Door Hardware Blog

Not sure how to determine what you need to replace your old mortise box? Basically you need to pull just a  few measurements. You may need to remove your old lock box before proceeding. Refering to the diagram to the left, measure the width of the mortise box hole (A), the overall height of the lockbox hole (b) and the depth, or how deep into the door the hole is cut(c).

Most mortise boxes for residential locks you buy these days are pretty close in size. Baldwin and Emtek use a vary similar box and according to Emtek, you can actually use an Emtek handleset on their Baldwin mortise box. After Pulling your measurements check out the following diagrams:

If you have a modern mortise lockbox used for exterior doors that incorporates the lever/knob and deadbolt, you will need a replacement mortise lock or mortise handleset from Emtek. Keep in mind that with handlesets it’s pretty difficult to be able to match up the bottom hole that holds the very bottom of the handleset to the door. There are so many different handleset designs, and they don’t really conform to a standard measurement. You may wish to find a handleset with a large backplate to cover up your old handleset’s markings it left on the door. Or if you have a painted door you can just patch the old hole and repaint. The upper holes where the handleset passes through the door surface into the mortise lock box should line up.

If what you are really after is the old skeleton key type mortise box that has a visible keyhol on the backplate or door surface just below the lock, you’ll still need to measure A, B and C above, but you’ll want to replace the lock with one of the Nostalgic Warehouse Skeleton key type mortise locks. These antique style door locks come with knobs, spindles, keyhole covers (if you choose a smaller rosette), rosettes or backplates and the skeleton key lockbox assembly. These vintage style skeleton key lock boxes measure 3″  wide (or deep into the door) 4″ High and 9/16″ thick with a backset of 2 1/4″. The measurement from the knob spindle to keyhole is 2 1/4″ and the faceplate that coveres the edge of the lock box to make it look nice and finished is 7/8″ x 6″. The skeleton key replacement boxes are really pretty simple to install. Sometimes you may have to chisel a little bit more out of the door depending on which type of lock you are replacing, but most of the time it is a pretty simple exchange and you end up with a brand new – vintage lock. You can also order just the skeleton key lockbox or just knobs and spindles if you only need to replace some antique door hardware parts.

Ever wonder what Emtek’s oil rubbed bronze looks like when it wears? This isn’t the best example because it was installed in a commercial application and I’m sure has been cleaned with some chemicals (not a good idea if you want to maintain your finish). However, you can see the reddish/copper base material showing through on the areas most touched.

There are several reasons why you should caulk around your front door. First and foremost, you’ll enjoy the benefits of energy savings. Another thing to consider is the first impression that people get when they come to your front door. This is especially important when you sell your home. Many of us have brick or stone around our front doors which makes caulking around the door a little tricky. If your door and brickmold (wooden block trim around the door) is painted white you can just use white caulk. if you door is stained, you of course wouldn’t want to use a white caulking in between the stained door and mortar of the stone or brick… it would just look aweful. One way to solve this problem is take a walk down the tile supply isle of your local hardware store. There are several sanded, silicone caulks available that work great for this. Just find one that is a good match to your mortar and you’re on your way. Usually you can even take a sample sheet of the available colors home and hold up up against the brick mortar to see which one would look best. I was able to find a simple grey caulk that was a great match to my mortar, and the sanded style was consistent with the texture of the mortar. The caulk tube cost me around $8 and it too me just a few minutes to caulk around my front  door and all the windows set within a brick wall. Easy to do, and it looks much better – just be careful you don’t apply too much, the texture of the brick makes excess caulk a bit difficult to remove.

Dust caused by hinges is common with residential duty hinges and is caused by the pieces of metal rubbing against each other. From what I hear a little lubrication with lithium grease can help though I don’t think it will eliminate the problem. Wd40 doesn’t really work either though it will help the door open smoothly. Probably the best solution is to get ball bearing hinges, but it does cost bit. Some hinges tend to leave more dust than others usually the cheap brass hinges are the worst. If you need replacements try door hinges here.

Emtek 322 Screen Door Mortise Box

Over the years we have had customers frequently ask about replacement emtek screen door locks.  Unfortunatley Emtek quit making these about 7 years ago and we haven’t been able to help anyone that is experiencing problems with their emtek screen door locks. We still can’t offer replacements, but after a little research and help from Al over at Emtek we have a little direction to offer those of you looking for this item.

A company call MTS International carries replacement mortise boxes for the old emtek 322 locks. If you need help replacing one of these, give them a call at (800) 467-7195.

If you need anything else Emtek, we can help.

Over the years I have had many customers ask if they can just keep their old door hardware, but have it refinished. Most of us really don’t have hardware that is all that unique so it’s probably better to replace with new door knobs and recycle the old at the scrap metal shop because the cost to refinish would be much more than the cost of brand new door locks.

Ocassionally though, someone has a piece of hardware that is unique, historical, or maybe their front door is unique or very valuable and the best option is to replace the hardware with the exact same so that no drilling or further damaging the door is required. Recently I found a shop in Glencoe,  IL that specializes in refinishing door hardware among other things. If you have some antique hardware that you would just prefer to keep, check out International Silver Plating Inc.. We’ve never had them refinish anything for us, but it sounds like they have been doing it for 80 yrs so they might just be a good place to start.

