This is a properly working doorknob: the lock on the inside knob is easy to press,
the knobs feel solid when you grip them, you cannot turn the outside knob unless
you unlock it with the right key, and the door closes without a snag. In this video
I show you how to replace a doorknob and how to solve some of the frustrating
problems along the way. But first, it's important to understand why you would
want or need to replace your doorknob.
Hey there, this is HanDIYman 007 and if we're just
meeting for the first time, hello! And my passion is building, fixing, and improving
all sorts of stuff at home for my family and sharing with you what I have learned
from experience and from others.
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Before even buying a replacement set, it's important to know the thickness of
your door.
This door is about 4 centimeters; 43 millimeters to be exact.
So this new knob set I got has a back set of 16 millimeters which is the
diameter of the hole the knob goes through and fits doors from 28
millimeters to 45 millimeters thick. So my 43 millimeter door is well within
that range. So let's open this up and check what's inside. First, you have the
cylindrical body where several parts are attached: the outside knob with a keyhole,
the inside knob with a lock, the inside and outside rose, and mounting plate,
which we will all cover in-depth later.
Next, we have the latch.
Of course we have identical keys. Manufacturers would usually include at
least three for good measure.
We also have the strike and the strike box. And taped to it is a tool which I'll
show you how to use later.
Okay, so let's begin removing our old doorknob by unscrewing its latch.
Now here's a first problem you might encounter: wood screws with lost thread.
To get around this, once you have popped out the head a bit, use long nose pliers
to twist counterclockwise while pulling out. Easy does it.
By the way, when working with doors, what I like to do is wedge something between
the door and the jamb -- like my toolbox. This prevents the door from accidentally
shutting close and locking myself inside or outside. Better safe than sorry. Now we
need to pull out the inside knob so we can later pull out the inside cover plate,
technically known as a "rose". This will allow us access to the screws on the
mounting plate. Removing the rose is easy. Just look for the small notch around it
and pry with a flathead screwdriver. But like I said, we need to remove the inside
knob first. And to do that, we need to press a hole --
called a "catch" -- just behind the inside knob. See the small rectangular recess?
That's the "catch". And this is where this tool, that looks like a key, comes in.
Its tip is the size of that catch and strong enough to press a pin inside it.
Now this is another problem that you might encounter: the catch is stuck and
wouldn't let the inside knob slide off.
Here's our new knob set and just to show you how easy it is supposed to be...
find the catch...
press with a tool until you hear a click...
then slide off the inside knob. Now for some reason, our catch on this old knob
is not depressing all the way. Also, I noticed that it is partially covered by
the rose. So I'm gonna pry the rose off with a pair of vise grip pliers and cutting
pliers to get better access to the catch. Give me a few seconds here...
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Now we can unscrew the mounting plate...
so we can loosen the outside rose. This allows us to slide the entire body more
inwards and thus, exposing the catch much better.
And this time, I'm gonna use a flathead precision tool that's much sturdier than
the other tool.
And after several attempts trying to press that catch, it's officially
hopeless. My last resort is to once and for all cut the stem of the inner knob
with a hacksaw. Noticed that I screwed the mounting plate back in to prevent the
knob from wiggling too much while I saw. This should be fun.
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After finally getting rid of the inner knob, we can again unscrew the mounting
plate. Hopefully your old doorknob isn't as stubborn as this one. But in case you
encountered the same situation, you now know there is a solution. Now, we just
pull out the entire assembly from the outside. If the latch plate is stuck on
the side of the door, a good trick is to take a long nose pliers and whack the
inside outwards a few times. Then wedge a flathead screwdriver along the seams.
Whack it loose and pry out. Moving on to the door jamb... let's unscrew the strike plate.
Using the same technique, pry out
the plate and the strike box with the flathead and hammer combo.
Now it's time to slide in our new set, making sure that the hole in the body is
pointed towards where our latch will be later. Obviously the direction should be
the lock button is towards the inside of the room and the keyhole is outside the
room. Then we separate the mounting plate and the rose with a flathead screwdriver
in the notch.
The mounting plate goes there -- but not yet. We need to slide in the latch
through the side of the door, making sure that the angled side is pointing towards
the door jamb.
Then carefully position the "T"-end of the latch inside the hole of the body.
They most likely will have the same shape.
To check if you have successfully connected them, turn the outside knob.
The latch should sink into the door every time.
Time to secure the body onto the door. Slide the mounting plate through the
inside sleeve, making sure that the screw holes are aligned.
Insert and tighten the screws, alternately, to press the body onto the
door evenly.
Do a quick test if the knob and latch are still connected. Then secure the latch
with the screws that came with it.
Again, tighten alternately to get an even pressure.
Do one more test...
Good! Let's slide the rose on top of the
mounting plate, making sure that the notches align. Then press firmly all
around until it snaps on.
Finally, let's slide our inside knob onto the sleeve, also making sure that the
notches are aligned. Give it a light tap with your hand until it snaps into place.
Now, test the lock and the knob. All good. To install the striker onto the jamb,
swing the door until the latch slightly touches the jamb. And mark the top and
bottom edge of the latch against the jamb. This will be our guide in positioning
our striker and striker box. Because if the striker isn't aligned with these
guidelines, the door will not close smoothly. Another problem you may
encounter is that the new striker box is bigger than the hole on the jamb.
Just chisel off the wood with your flat head while paying attention to the top and
bottom guidelines -- should always be within the height of the hole.
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This is HanDIYman 007. Case closed!