The handles, locking and latching devices on your doors are part of the door hardware for your home. These items allow the door to swing, slide, open, shut and remain shut if you want them to.
The appearance of these items is important to most home owners. To cater for this there is a huge range of knobs, handles and plates in all sorts of colors and design styles. These might vary from the stark minimalist European styles through to extremely intricate antique designs that look they may have come from a french kings palace of the eighteenth century.
It makes sense to choose a design that will compliment the style of the home and not make a choice on personal preference alone. You may want to choose a style to suit the interior decor of the house however if you later wish to change this your door hardware style may not suit. It is probably best choose something that will suit the lines of the house with no furniture in it.
Hinges and locks may not be the most visible items of hardware in the house but they need to be considered as well as robust and durable. Think of how often a bathroom door is opened and shut during the course of a day especially if there are children of any age living in the house. They should also match the handles as the doors are not always shut.
Most doors within the home only require a latch system that fastens the door so that it wont open of its own accord. Bathroom and toilet doors may require privacy locks which can be locked from the inside only. External secondary doors which may open on to patios and courtyards may require additional security bolts.
Metal and plastic exterior doors usually come with their own handles and locks due to the specialist skill required to install them. Timber exterior units generally provide more scope for owner selected hardware as they can be installed on the building site.
While there is a huge range of furniture types they are also available in a selection of materials. Most manufacturers use mild steel, brass or stainless steel as the base material. These are coated or plated with other material to give them their appearance. This might range from paint powder coating through to chromium plating or polished as in the case of stainless steel.
Other base material can be used like timber for door knobs and nylon for latches. Other plastics are used and are often coated with similar products to the steel materials. It is not uncommon to see these coatings fail, although this seldom compromises the usability of the hardware item. It then just becomes a matter of appearance.
Good well designed door hardware for your home can be worth the money that you pay for it. There is nothing more satisfying than the smooth opening or shutting motion and of a well fitted door and the positive solid clunk of a good quality lock or latch. It could be argued that this may be the final item needed to turn a house into a home.
The appearance of these items is important to most home owners. To cater for this there is a huge range of knobs, handles and plates in all sorts of colors and design styles. These might vary from the stark minimalist European styles through to extremely intricate antique designs that look they may have come from a french kings palace of the eighteenth century.
It makes sense to choose a design that will compliment the style of the home and not make a choice on personal preference alone. You may want to choose a style to suit the interior decor of the house however if you later wish to change this your door hardware style may not suit. It is probably best choose something that will suit the lines of the house with no furniture in it.
Hinges and locks may not be the most visible items of hardware in the house but they need to be considered as well as robust and durable. Think of how often a bathroom door is opened and shut during the course of a day especially if there are children of any age living in the house. They should also match the handles as the doors are not always shut.
Most doors within the home only require a latch system that fastens the door so that it wont open of its own accord. Bathroom and toilet doors may require privacy locks which can be locked from the inside only. External secondary doors which may open on to patios and courtyards may require additional security bolts.
Metal and plastic exterior doors usually come with their own handles and locks due to the specialist skill required to install them. Timber exterior units generally provide more scope for owner selected hardware as they can be installed on the building site.
While there is a huge range of furniture types they are also available in a selection of materials. Most manufacturers use mild steel, brass or stainless steel as the base material. These are coated or plated with other material to give them their appearance. This might range from paint powder coating through to chromium plating or polished as in the case of stainless steel.
Other base material can be used like timber for door knobs and nylon for latches. Other plastics are used and are often coated with similar products to the steel materials. It is not uncommon to see these coatings fail, although this seldom compromises the usability of the hardware item. It then just becomes a matter of appearance.
Good well designed door hardware for your home can be worth the money that you pay for it. There is nothing more satisfying than the smooth opening or shutting motion and of a well fitted door and the positive solid clunk of a good quality lock or latch. It could be argued that this may be the final item needed to turn a house into a home.
About the Author:
Reflect Window & Door offers a wide variety of window hardware and window parts to help make any project easier to complete correctly.