Kitchen handles with 175mm spacing?
Discussion
I would like to replace our kitchen 'T' bar handles with some new ones. All of our existing are 175mm hole spacing/centres, but I can't seem to find any that fit regardless of the searches I try. At best I get offered 175mm length or if I try 235mm length of the current ones then I get offered 192mm hole spacing options. Even kitchen handle 'specialists' don't seem to stock them. 
Does anyone know if there are any handle options with this now seeming out of date spacing?
Replacing all the doors/drawer fronts now is not an option (plus they are fine otherwise). I am currently re-polishing the granite worktop to remove some light scratches, which is coming up well, so replacing the handles would just finish it off nicely for the time being, but it doesn't seem easy to search for the spacing I need without getting snowed under with lots of crap results for the wrong sizes.
I can't even think of a way to cover the existing holes and drill two new ones that won't look like a bodge.
Does anyone know if there are any handle options with this now seeming out of date spacing?
Replacing all the doors/drawer fronts now is not an option (plus they are fine otherwise). I am currently re-polishing the granite worktop to remove some light scratches, which is coming up well, so replacing the handles would just finish it off nicely for the time being, but it doesn't seem easy to search for the spacing I need without getting snowed under with lots of crap results for the wrong sizes.
I can't even think of a way to cover the existing holes and drill two new ones that won't look like a bodge.
You are being offered 192mm because it is divisible by 32mm, 32mm being the standard centres for all things kitchens, if you have odd sizes that are not on 32mm centres then it could be a bespoke kitchen or made by a one man outfit etc.
Any shop, site selling kitchen handles will be as above on 32mm centres, this is also why Festool made the track saw tables on 96mm centres for the dog holes and one of their guide rails has 32mm holes in it so a router with the hole adaptor can punch 32mm holes in cabinet carcasses.
224,192,160,128mm centre holes is the norm.
The 2 holes in the cabinet that the door hinges fix to are again 32mm centres on standard units.
Any shop, site selling kitchen handles will be as above on 32mm centres, this is also why Festool made the track saw tables on 96mm centres for the dog holes and one of their guide rails has 32mm holes in it so a router with the hole adaptor can punch 32mm holes in cabinet carcasses.
224,192,160,128mm centre holes is the norm.
The 2 holes in the cabinet that the door hinges fix to are again 32mm centres on standard units.
Lotobear said:
Thats what I was thinking...Perhaps some like these that would cover the original holes:
https://www.hafele.co.uk/en/product/pull-handle-br...
(Obviously you'd have to plug the original holes on the back)
Edited by Simmos on Tuesday 11th November 18:11
Promised Land said:
You are being offered 192mm because it is divisible by 32mm, 32mm being the standard centres for all things kitchens, if you have odd sizes that are not on 32mm centres then it could be a bespoke kitchen or made by a one man outfit etc.
Any shop, site selling kitchen handles will be as above on 32mm centres, this is also why Festool made the track saw tables on 96mm centres for the dog holes and one of their guide rails has 32mm holes in it so a router with the hole adaptor can punch 32mm holes in cabinet carcasses.
224,192,160,128mm centre holes is the norm.
The 2 holes in the cabinet that the door hinges fix to are again 32mm centres on standard units.
It was just a standard kitchen which I installed myself, using pre-built units. I can't remember the supplier now...something similar to (but not) Howdens. I think I had to drill the holes for the handles myself, but I might be mis-remembering that, or perhaps just certain doors I had to drill.Any shop, site selling kitchen handles will be as above on 32mm centres, this is also why Festool made the track saw tables on 96mm centres for the dog holes and one of their guide rails has 32mm holes in it so a router with the hole adaptor can punch 32mm holes in cabinet carcasses.
224,192,160,128mm centre holes is the norm.
The 2 holes in the cabinet that the door hinges fix to are again 32mm centres on standard units.
I'm slightly reluctant to say that it's 15 years old, knowing that the powerfully built types will suggest I rip it all out and replace it. There is nothing wrong with it (the cabinets were extra heavy duty with 15mm back panels for example, rather than thin hardboard), frankly we don't care if the style is out of date, just would have been nice to replace the handles.
Given the heavy duty cabinets that are really still like new inside (Blum hinges, drawer slides, etc) and the Granite worktop our plan was to replace the doors and drawers eventually. However, this year we've had to replace our mains water feed, our washing machine and our boiler, so this is meant as a short term clean up that is mostly labour intensive, since I'm retired. Hopefully to give us a few more years before we replace the doors/drawers.
I might just have to remove one handle and see if I can remove the lacquer and just buff them up maybe with a Dremel, then refit. It's the ones that get used the most, so wouldn't need to do them all. It's just where the lacquer peels off with wear and the metal underneath is fine. A straight swap would be much easier though.
Simmos said:
Hi Oldskool
Are you looking to replace like for like?
