Accessories
When choosing a door for your home, you need to pay attention to the design features and material; the performance of the product depends on this. You should immediately take a closer look at the fittings; they should be in harmony with the background of the door leaf and at the same time provide functionality.
The main element of the door is the lock; it must provide good protection against the entry of uninvited guests, therefore such a product must be durable and burglar-resistant.
But no matter how reliable the lock is, it still cannot provide one hundred percent security, so additional locking devices are installed on the door, such as latches, overhead hooks, and so on. Despite the simple mechanism, such fittings allow you to organize good protection.
Today the market offers many offers, among which you can choose fittings for each specific case. In this article we will talk about latches that are installed on both entrance and interior structures.
Gate valves for metal entrance structures
Gate valves for interior door structures
Features of latches
This element of door hardware is a mechanism that works on the same principle as a lock built into the door. The difference is that to open a door that is locked with a latch, you do not need a key; to do this, you turn the handle of the locking device. For interior doors, such a device is an ideal solution. Latch doors are also often installed on entrance doors; they act as an additional locking mechanism.
Depending on the type of design used, such locking devices can be different: deadbolts, latches, rotary models. If we consider them according to the method of insertion, then they come in two types - mortise and overhead options. A popular type are rotary latches that cut into the door leaf, because they look much more aesthetically pleasing and are equipped with an automatic locking device. In addition, this type of lock can be installed on door leaves made of any materials.
In addition to latches, there are other options for locking mechanisms, for example, rotary-type latch handles. This option allows you to close the interior door structure and securely fix it. If we talk about the price of such products, then it is not so high, and most types of valves are a budget option.
Types of door handle breakdowns
It should be noted right away that there are no fundamental engineering differences between the door handles of entrance doors made of metal or wood; there may only be structural reinforcements due to the large weight. For this reason, the moment of inertia increases significantly, and it causes the appearance of large loads during opening/closing of doors. Only push handles are mounted on entrance groups, and we will talk about them in this article.
Lever handles for metal doors
Table. Common door handle breakdowns
| Signs of breakdown | Short description |
| The handle broke off completely | The reason for such a breakdown is poor-quality metal workmanship, and very rarely, excessive loads. High-quality handles can withstand loads of more than one hundred kilograms; such forces are almost never encountered in practice; therefore, they do not break. |
| The handle turns, but the lock mechanism does not respond | Broken inner square in the handle. The reason is the same as in the first case - low-quality metal. By the way, Chinese manufacturers very often use silumin for the manufacture of various accessories. This is an aluminum-based alloy and can contain up to 23% silicon. As a result, physical strength indicators are very low, critically afraid of even minor static loads, under such conditions metal fatigue quickly appears and products crack for no apparent reason. |
| Handle sticks | The element turns with difficulty, the latch does not spring. The most difficult problem is that you will have to disassemble the lock mechanism. |
| The handle turns easily, but the latch does not move | Most often the problem is with the packaging: the thickness of the doors is much greater than the length of the square. It may move to one handle, and the second will completely disengage. |
| The handle does not return to its original position after pressing | There are two reasons: severe jamming due to critical wear of some parts or misalignment, and breakage of the spiral spring. |
Broken door handles are a common problem.
If your handle breaks, in most cases you can fix it without dismantling the lock; it will only take a few minutes. But this time is only for disassembly/assembly, and we must also take into account the time spent on searching and purchasing spare parts.
Find out how to adjust a plastic balcony door with your own hands in a special article on our portal.
Regular latches
It must be said right away that such a latch is a simple type of locking hardware for a door. They are installed on almost all interior structures. The device is simple - a tongue and a cylinder. The main purpose of such products is to prevent spontaneous opening of the interior door and to keep it in the closed position if necessary. This type of fittings is available in different versions.
Latch without lock
Often the latch is mounted together with the door handle; when it is pressed, a tongue is pulled out, which ensures the door is in a closed position. These latches are called halyard latches. Their design consists of three parts - a tongue, a spring and a handle. The tongue can be made of plastic or metal. Due to the simplicity of the design, many people make their own version of the door latch, especially since there is nothing complicated here.
Magnetic locks AGB (Italy) - quality at an affordable price
Practicing craftsmen have many complaints about Chinese-made magnetic locks - often the magnetic latch simply does not work. To avoid getting into trouble, you should not skimp on accessories. The products of the Italian company AGB enjoy a good reputation, as evidenced by numerous positive reviews.
For marketing purposes, the term “smart magnetic lock” was introduced.
A smart magnetic lock that overcomes the most difficult climatic conditions. Created using innovative materials to ensure the lock operates even in extreme weather conditions (humidity, dust, chemicals).
Polaris 2XT is a smart magnetic lock from AGB.
The face plate is made of stainless steel. On request, the lock is available with a rectangular face plate. Polaris 2XT features quiet closing and precise mechanical connections that give a pleasant smooth handle and key turning feel.
Centro - magnetic lock with deadbolt
The adjustable Easy-Fix XT magnetic striker makes installation easy and the clamp system secures the insert into the striker
Door latch with built-in lock.
This type of locking device is a modification of the latch we discussed above. The difference between these models is small; it’s just that, in addition to the tongue, there is a special lock that holds the locking device in the closed position. This type of latches is installed in those rooms that are closed from the inside - bedroom, bathroom, office and other rooms.
Unlike a conventional latch, this type of lock can jam when closing or opening the door, so you should be careful when choosing a latch-lock. Before buying this version of the locking device, you need to check the smooth movement of the tongue in the store and determine whether the spring has enough power to return the tongue inside the door.
