Frequently Asked Questions - Door Locks and Latches

1. Q. How do I determine the handing for a lock?
2. Q. What is a reversible lock?
3. Q. What is Backset and how do I determine the backset for a door lock?
4. Q. What do the different lock functions mean?
5. Q. What is a active and inactive door in a set of double doors (pair of doors)?
6. Q. What is the thickness of a standard door?
7. Q. What do the keying options on your web site mean?
8. Q. What is the meaning of a single and double cylinder?
9. Q. What is a tubular latch or tubular lock?
10. Q. What is a dead locking latch bolt?
11. Q. What is a mortise latch or mortise lock?
12. Q. What is a strike?

Note: The door hardware trade term Lock or Locksets is not just referring to a hardware item that has a cylinder and uses a key. It is a general term for Door Knobs, Door Levers, Handlesets and Deadbolts that latch (hold closed) and/or lock.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website.

For more information, please visit Jifu.

For more information, please visit door cylinder suppliers.

1. Q. How do I determine the handing for a lock?
A. To determine the handing of a door lock, stand Outside the room or building facing the door.
If the hinges are on the left side of the door, the door is Left Hand (LH).
If the hinges are on the right side, the door is Right Hand (RH).



2. Q. What is a reversible lock?
A. A lock which by reversing the latch bolt, may be used by either hand door (left or right).


3. Q. What is Backset and how do I determine the backset for a door lock?
A. Measure from the edge of door to the center of the bore hole or the lock body that you are replacing. Most backsets are either 2-3/8" or 2-3/4".





4. Q. What do the different lock functions mean?
A. Lock functions control the flow of people through a building. Here are a few examples.
• Keyed Entry or Entry Lock: Uses a key to open the lock from the outside so you can gain entry to space. Some entry locks use cards or push buttons instead of keys.
• Privacy: Locks but has access to unlock from the outside via a small hole or slot to insert a simple tool. Privacy locks do not offer security. Used on bedroom and bathroom doors.
• Patio: Lock from the inside and block entry from the outside. They can not be unlocked from the outside. Note: Do not use Patio function lock on balcony doors where it is the only way into the building.
• Passage: Latches door closed and does not lock. Used on hall and closet doors.
• Dummy: Single Dummy for one side of door. Double Dummy for both sides of door. Used as a door pull or for matching trim. Most commonly used on the inactive door on double doors.

Additional Commercial Lock functions.
• Storeroom: Outside lever/knob fixed, entry by key only. Inside lever/knob always unlocked.
• Classroom: Outside lever/knob locked and unlocked by key. Inside lever/knob always unlocked
• Store Entry Double Cylinder Lock: Keyed cylinder in both Outside and Inside knobs. Key in either knob locks or unlocks both at the same time - for Entry doors with glass near the lock including inside office rooms that require security.
• Communicating Double Cylinder Lock: Keyed cylinder in both Outside and Inside knobs. Key unlocks its own knob independently - for doors that require Keyed security on both sides.
• Institutional Double Cylinder Lock: Both knobs are Fixed with Keyed cylinder in both Outside and Inside knobs. Entrance by Key in either knob - for doors that require Keyed security on both sides.


5. Q. What is a active and inactive door in a set of double doors (pair of doors)?
A. The active door is the one that opens first and to which the lock is applied. The inactive door opens only after the active door and is locked in place with Flush Door Bolts or Surface Mounted Door Bolts.


6. Q. What is the thickness of a standard door?
A. In the U.S. most doors are 1-3/8" or 1-3/4" thick. Most standard door hardware is manufactured to fit 1-3/8" - 2" thick doors. Some manufacturers have extension kits, or will build a lock to fit a thickness over 2 inches. A typical residential interior door is 1-3/8" thick and an exterior door is 1-3/4" thick. Interior and exterior commercial doors are usually 1-3/4" thick.


7. Q. What do the keying options on your web site mean?
A. You can choose how you want your locks to be keyed.
•Keyed Alike: If you buy more than one lock, they can all work with the same key.
•Keyed Different: Each lock will have it's own key that will not fit the others.
•Non Keyed: Select this option for non keyed Functions (Ex: Privacy. Passage, Dummy)
Also see: Lock Keying for information of Master keying and other options.


