has the initiative and skill to figure all these things out?! Also, have I mentioned how much easier it is to open doors with handles? Sticking my fingers underneath and pulling it open from the bottom is not very conducive to my hurried life. Husband & handles = awesome!