Latch with a lock
The lock with a built-in locking element is made in the form of a bar, which has a hole for the lock and handle. This type of locking device is used in rotary knobs. In such locks, the lock can be made in the form of a button or lever. The latter is considered the best, because it is easy and reliable to use. The cost of such a lock is low, so the product is in the same line as budget models. If you decide to install the locking hardware yourself, then such work will not take much time, the main thing is to follow the order of installing the door latch with the mechanism.
General selection rules
The average person usually buys accessories solely based on external features, in other words, whether they like it or not. But to choose the right door handle, you need to consider several factors.
- The first and perhaps the main point is the material from which the fittings are made. If the handle is wooden, then you need to pay attention to the type of wood; pine, linden or spruce are not suitable; high-quality handles are made from oak, beech or species of similar strength.
- Those who prefer metal should take handles made of steel, copper or brass. The price for models made of alloys will pleasantly please you, plus they look quite decent, but such fittings last no more than a year.
Advice! You can distinguish a low-quality alloy from real metal by weight. Steel, brass and copper will be orders of magnitude heavier than any cheap alloy.
- The next point you should pay attention to is the type of door leaf. Handles can be attached using through pins or self-tapping screws. You can install any fittings on metal and solid wooden doors, but for hollow frame doors it is advisable to use handles with through fixation on studs; self-tapping screws in a thin wall of the door won’t last long.
Choosing a handle on a socket is much easier, because most models differ only in appearance, the device and main dimensions are the same
- Most mistakes are made when choosing a handle for an already embedded lock. If the handle is based on a socket, then there are no problems with it, but models with a solid bar need to be selected carefully; the most important parameter here is the distance from the keyhole to the handle shaft; if it does not match, you will have to buy a new handle.
When choosing a handle on a bar, the main parameter is the distance from the central shaft of the handle to the keyhole
Espagnolette
This is also a kind of lock that is installed in door structures. Initially, such a locking device served as a fixation for double interior doors (it held one part), today such a latch is installed on doors to the bathroom and bathroom. The operating principle of the device is simple and clear the first time. Installing such a door locking device with your own hands will not be difficult even for those who have never encountered such work before.
This latch is a budget solution that allows you to protect premises from unexpected entry. Until now, such fittings are in demand among modern buyers. There are designer models of latches that are suitable for different stylistic solutions for interior design.
Latch for interior doors - budget model
Manufacturers and prices
You can purchase overhead bolts from the following manufacturers:
- AGB – price 1300 rubles;
- Amig – price 1500 rubles;
- Sofuoglu – price 1450 rubles.
The latch is currently a popular element when installing a door. It can be used for door structures made of various materials - wood, plastic or metal. The installation process can be done with your own hands, and the choice of fastening elements is carried out taking into account the type of latch.
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Installation
If you are interested in how to make and install a door latch yourself, I will answer - there is nothing complicated here, the main thing is to want it, and the rest will follow. In order for the latch lock you made to correctly perform its direct functions, you need to take the installation seriously and follow a sequence of actions. We will look at how installation is carried out using the example of a latch installed inside the door leaf.
For this work you need to prepare the following tools:
- Electric or manual screw 6 mm. The first one is preferable.
- A drill designed for woodworking. Typically, a pen whose number is twenty to twenty-four is used to install the latch.
- Hex bit for screwdriver. For those who don’t know what it is, I’ll explain – it’s a special hexagon that is installed in a screwdriver with one side, and the other side is used to attach the required fastener.
- Pencil for marking.
- Regular roulette.
- Stage one. Mark the place where the latch will be located. Usually installation is carried out at a height of one hundred twenty to one hundred thirty centimeters from the floor. The thickness of the door leaf is four hundred and fifty centimeters.
- Stage two. It is required to determine the center of the end of the door leaf.
- Stage three. Using a drill, we measure the length of the latch and then bury the feather into the interior door leaf to the required depth.
- Stage four. We attach a latch to the outer part of the canvas and mark the place for installing the door handle, and use the same drill (feather) to drill a hole.
- Stage five. We insert the latch back into the hole that was made on the canvas and mark the fasteners.
- Stage six. We drill a hole for the fasteners; for this purpose you should use a pen number five.
That's all, there is nothing complicated in such work. You can see how the latch is inserted in this video review:
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What may be needed for production
It is not difficult to make a basic deadbolt, although ready-made inexpensive products are more often installed.
A DIY gate lock will require the following tools and materials to make.
Tools:
- Drill.
- Electric welding.
- Bulgarian.
If the bolt is made of tin, then instead of a drill, you can use a “river gun” to drill the mounting holes. A double-sided gate valve can only be installed using bolted connections that completely cross the thickness of the gate or other fence.
For the material, you can select metal sheets no thicker than 5 mm. The body is made from sheets that are cut with a grinder; it will contain a tongue made from the same sheet.
Electromagnetic locks
If it is possible to supply a constant voltage of 12 volts to the gate, you can make an electromagnetic lock with your own hands. For this purpose, car door activators are used. It is important to clarify whether, when voltage is applied or removed, the activator moves the lock rod.
The device must be installed secretly under the wicket skin or in any housing to protect it from precipitation and icing.
Using unnecessary or the cheapest car alarms, they make locks with remote opening.
The electric magnet of the lock is activated when voltage is supplied from the control unit or operates from a hidden button.
The disadvantage of the design is the impossibility of latching - each time it is closed, it is necessary to activate the movement of the activator rod.