8. Q. What is the meaning of a single and double cylinder?
•Single Cylinder: Is controlled by a key on the outside and a turn knob on the inside.
•Double cylinder: is controlled by a key on both the outside and inside. Normally used where you have glass next to the lock, as it can be broken and unlock if a turn knob was there.


9. Q. What is a tubular latch or tubular lock?
A. This is the most common type of latch/lock found on doors in the U.S. They are used on most standard pre-drilled factory doors. You may not recognize the entire part, but the Latch Bolt should look familiar to you, as it sticks out the edge of a door.




10. Q. What is a dead locking latch bolt?
A. A higher security latch bolt incorporating a plunger that is held in a retracted position when the door is closed, preventing it from being slipped open (by a credit card). Usually on keyed levers and knobs.




11. Q. What is a mortise latch or mortise lock?
A. A lock designed to fit in a cavity that is approximately 7" long by 2" to 6" deep in the edge of door.


12. Q. What is a strike?
A. A metal plate that receives the door bolt or latch when the door is closed. Strike Plates come in many shapes, styles and sizes for different applications.

Everything You Need to Know Before Replacing Your Door Hardware

When we bought this house, the entire thing was a sea of brass and golden oak.  I’ve talked about the struggle to update this early 80’s look in lots of posts before and today is yet another step in my journey to rid myself of the shiny gold hardware that was so popular 30 years ago.



 Not only was the gold out of style, but the handles themselves weren’t even in very good shape.


As a temporary fix I spray painted my medicine cabinet and the front door hardware brushed nickel and it actually held up remarkably well:


I also updated some of the knobs with oil rubbed bronze to see if I liked that look better, which I did. The ORB definitely didn’t hold up as well as the brushed nickel did, but neither of them was the perfect fix.

I knew eventually I was going to have to do something more permanent.. since I just couldn’t stand looking at a hallway full of shiny gold knobs!

So when I finally had the money saved up, I bit the bullet and decided to replace ALL the hardware in my house with black lever handles.  (I decided on black because it was true neutral. Some of my bathrooms have chrome, others have brushed nickel and the kitchen has oil rubbed bronze.  I don’t have matching finishes, so I may as well go simple.

The design I chose was Kwickset Commonwealth from Handlesets.com
I chose them for a couple of reasons:
1. They were relatively inexpensive ($28/passage door and $31/privacy lock)

2. They came in black. (Many brands only had a really dark oil rubbed bronze)

3. The standard handles have reversible handles, meaning you don’t need to know which direction your door swings to order the correct type. (More about this below)

4. They offered mix and match finishes for exterior doors. (I needed to NOT use black on my exterior hardware because my front door had been recently painted black.  I chose the Quickset Hawthhorne for my front door in Satin Nickel) 
You may remember I showed you this handleset when I had my front door reveal a while ago   What you didn’t know was that I also replaced the interior hardware on that door to the new black lever handles as well:

The process of replacing your door hardware is a little more complicated than it first appears.  Mostly ordering the correct items and making sure you have the right sets for each door.  s
I thought I’d give you a quick rundown of what you need to know if you want to tackle doing it.

Types of Handles:

There are actually a few types of door handles you can buy:

Passage:  This is standard door handle with no lock. Used on unlockable doors (bedrooms and offices)and closets.

Privacy:  This is a lockable handle (usually with a turnable knob or button)  that can be ‘popped’ from the outside using a special tool  (so you cannot lock yourself out.) They are used on any room where you don’t want someone to enter such as bathrooms and bedroom, but it is not highly secure.

Dummy handles: These handles are decorative and do not turn or actually include a cylinder that goes through the door to a latch.  They are also used on doors where you do not require an interior handle (shallow closets which are held closed with a magnet for example.) They are also used on one side of double/french doors sets for aesthetic reasons.

Keyed Entrance Standard Knob: This is usually for an exterior door and requires a key on one or both sides of the door in order to lock and unlock it.  It may also be accompanied by a dead bolt for additional security.  Standard keyed handles are typically used on secondary exterior doors (like garages or backdoors) since they are not highly decorative.

