Door Hardware – A Buyer’s Guide

A handle of a door or a drawer should have sufficient strength to support and help in transmitting the force.

The simple door handle has become very complex and unique, thanks to digital technology. It is not as simple as pulling or pushing a handle to open the door and gain entrance to a building or a room. The latest in door handle design has adapted all the combined functions of buzzers, cameras, intercoms, keypads, motion detectors and RFID readers and converted it into an integrated infrastructure to permit or deny access. This innovative door handle does not need a key. The built in code in the chip carried by the person is identified by the door handle through the transponder antenna. If found matching with the list of persons authorized to enter the building then the door is opened without any action such as pulling or pushing of the door handle. Another benefit of this innovation is that elderly and the disabled persons need not go through the trouble of physical strain involved in opening the door. For more info visit [http://www.ahandleisahandle.info]

If you don’t like the too hi-tech designs, you can opt for various different handles such as period door handles, classical door handles, designer door handles, brass door levers on round rose, door pull handles, privacy lock door handles or Italian designer door levers.

The exclusive Italian logo designer door lever is made of good quality hot stamped brass and comes with satin chrome or polished chrome finish. A pair with all the fixings is priced around $70.00
Designer chrome handles made of solid brass with a chrome finish are available for $35.

Privacy lock door handles are made of Chrome plated brass. They are supplied with bar and fixings including an emergency release facility and a lock. The price is around $26.

From the hidden corners of Rawnsley Foundry in Staffordshire UK, amidst years of debris and dust original Edwardian and Victorian drawer handles were discovered in 1988. These were restored to their original condition and castings were made from them to preserve the tradition. These original castings are made from genuine patterns maintaining their originality and uniqueness. These superb drawer handles are available for £5.00

Pewter bow handles include two sizes of spice drawer cup handles and bow handles. To give hardness and strength, tiny amounts of other metals and 92% of tin is used in these pewter handles. They are priced around $18.

Sliding Door Hardware: Installing Bi-Fold Sliding Doors

Materials and Tools Needed

- Combination Square
- Cordless Drill
- Centering Bit
- Hacksaw
- Plumb Bob
- Bit Extender
- Hacksaw

*This is a fairly easy job. The job will be a bit more difficult if the doors are extremely heavy, or if your closet opening isn’t square.

Finish/Paint Doors

You always want to finish and/or paint your doors before installation. This will save you a lot of time.

Mount the Hinges

Take a jamb side door and mark its inner edge 11-inches from the bottom and 7-inches from the top, centered between the two. Place the door on edge with the marks facing up so that you can see them.

Now take the lower half of a hinge and align its bottom with the bottom mark. Make sure its knuckles are facing back and flush to the edge. Use your self-centering bit to drill pilot holes through the hinge holes. Screw on the hinge plate and attach the top and middle hinges to their marks.

Place the leading (inner) door on edge, facing back-to-back with the first door. Align the doors evenly against a square. Now put the hinges together and screw the hinge plates to the leading door.

*Repeat this process on the second pair of doors.

Attach the Track Hardware

Fasten the pivot plates and the locking arms to the top and bottom of each of the doors. The pivot plates go on the tops and bottoms of the jamb-side doors, and the locking arm on the tops of the leading doors.

*Each kit requires its hardware to be uniquely positioned, so check the diagrams that come with yours for exact measurements and placements.

Install the Track

After the track is put together you will be ready to install it. Use your hacksaw and cut the track to properly fit the closet length/opening. Slide the hanging hardware into the track and attach the track to the door header with the screws that should be provided.

*Don’t tighten the hardware onto the track. It will be easier to hang the doors later if the pieces are loose.

Position Your Floor Bracket

For this you need to use the measurements that are supplied by the manufacturer to position the floor bracket next to the doorjamb properly.

Hang your plumb bob tool from the center of the track above the floor bracket to align the pinhole in the bracket front-to-back. This will ensure that the doors are plumb when installed.

*Outline the bracket in pencil to mark its exact location.

Screw the bracket in place. Now remove the screws and set the bracket and screws aside.

Hang the Doors

Carry your doors to the track and lift the jamb side of the door so that it locks into the pin of the top pivot plate. When you are sure that the pin is all the way in, push the lever on the side of the socket to lock it in place.
Now with the doors closed, swing them forward enough to catch the floor bracket in the bottom pivot pin.

Attach the Floor Bracket

Swing your doors back into place so that you can attach the floor bracket. Find the marks you previously made and then use your flexible bit extender to screw down the bracket.

Hang the other set of doors using the same technique already stated here.

*You may want to get some help, as this will be easier with another person.

Attach the Door Aligner

You need to do this from inside the closet with the doors closed. Go ahead and mount the door aligners between the two leading doors. The aligners should catch when the doors are closed.

*Do this about 6-inches up from the floor.

Install the Door Pulls

The door pulls (handles) can be installed pretty much however you want them. Pick the height you want to place them at and them follow your manufacturers instructions on installing them