Carpenters of PH - can you help with my door locks?
Discussion
Can anyone offer any advice?
Having thoroughly cleared out this old house - and thus far the only things found of use being a step ladder and a scaffold plank we cleared the loft to find that all the original lovely pine panneled doors were up there having been replaced, for reasons that still elude me, with horrible ply and cardboard honeycomb ones. Once stripped and given a couple of coats of wax oil they came up really well!
However, this is where the fun starts...
The doors themselves have a max thickness of 32 mil going down to 27 odd mil for the bathroom and therefore trying to fit a conventional 'in door lock' is a difficult (impossible) proposition.
The obvious option would be to fit older style 'surface mount' door locks (as they were) but there we hit a snag:
In two of the rooms - which may have been divided from one room - the jamb is so close to the wall there simply isnt the room for the receiving plate to be installed as the one above has 15mm give or take and the other is but half the size. The smallest I have found for the receiver is 18 mm but even this is too much.
Is there something obvious I am missing? I am of a mind that the rim mount lock mechanism should go on the inside of the door - is this not correct? The wall separating the two rooms is lath and plaster if it helps at all but this would seem to be a big stumbling block. - Unless I find a local machine shop with a fly press that could knock up some extra slim door keeps?
Thats my current best hope - unless anyone has any suggestions?
Sorry for the sideways pictures! Ill try to fix them!
Edit - sorry - I had a go but cant fix the orientation!
Edit Edit - I suppose I could 'dig them in' to the plaster to give more clearance - but getting the screws in (assuming the woodwork is in there) would be horrendous!
Edit Edit Edit - I'm not worried about the ablility to lock the doors as such - but they need to be kept closed in wind etc. Some sort of fixed knob and then a second latching mechanism?
Having thoroughly cleared out this old house - and thus far the only things found of use being a step ladder and a scaffold plank we cleared the loft to find that all the original lovely pine panneled doors were up there having been replaced, for reasons that still elude me, with horrible ply and cardboard honeycomb ones. Once stripped and given a couple of coats of wax oil they came up really well!
However, this is where the fun starts...
The doors themselves have a max thickness of 32 mil going down to 27 odd mil for the bathroom and therefore trying to fit a conventional 'in door lock' is a difficult (impossible) proposition.
The obvious option would be to fit older style 'surface mount' door locks (as they were) but there we hit a snag:
In two of the rooms - which may have been divided from one room - the jamb is so close to the wall there simply isnt the room for the receiving plate to be installed as the one above has 15mm give or take and the other is but half the size. The smallest I have found for the receiver is 18 mm but even this is too much.
Is there something obvious I am missing? I am of a mind that the rim mount lock mechanism should go on the inside of the door - is this not correct? The wall separating the two rooms is lath and plaster if it helps at all but this would seem to be a big stumbling block. - Unless I find a local machine shop with a fly press that could knock up some extra slim door keeps?
Thats my current best hope - unless anyone has any suggestions?
Sorry for the sideways pictures! Ill try to fix them!
Edit - sorry - I had a go but cant fix the orientation!
Edit Edit - I suppose I could 'dig them in' to the plaster to give more clearance - but getting the screws in (assuming the woodwork is in there) would be horrendous!
Edit Edit Edit - I'm not worried about the ablility to lock the doors as such - but they need to be kept closed in wind etc. Some sort of fixed knob and then a second latching mechanism?
Edited by paolow on Tuesday 8th August 19:54
campionissimo said:
can you reverse the door swing, so the hinges go on the narrow side.
I am annoyed at myself for not thinking of this - a smidge more work but a practical solution PLUS it means the doors open the proper (IMHO) way into the room. If we are rehanging anyway - why not? My wife is worried that baby would then be able to open the door from her cot but I am less concerned.
It would mean flipping 3 doors so they all go the 'right' way - but I can live with that - certialnly this is winning so far!
astroarcadia said:
The doors need a rim latch with the keep chopped/notched into the wall.
Not ideal but that's what I would do.
I still like this idea also - but how would I fix the keep though? theres so little woodwork exposed Id struggle to get the screws in remotely straight? had we not already papered I'd happily go at the wall with abandon - but we are at the stage where what we now have, I'd like to keep nice - and cant see how I'd achieve that. Not so much the keep - I can just take my time - but getting the screws in would be problematic!Not ideal but that's what I would do.
All IMHO but that lock is wrong side of the door. The locking mechanism should be in the loo it just looks totally wrong. Also unless you can switch the handing on the the latching snib that's going to bump every time you close the door.
Again all IMHO if you had a back door you'd fit the lock on the inside, a door from kitchen to dining room the lock would be kitchen side, any rooms opening to a hall or landing the locks should be on the inside of the rooms.
Again all IMHO if you had a back door you'd fit the lock on the inside, a door from kitchen to dining room the lock would be kitchen side, any rooms opening to a hall or landing the locks should be on the inside of the rooms.
elanfan said:
All IMHO but that lock is wrong side of the door. The locking mechanism should be in the loo it just looks totally wrong. Also unless you can switch the handing on the the latching snib that's going to bump every time you close the door.
Again all IMHO if you had a back door you'd fit the lock on the inside, a door from kitchen to dining room the lock would be kitchen side, any rooms opening to a hall or landing the locks should be on the inside of the rooms.
Again all IMHO if you had a back door you'd fit the lock on the inside, a door from kitchen to dining room the lock would be kitchen side, any rooms opening to a hall or landing the locks should be on the inside of the rooms.
the door is off. If you look where the latch is, you'll notice that when the door shuts, the lock is on the inside. It has to open that way, as the ceiling is sloped above the crapper, which is to the left of the latch.Eddieslofart said:
elanfan said:
All IMHO but that lock is wrong side of the door. The locking mechanism should be in the loo it just looks totally wrong. Also unless you can switch the handing on the the latching snib that's going to bump every time you close the door.
Again all IMHO if you had a back door you'd fit the lock on the inside, a door from kitchen to dining room the lock would be kitchen side, any rooms opening to a hall or landing the locks should be on the inside of the rooms.
Again all IMHO if you had a back door you'd fit the lock on the inside, a door from kitchen to dining room the lock would be kitchen side, any rooms opening to a hall or landing the locks should be on the inside of the rooms.
the door is off. If you look where the latch is, you'll notice that when the door shuts, the lock is on the inside. It has to open that way, as the ceiling is sloped above the crapper, which is to the left of the latch.Anyway on the locks and doors front im glad the lock is on the inside. Any other doors not having a cut out for a lick already I wouldn't fit one. A handle/knib with a roller latch as previously mentioned would be a lot nicer and a shame to chop chunks out of a nice door.
paolow said:
I still like this idea also - but how would I fix the keep though? theres so little woodwork exposed Id struggle to get the screws in remotely straight? had we not already papered I'd happily go at the wall with abandon - but we are at the stage where what we now have, I'd like to keep nice - and cant see how I'd achieve that. Not so much the keep - I can just take my time - but getting the screws in would be problematic!
Sharp knife and it will be fine. Those doors look best with a rim latch as the other chap posted. I'm guessing the rest of the house is period with a few quirks. If it were new build and/or modern I might be a bit more fussy. Screws will be fine and straighten up once tightened. 
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