Wondering how to select door hardware for your new home? What are the factors that you should keep in mind while selecting door hardware?
Door hardware includes the handle or the knob and different types of latch and locking mechanisms. Did you know door hardware can be the jewels of your doors if selected carefully? And that makes it important to consider some unavoidable factors while choosing the best door hardware. This is why I decided to put up a short and quick guide about it.
Below, we are going to discuss some very important factors that play a great role in choosing perfect door hardware that fulfils all your requirements.
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QUALITY
According to www.omegalocksmith.com, a Chicago Locksmith, quality is arguably the most important factor to keep in mind while selecting door hardware. Quality locksets are worth choosing even if they seem little costlier to you. It is better to go for a quality product instead of frequently spending on the maintenance of a cheap product. If you looking for the best quality product then you can visit Nestkoo for top list and buyer’s guide.
Moreover, a quality product comes with a much longer warranty period as compared to the generic and cheaper products. So, a good quality product will guarantee service assurance for a long period in single time investment. Therefore, it would be foolish to put quality and durability at stake just to save a few bucks.
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STYLE AND FINISH
There’re numerous options available in the market when it comes to choosing the best style and finish for your door hardware. After all, it is going to give your door a catchy and elegant look and so is worth spending some time on. You should go for a finish that coordinates with the colour and other hardware finish in your house.
There’re many styles available, such as oval, flat/square, round, and other antique styles. When it comes to finish, you have many options such as a glossy finish, a matte finish, etc.
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FUNCTIONING OF THE DOOR
Once the style and finish of the hardware are decided, it’s essential to understand the functioning of the door so as to choose perfectly-working door hardware.
There’re four types of hardware available that are specially made for a specific type of door functioning.
- Dummy Lockset: It just comes with a knob or a liver and doesn’t include a latch, that’s why it is also called a non-functional lockset. This type of set is usually used for cupboards. Once installed, it looks similar to the functional sets.
- Passage Lockset: These types of locksets come without a locking system but contain latch in them. They are generally used for interior doors like bedroom doors, closet doors, etc.
- Privacy Lockset: Such locksets have an integrated and separate locking system that is usually used where you need privacy like a bathroom, home offices, etc.
- Keyed Lockset: It is lockable on both sides and has a key to unlock it from the outside, as well as a knob or button to unlock from inside. It can be used for both interiors as well as exterior applications.
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ENVIRONMENT THAT YOU LIVE IN
The climate or environment of a place is a very important factor to consider while choosing door hardware. For example, if you are living in a coastal area, there’s a risk that your door hardware could become rusty after some time or may lose their glow. For such regions, therefore, matte finish is considered best. If you reside in dusty environments, dust can load up on the door hardware and interfere their proper operation.
And for places with extreme temperatures, the door material can expand and contract during different seasons, and that can affect the binding of door hardware. Evidently, you should select door hardware keeping climate factor in mind.
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LEVEL OF USE
There’s a great difference in the extent of usage of doors, especially when considering whether they are in residential or commercial areas. In case of a residential application, the average door use is about 20 cycles per day while in a commercial application; the number could go reach hundreds of cycle per day.
So while selecting door hardware it is highly important to consider the level of use of the equipment. To ensure the best results you should ask for the service life of the product you are considering to buy.
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CONSIDERING THE LIFESTYLE
Lifestyle is another important factor to consider while choosing door hardware because once installed, these are not things that can be changed again and again. It is a long-term application that may seem problematic after some time. Keyless electronic door hardware has come a long way these days.
If you are one of those people who are constantly on the go or you have guests coming and going, a keyless electronic lockset is best to consider. In this way, you find a variety of options to choose from according to the requirements your lifestyle demands.
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TYPE OF DOOR
Now, it is only obvious to consider the door on which the hardware is going to be equipped. When selecting door hardware, there’re many things to ponder about a door, including its building material as well as size and the place where it is to be set up.
For example, if the door is thicker than normal, then you have to ask for hardware that is optimized for that level of thickness. And if it is the main exterior gate, you may have to keep the security factor in mind, as discussed under the next heading.
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THE FRONT DOOR SECURITY
We all long for our houses to have the best security possible. So when you are choosing door hardware you are supposed to keep your front-door security in mind.
If you are thinking about having the most secure lock for your front door, Mortice lockset can be the best option to go for. This is because mortice locksets offer higher security than the lockets having a simple tubular latch.
Conclusion
Did you enjoy our guide on finding the best door hardware? We would like to hear from you. Feel free to post your comments in the comments section below and should you have any more ideas, you may add them as well.