Deadbolts: These are the separate locks that are keyed on one or both sides.  They are the most secure way of locking a (typically exterior) door and can be used alone or in conjunction with a keyed entry handle.

Entrance sets: These are are often ornate exterior door handles (versus a regular knob) with a separate deadbolt.  They may or may not also lock on the handle itself.  They are typically ordered as an exterior handle set with a separate interior door handle that matches the rest of your interior hardware.

Keyless entry sets: These are electronic locks which don’t require a key but can be opened by typing a key code into a touchpad on the door or handle.

Directionality/Handing:

When ordering non-locking standard door knobs, the direction the door opens is not important.  You can install a door knob on either the right, left, front or back of a door.  However, when ordering lever handles or handle sets or any handle that locks, you need to know which side of the door you are going to install the hardware so the handle faces the right direction  (trust me.. I originally installed all my hardware upside down since I wasn’t paying attention to the directionality of the doors:
 
Notice that the handles are upside down?  Neither did I.. at first.
Here is another example where the doorknob is upside down:
And here it is installed correctly:  
The direction the door swings and which side the handle is on is called the “handedness” or “handing.”

When ordering you need to indicate if a handle will be “left hand” or “right hand.”  Because you can’t tell my just looking at a closed door (since a handle on the right side of the door in one direction is on the left side from the other.)

 The trick is to open the door (assuming the door swings inwards.. like most interior doors) and stand inside the door frame with your back to the hinges and facing the strike plate.  IF THE OPEN DOOR IS ON YOUR LEFT (remember it will be behind you) IT IS LEFT HANDED DOOR.  IF IT IS ON YOUR RIGHT IT IS RIGHT HANDED.   That is unless the door swings outwards. (Exterior doors and closets typically swing outward) and in that case the handing is the opposite. 

Confusing enough?   Yeah. I agree.
I used this chart to help me figure it out when I was walking around my house making a shopping list and I still installed them backwards the first time!

In the case of my double doors, you have the perfect example of why door handing is so important.
This door set actually required 3 separate handles.  A right hand passage handle (for the right side.. which is the side that latches) and then one left hand and one right hand dummy handle (for front and back of the left door.)

Here at the doors in the upstairs hallway after they had been replaced.   You can see how the doors don’t all swing the same way. One of the reasons I didn’t order privacy locks for those rooms (along with the fact I don’t want my kids locking me out) is that you don’t have to worry about handing if you use reversible passage handles.

Cost:

I mentioned it before, but here is how my costs broke down (not including hinges, since I haven’t replaced the hinges yet).  We have a 3 bedroom, 3 bath house with a two sets of double doors. We have only two handled exterior doors (front and garage- our back door is a slider).  Only our hall closets required handles since our room closets are sliding doors.    So for our house, in total I needed 17 sets of door handles.  If you have a much larger house, or closet doors which require handles, your costs could be significantly higher.


9 Passage Doors: $28/each = $253 3 Privacy Doors (Bathrooms Only) :$31/each = $96 4 Dummy Levers (for 2 double doors) : $14/each = $56 1 Deadbolts (for garage doors): $33 1 Interior Keyable Handle (for front door): $31 1 Exterior Keyable Handleset (for front door): $116 TOTAL COST (without tax): $583

Other stuff you need to keep in mind:

How thick your door is:  This is only a problem in much older homes and on exterior doors.  Most standard doors are 1 3/8-1 3/4 inch thick

Backset: How far over (horizontally) your handle will be installed on the door. 2 3/8- 2 3/4 inches is standard

Bore sizes: This the size of the hole that was drilled in the door for both the handle/cylinder itself and the latch or bolt.  Again these are extremely standard. It is very rare to have an under or oversized bore hole.

Keying: When ordering keyed locks, you need to decide if you want a different key for each lock or if you want them all keyed the same.   Most companies can provide lock sets that only require one key for all of them.


So that is pretty much everything you need to know before tackling a door hardware update. Plus most hardware companies are more than happy to answer any questions you may have about what exactly you need.

Overall, I’m really glad I took the time and spent the money to replace all the handles.  It was totally worth it.  The house definitely feels less dated!

Share this:

I recently removed Disqus comments and converted to the Facebook commenting system.
Thank you for your understanding.

SIMILAR ARTICLES