External door handles

[davidbrac]

At present our front door, has a nice brass door knob, however the last owner added a extra piece to the door jam to help to exclude drafts. The addition means that when closing the door you now catch your hand between the knob and door frame. Easiest solution is to change the knob to a handle.

Can anyone suggest a good supplier of external brass handles that will last a few years, instead of the one you get at most suppliers that are poorly plated.

Thanks

David

 

[88v8]

External brass handles always look wrong to me, and scream Modern!
But I do know what you mean about round knobs too near the door jamb, we have such a finger-trapper on our bathroom.

Have we seen a pic of your door?

Edit; the door of our previous house. Rather cluttered on the rhs with two mortices and a yale and .... a brass knob that I moved inwards for precisely the same reason, by plugging the original hole.

Ivor

 

[Lime]

At present our front door, has a nice brass door knob, however the last owner added a extra piece to the door jam to help to exclude drafts. The addition means that when closing the door you now catch your hand between the knob and door frame. Easiest solution is to change the knob to a handle.

Can anyone suggest a good supplier of external brass handles that will last a few years, instead of the one you get at most suppliers that are poorly plated.

Thanks

David

Have you tried B&Q?
Yes I know it isn't renown for the best of everything but about 10 years ago when I needed some round brass door handles that were brass, well made and looked good they were as good as I could find anywhere.

 

[worms]

Have you tried B&Q?

By my calculation, he would have a 180 mile round trip to the nearest B&Q!

 

[Lime]

Have you tried B&Q?

By my calculation, he would have a 180 mile round trip to the nearest B&Q!

Yeah, yeah, yeah!
But B&Q is online too even in places that have escaped them.

 

[davidbrac]

yep B&Q is a 4 hour round trip and that's a bit pricy on fuel for a door handle, but its a lovely scenic trip over the Rest & Be Thankful. Problem is with supermarket DIY places is that l want to know the quality before l purchase, so online is sometimes difficult. Nearest building merchant is Jewsons (7 miles) and the local hardware store in Oban (30 miles) however you just no there stoke will be limited.

We are going to open as a B&B so having a front door that does not bit back is important.

photos of front door and storm doors attached, The front door is also going to be painted green, and as you can see l am in the middle of it all

 

[worms]

...a lovely scenic trip over the Rest & Be Thankful...

...if it's open! :roll:

 

[88v8]

Mmmm, lovely sash door. That knob/handle position looks very low, a handle would be wrist-twisting to open.

I'd abandon the strangely low lock, given you now have a more modern Yale that does the job, plug the outside of the hole, leave the lock - or is it a latch - in place for posterity, and put a brass knob in the centre of the door to pull it shut.

Ivor

 

[Flyfisher]

Jim Lawrence? http://www.jim-lawrence.co.uk/productnode/8265/Brass-Door-Handles

I've not used their brass ones but have a few of the forged iron ones and the quality seems very good.

 

[88v8]

The idea that one would even think of buying new fittings, especially plated (yuk) fittings from a chainstore, just boggles me... not only are there salvage yards, many of whom trade online, but eBay.... it's so easy...

Brass knob / Architectural Antiques / Door knobs/handles: for the centre of the door...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Brass-Centre-Knob-door-pull-handle-bell-lock-old-pine-reclaimed-oak-/331180553578?pt=UK_Antiques_Architecural_RL&hash=item4d1be6356a

or this might be more suitably patinated
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Old-brass-KNOB-for-external-or-internal-door-baseplate-dia-7-cm-2-75-inches-/201075574621?pt=UK_Antiques_Architecural_RL&hash=item2ed109c75d

and no doubt others.

Ivor

 

[davidbrac]

Thanks there are some ideas there that l will work with.
Yale was put in by a previous owner and the lower sash lock does not lock as we have no key. However l need to replace it as our house insurance stipulates a 5 lever mortise lock on the front and back doors.

Did l show you a photo of the storm door key

 

[88v8]

Did l show you a photo of the storm door key

Hey, super key.

We have something similar on our west door, in an elm box. I tried to get a duplicate key made, but no joy, but I rarely use the lock.
I sidled around the 5-lever stipulation because we have two locking bolts on that door, but it's not a 'final exit', which I presume yours is.

That sash door of yours is useless for security, I would think, as any miscreant could just come in through the glazing. I'd fit a 5-lever in the storm doors.
If the stiles are narrow, there are 5-levers to suit.

Ivor

 

[plasticpigeon]

Would I be right in in saying that the problem is that if you fit the brass knob on the outside of the inner door it is too close to the weather strip and fingers get trapped? I see there is another door handle with a vertical bar higher up. I don't know the correct name for these handles, but I'm sure they are available with cranked brackets so the vertical bar section could be inwards of the mounting points. Or how about putting the knob back where it should be and removing the weatherstrip in that area only so fingers don't get trapped?

 

[Flyfisher]

Yale was put in by a previous owner and the lower sash lock does not lock as we have no key. However l need to replace it as our house insurance stipulates a 5 lever mortise lock on the front and back doors.

Are you sure it's a stipulation? We had a similar 'stipulation' in our policy notes about window locks, so I emailed them to confirm that we didn't have locks on all windows (expecting an premium increase) and it made no difference to the price, but it was on the record..

I think they make certain standard assumptions and it's up to the policyholder to inform them of any 'material facts', whereupon they may (or may not) adjust the policy price or cover accordingly but if the material fact is on record then they cannot contest any claims based on an undisclosed risk.

On the other hand, if they expect a minimum standard of lock and your lock doesn't comply and they don't know about it, then that might cause trouble in the even of a claim.

 

[LadyArowana]

We are going to open as a B&B so having a front door that does not bit back is important.

As regards the locks on external doors that may be required to be used as emergency exits then there will be rules about what sort of lock you can have. I believe that it will have to be something that can always be opened easily from inside should need arise. When I was having my new front door installed I went to buy a lock from Banham and they asked me about what it was for and explained that certain ones were for "houses in multiple occupation" and it was to avoid any possibility of people being locked inside in an emergency situation. Worth checking out before you invest in something that proves unsuitable.

 

[paulb33]

the door of our previous house. Rather cluttered on the rhs with two mortices and a yale and .... a brass knob that I moved inwards for precisely the same reason, by plugging the original hole.

Ivor

Lovely green/brass against the golden render, Ivor.

 

[88v8]

Lovely green/brass against the golden render, Ivor.

Yes, Magnet lead paint, Light Brunswick green, applied 1980 and not refreshed until we put the house on the market in 2011. It was a bit chipped but otherwise unscathed as the door faced north and was shielded by the porch.
The ground-floor windows to the north also lasted well, painted 1980 then 2011, and the extension 1991 then 2011. There were plenty of shrubs/climbers protecting the paint from that arch-enemy, the sun.
The upstairs less durable, every five years or so.

The brass got polished every few months.
What with that and the brass radiator valves and brass light switches in the house, we got through quite a lot of Autosol.

Ivor