If not, what sort of style/finish are you after?
Not bothered: If we can't get like for like then I can replace them all instead.Are you looking to replace like for like?
If not, what sort of style/finish are you after?
These are the current ones and the top one in the photo shows the typical wear on the most used handles:
Simmos said:
Lotobear said:
Thats what I was thinking...Perhaps some like these that would cover the original holes:
https://www.hafele.co.uk/en/product/pull-handle-br...
(Obviously you'd have to plug the original holes on the back)
Edited by Simmos on Tuesday 11th November 18:11
Those Langham ones would also do the trick in covering the existing holes if I picked the size the closest to what we currently have. Maybe another supplier sells something similar.
Thanks for the suggestions and responses.
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Tuesday 11th November 19:05
Vtekkers said:
Might sound like a bodge but how about swapping the most used handles with the least used handles and turning them upside down so the wear you see from the top will be at the bottom, just a thought if your struggling to find replacement in the mean time
I was just going to suggest the very same temporary fix.OP , give them a good clean and do it without telling the wife.
Busa mav said:
I was just going to suggest the very same temporary fix.
OP , give them a good clean and do it without telling the wife.
It's a good idea flipping them over, but the wear is on the front as much as the top, so will show.OP , give them a good clean and do it without telling the wife.
I'm going to dig out my spare one and swap it with one of the worn ones so I can have a play with cleaning it up. See what works. No need to hide it from my wife as she's happy with me just cleaning everything up and polishing the granite.
I suspect the Hafele ones will end up costing a fair bit if I have to go through a kitchen supplier, which is a bit pointless given it's only meant to be a short term tidy up.
OldSkoolRS said:
I found the right size on the Hafele website, but unfortunately once I put one n the basket it said they were trade only.
If you send me a pm I can take a look at this for you as my business has an account at Hafele.Edited by OldSkoolRS on Tuesday 11th November 19:05
Hafele handles are available on screwfix too https://www.screwfix.com/c/security-ironmongery/ca...
OldSkoolRS said:
I found the right size on the Hafele website, but unfortunately once I put one n the basket it said they were trade only.
Those Langham ones would also do the trick in covering the existing holes if I picked the size the closest to what we currently have. Maybe another supplier sells something similar.
Thanks for the suggestions and responses.
They say you need to be in the trade but they dont check.Those Langham ones would also do the trick in covering the existing holes if I picked the size the closest to what we currently have. Maybe another supplier sells something similar.
Thanks for the suggestions and responses.
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Tuesday 11th November 19:05
catso said:
Stainless steel? if so they could be polished/textured to look like new.
Yes. That's what I'm going to do now. It's just the clear lacquer that has peeled in places. Once I find my 1-2 spare ones in the loft I'll swap one out to try. Maybe paint thinners will strip off the lacquer, but if not I could sand or use my Dremel to clean them up.Appreciate all the responses on here and the offers to order for me, but I think I'll stick with the free option since I have the time. Just that I saw packs of 10 handles on Amazon for about £12-15 depending on size, if they had only stocked my spacing it would have been an easy/cheap solution.
I couldn't find the spare ones in the loft, so I took the worst one off and had a play.
It turns out that the 'feet' come off once unscrewed from the door, which leaves the bar part. I put some masking tape on the end and put it in the chuck of my cordless drill and used it like a mini lathe. I used some P600 wet and dry to remove the lacquer and polish up the Stainless steel underneath. I put a bit of ceramic car polish on it to seal it and refitted. Looks great, though I might try P800 or P1000 for a finer finish.
This was the top handle off the drawers from my photo further back after the drill/wet sand clean up. I refitted it on the boiler door as I'd already swapped this less used one with the top drawer handle:
Took about 10 minutes to remove, polish and refit the first one, but once I get a production line going I think I'll get through them all pretty quickly.
Between the polished handles, polished up granite and a quick DA of the gloss doors while the handles are off should have it looking a bit fresher. Obviously won't magically update the style, but will do for a couple more years I reckon.
It turns out that the 'feet' come off once unscrewed from the door, which leaves the bar part. I put some masking tape on the end and put it in the chuck of my cordless drill and used it like a mini lathe. I used some P600 wet and dry to remove the lacquer and polish up the Stainless steel underneath. I put a bit of ceramic car polish on it to seal it and refitted. Looks great, though I might try P800 or P1000 for a finer finish.
This was the top handle off the drawers from my photo further back after the drill/wet sand clean up. I refitted it on the boiler door as I'd already swapped this less used one with the top drawer handle:
Took about 10 minutes to remove, polish and refit the first one, but once I get a production line going I think I'll get through them all pretty quickly.
Between the polished handles, polished up granite and a quick DA of the gloss doors while the handles are off should have it looking a bit fresher. Obviously won't magically update the style, but will do for a couple more years I reckon.
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Thursday 13th November 17:07
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