Door Knobs

How To Buy Door Knobs

When purchasing door knobs, there are a few things you will need to be prepared for to make sure you are purchasing the correct knob for your doors. You will need to be sure to select to proper function that is suitable for your door, the correct backset, and the correct strikeplate and faceplate. You can visit our help page for information regarding all types of door hardware.

Functions of door knobs include passage, privacy, dummy, and keyed. Passage knobs are typically used for hallway doors, closet doors, laundry room doors, and any other general access door in your home. Privacy knobs are meant for bedroom doors, bathroom doors, and other doors that require some level of privacy behind them. Privacy sets are often made with either a button on the knob itself, or a push-pin located beside the knob that activates a locking feature to lock the door. A small tool or paper clip can be used from the outside to unlock the door. Dummy knobs have no latching function and are mounted directly onto the solid surface of the door - no holes are bored into the door for a dummy knob. Dummy knobs are for decorative purposes only and are often used on inactive doors such as closet doors and double doors that use a ball-catch on the top of the door to latch it shut.

The backset of your knob is important for the compatibility of the latch. A backset is measured from the edge of the door to the center of the bore hole. Standard backset measurements are either 2-3/8" or 2-3/4". Some knobs have latches that are adjustable and can be switched between either backsets. Sometimes brands require you to select one or the other - so it is important to select correctly so your latches are compatible with your doors.

Strikeplates are the small pieces of metal that are screwed onto the door frame. They are what the latch strikes when you shut a door. They are usually available with either square-corners or 1/4"-radius-corners. You should choose whatever type will fit into the pre-chiseled space in your door frame - just take a look at the shape of the chiseled area and you will see if you need square-corners or radius-corners. Most door frames are made for radius-corner strikeplates.

Faceplates are the small rectangular shaped metal pieces that surround the latch and are installed onto the edge of the door. Like strikeplates, they will have either square-corners or radius-corners. Again, just look at your doors to see which type will fit into the chiseled space.

Door Knob Styles

Homestead Hardware offers door knobs in numerous styles, materials, functions, and finish colors. We have door knobs suitable for all tastes and budgets. Our knob styles fit home design genres such as American heritage, colonial, vintage and antique, Victorian, rustic, Italian-Renaissance, arts & crafts, modern, and more!