Your home will tell the story of who you are. Every feature and hardware that you put in your home affects your home’s value and function. Even the tiniest details of your home, such as high quality door handles, can significantly affect the overall aesthetics of your home and also its value.
One of the most common materials that homeowners overlook is the handles for their doors and cabinets. Most homeowners believe that the doors that they purchase for their homes already come with matching hinges, latches, and door handles. However, this is not always the case. Most doors that you are buying do not come with handles, latches, or locks. You will have to buy them separately.
High quality door handles will not only add value to your home, but they are also crucial in ensuring the security of your home. Door hardware comes in different types, styles, and locking mechanisms. Here are things that you have to consider when picking the right door handles for your home.
Door Type
First things first, you should choose door handles that would be compatible with your door. To know compatibility, you have to first find out the measurements of your door in terms of its thickness, cross bore, and backset.
Thickness
Front doors are the main doors to your home and range from 1 1/4 inches to 3 inches thick.
Cross Bore
The cross bore is the diameter of the hole that the hardware of the door handle will fit into, and most, if not all, cross bores should measure 2 1/8 inches.
Backset
The backset describes the measure from the edge of the door to the centre of the cross borehole. Backset measurements are either 2 3/8 inches or 2 3/4 inches.
Handing
The handing determines the direction where the door will open. Most door handles are strictly left or right-handed, while some doors allow reversible handing.
It is best to carefully read the product specifications of your door hardware to find out if they will fit perfectly to your door type.
Handle Style
Now that you know the type of hardware and the specifications that your door requires, you can now choose your handle style. You can choose from a knob, a lever, or a handle style. Whatever style you want, it should complement the architecture of your home and a finish that would match the other metals on your home exterior, such as your outdoor lighting fixtures.
You should approach the choice of your handle design as you would with your other design decisions for your home. It is best if your door handle will match the overall aesthetics of your home. You should also decide if you want all your door handles to be the same for all doors or not.
Lock Type
You should choose a lock for your doors. There are two main options when it comes to securing your doors, the keyed deadbolt, and the keyless entry. Keyless entries can be opened by using a keypad, a touchscreen, or a keyless fob. There are even smart model locks that can be opened using your smartphones or other devices. It is best to choose the lock type that will give your home the most security; but still should match the design of your handle style.
Knowing what to consider in choosing door handles for your doors will give your home the added appeal while having peace of mind that your home will be secured at all times.