If you want replacement antique knobs or have  a new home that you would like to install antique looking door hardware in, be sure to check out our selection of Antique Style Door Hardware.

Self closing door hinges are nothing more than a spring hinge. Spring hinges have tension springs inside the barrel that causes the door to close after releasing the door. Some cities require the use of self closing hinges for fire safety, but this is not required everywhere. Usually you would use at least two spring hinges per door. So if your door has 3 hinges, you would put a spring hinge top and bottom and a regular hinge in between. However, you may consider putting a spring hinge in each location. Most spring hinges are slightly adjustable by removing a pin, then tighting the spring with an alan wrench – then re-inserting the pin while the spring is tight. Self Closing door hinges are handy in cold or warm climate areas as they close behind you keeping your warm/cold air inside your home. Spring hinges come in various sizes. Probably the most common is a 4″ hinge with 5/8″ rounded corners. Click on the image below for more information or to purchase.

Logan, UT (PRWEB) October 20, 2009 – Despite some growth in certain states, the housing market as a whole remains in a slump throughout the United States. It’s a buyers market which means sellers have to go the extra mile to make their home more attractive and some homeowners opt to remodel rather than move.

“We expected quite a decrease in sales as a result of the recession, and we’ve definitely seen that in new build business. However, as more people are remodeling their current homes or updating to sell, we’ve seen an increase in remodel traffic.” says Direct Door Hardware sales manager Jake England. “Home is a central part of the American lifestyle so if people are unable to move onward and upward like so many have been able to do before the recession, I think home owners tend to improve the home they are in.”

For some the improvements are for the intent to sell in a tough market, for others it’s the realization that it might be a while before their local market rebounds. DirectDoorHardware.com’s broad product line accommodates homeowners during new construction or remodel projects. Some of the more popular products this fall have been quick and easy upgrades homeowners can make to their front door like handlesets, or electronic locks. Direct Door Hardware now even offers double sided handlesets from Emtek. These large entry handles positioned on both sides of the front door give any entryway an upgraded look and their solid feel increases the effectiveness of a buyers or visitors first impression of the home.

Direct Door Hardware provides quality brands like Schlage, Emtek, Weslock and Sure-loc to home owners, builders and realtors. Their easy to use website has a huge selection of popular hardware styles that are often not available at your local hardware store. From the comfort of home, customers can browse an extensive collection of hardware products. Direct Door Hardware’s knowledgeable staff is available to help customers choose the right type of door hardware for their application.

Door hardware is more complicated that you might think. Take handlesets for instance. You can buy them in a single cylinder, double cylinder or dummy function. You can select from many different interior knob or lever options and a lot of times you can also do a different finish on the inside than the out. You can also buy some with an interconnect device, different backsets, different door thicknesses. Making all of these options available on our website is possible, but would be confusing for the vast majority of shoppers. Over the years we have learned the most effective way to list handlesets (and other items) so that it’s easy for customers to understand how to order. Sometimes having more information or options that only 5% of customers care about is less effective than just providing options that 95% of customers want. Even still, we toy with products like these to optimize and hopefully make them as easy to order as possible. Soon we’ll be releasing new product pages for all of our handlesets that will make ordering easier and hopefully eliminate occasional issues.

A little clarification for remodelers out there:

A lot of older homes use the old skeleton key type lock where there is a box (called a mortise box) mounted inside the door and the knobs mount to a spindle inserted through the mortise box. We have a lot of customers that need just the knobs and spindle replaced. Here is a link to just the knobs and spindles:

http://www.directdoorhardware.com/NostalgicWare/Index_Knobs.htm

If you need to replace the whole entire set, you can purchase a new mortise box with knobs, spindles, and backplates. Find complete skeleton key locks here.  On that page you can choose from many styles, then choose the mortise function. In  my opinion, if you are replacing the knobs, you may as well replace the whole set-up and have some nice smooth functioning knobsets. Replacing the knobs does make an immediate cosmetic difference, but those old mortise boxes get worn out and tend to have a lot of play in them. A new mortise box will operate smoothly, yet feel solid. But, luckily for those of us on a budget, you can just buy the knobs seperately, or even the backplates (found here), or even just the mortise box.

 

 

 

The second kind of mortise lock is often confused with the first, so I thought I’d clarify a little in this blog post. Mortise Entry Sets also use a mortise box that slides in the edge of the door, but they do not use a skeleton key like the vintage mortise locks. The Mortise Entry Sets or Handlesets have a larger box that connects the lower knob or lever handle and the deadbolt lock above. These type of mortise locks are much more expensive than than standard tubular latch sets that most of us have in our homes. There are several advantages to mortise entry sets. One of the more popular styles that we sell are the Emtek Mortise handlesets. These locks have a larger than standard deadbolt throw for added security and lock at the doorknob or lever latch as well. These mortise locks also have an option that allows you to keep the door locked at all times so that when you leave the home it will lock behind you. The added security and smooth operation of mortise locksets make them a popular choice, but since they require more preparation than the standard lockset, they won’t work for every situation. Emtek also makes decorative plate locks in the mortise function. You’ll notice in the example below that the latch on the edge of the display is long and rectangular with deadbolt and lever latch towards the center, where a standard sideplate would have two seperate tubular latches top and bottom.