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Door Knobs to Levers

18 years ago

I am thinking that I would like to replace two of my door knobs with the new levers. Is this possible to do in the same door or would I have to replace the entire door? They are both doors that go to the outside of the house and I'd like to replace them on both the inside and the outside.

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Comments (8)

Kitty_in_NC
18 years ago
They usually fit in the same opening as your old one unless they are extremely fancy ones. It will tell you on the box the size, spacing etc.
ridingagain
18 years ago
You can replace the door knobs with levers without changing the door. I have ugly brass knobs now and was thinking about changing all of them out to lever handles.
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We have a totally traditional house and have levers and they don't look modern at all. Funny story though. When DS was in college he came home one day and was trudging down the hall, as boys that age are apt to do, and caught the strap of his back pack on the lever handle of the linen closet. Because he was moving rather quickly, before he knew what was happening, it spun him around and slammed his face into the wall. When he called to tell me he was going to the eye doctor to replace the glasses that were just broken, he couldn't stop lauging. He's 35 now and we still laugh about it. That being said, I've caught the strap of my purse on DM's door knobs many times, so I think there are pros and cons for each. I did read somewhere that levers were better for the elderly and handicapped. Good luck!
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Hi. One thing always leads to another when doing even somewhat “small” improvements. Our last house had gold knobs. We never changed them( it was an entire house !) because the hinges were also gold… and it felt like such a big effort to change them all( especially since we were do-it- yourselves people)…so I get you! We concentrated on the bigger stuff like bathrooms… kitchens… and never changed them. Now it seems strange to me that we didn’t do it. We slowly improved everything but those handles. 🤷‍♀️ We have a custom home now. There’s a mix of metals. All of the doors have black levers(and hinges). Some bathrooms have bronze cabinet knobs and faucets and others have nickel. Nothing looks off. If you want to do improvements, you’ll start somewhere. Or like us…save up for the bigger impact areas😂. Maybe there’s some ideas out there of how to paint/alter the mirror doors that won’t scratch off or intrude on their use.
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rileysmom17
18 years ago
One thought...I recently read an interesting medical article that showed severe eye injuries in children from the type of lever that does not curve in towards the door. That is, the lever handle was basically straight. Kids of a certain age/height basically ran onto the pointed end of the lever and destroyed their eyes. So if your house is kid intensive, look for the curved lever handles. Might not be as attractive but consider the possible downside...
crableg
18 years ago
Mine don't go to a point, maybe its the cheap ones that do, I think a kid that tall would not be likely to run into a handle,? Just pick out a nice thick one, I love mine, thinking of changing all the interier ones!
clg7067
18 years ago
Yep, I just changed out some 20 year old builder grade knobs for Italian Designer chrome levers. I love mine, too. :)
TommeCA
18 years ago
Kids running into the lever are one concern. Another consideration is your dog. We have a Flat-coated retriever who has learned to open the door using the lever handle. We now have to be certain we have locked the door if we need to keep her outside; it's a cute trick, unless she's a muddy mess.
Window_Guy
18 years ago
The standard door today and back about the past 30 years have been bored one of two ways. The edge bore is usually a 1" hole and the standard ASA 2-1/4" mortise cut out. THis will accept pretty much any latchbolt on the market. Most latchbolts come adjustable for the two standard backsets of 2-3/8" & 2-3/4". It will be one or the other. They haven't changed this in a very long time. The only issue you may come to will be the face bore where the new lever will go. The standard in the industry is 2-1/8" hole. This hole is used today for locksets and deadbolts. Some older doors from the fifties will have a 1-5/8" bore for locks. If you have these then you can pick up a little plastic kit that has a hole saw and guide to re-bore the door for the bigger size. But most the time you can remove the old lock and put the new one in. Todays levers come with many different types of handles. Most of them curl up or down to prevent eye injuries. They also put some type of ball or curl on the ends to take the sharp point away. Hope this helps. Good Luck!!!
dancingqueengw
Original Author
18 years ago
Great advice. I will watch out for pointy lever handles and it is so helpful to know the dimension issues. I looked at HD and was not impressed with what they had. I'll try and online search to see what I can find. Thanks.

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