New door handles

[Murmansk]

I was asked to replace all the door handles in someone's 1970s bungalow.

They had nasty brass lever handles and had bought a load of stainless steel lever handles from BQ.

I discovered that the square metal shafts linking the handles of the new ones were a tiny bit bigger than the square holes in the tubular latches on the doors and had to replace all the latches too. The shafts fitted the new latches perfectly.

Were latches made with smaller holes in the 70s - is this some kind of imperial V metric thing?

[Michael Chare]

We bought a property with Everest windows and doors. I found that the front door would not close properly as you could not raise the handle to drive the bolts home. I took the door and the lock itself to pieces but did not solve the problem until I used the square metal shaft from the back door which I noticed had two flats on the square shaft where it passes through the lock. I filed similar flats on the front door shaft and the door now locks properly. The previous owner could never have locked the door properly! The property was built in the 70s. I have not needed to look at the internal door shafts, but if they are to small for new handles I would probably attack the latch with my file so I could use a larger shaft.

[newshound]

I have had the same experience (but have never actually measured or investigated).

[bert]

In article [e-mail], Murmansk [e-mail] writes

BQ syndrome. Nothing ever fits even their own originals.

[Brian Gaff]

I don't know but I have seen square rods with a slightly smaller end on each end, so this sort of thing has to have happened before. I had the opposite issue on the kitchen do, ie the old knobs, made of something resembling bakerlite fitted but the new plates with captive handles meant I needed to saw down the spindle but then I found they were sloppy as the holes war too big. I'm afraid I did what every good bodger would. Cut some shims of plastic and used them to pack out the spaces on two sides., its still OK after 20 years. OK won't help you, but it reminded me. No I'm not taking the olive green handle sets off to look either. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

If these handle sets have their own return springs and plates, one other issue is often the space between the handle spindle and the keyhole. In two cases I had a lot of work to do to get this sorted by installing a new loc. However the keys for the old ones were lost so it had to be done. Brian

[Brian Gaff]

My too large ones were from the now Defunct Transatlantic Plastics store in Surbiton. I think there are at least two sizes and even two different threaded hole sizes in some so non captive handles can be used. Brian

[Andrew]

Just noticed this thread and checked mine. The square rods from the original 1976 handles are a tight fit in new euro handles (not from b&Q) but the main problem is the way the bars were cut in the 1970's which leaves a burr at each end. Looks like a cold shear cutter was used.

File off this burr and they do fit, though snugly.

The handles I bought came as a set with screws and bar, and the new bar has been given rounded corners.

[Murmansk]

OP here

This job was one of the most unexpectedly-difficult ones I've ever done!

The doors were of the kind made of hardboard filled with carboard "egg box" type stuff with a thin bit of wood around the edges.

The tubular latches all had to be replaced because the shafts of the new handles were a bit too big for them as described above.

I think the tubular latches had been fitted by hammering them into a hole that was too small so to get them out involved a massive amount of tugging and levering, so much so that I nearly damaged the doors and one door started to come loose at the hinges!

The one virtue of the handles was that, rather than having 4 screws to go into the very-insubstantial door, they had bolts going through and linking up a bit like those used to attach Ikea kitchen cupboards together.

The complication was that the square shaft linking the handles had two slits at either end AND, on the other surfaces, grooves into which a tiny allen key headed grub screw in the handle's neck would go - and depending how the variable depth groove happened to line up with where the grub screw was located, you'd end up with the grub screw hardly tightening up at all and so remaining sticking out under the handle!

[Andrew]

Been down the same route and also had to trim every single new door because none of the linings were exactly perpendicular.

The only solution is replace the lot, doors, handles, latches and hinges. Does look nicer though.

The old sapele doors were easy to deeconstruct into wooden facing panels which were easy to strip off and break up, then scoop out the eggbox interior and chuck in the recycling bin, leaving just the softwood edgeings dumped in the wood recycling skip.