Door handles, locks and polish: choosing the finishing details

A handle or a lock is a small part of a door, but you touch it every day and your eye goes to it first. The polish covers the whole door and sets its colour. If these are chosen at different times from different shops, they often do not go together. It works better to look at them as one set.

The hardware on a door

A wooden door in a Lucknow home usually has some of these:

• Hinges (kabze), which carry the door's weight.
• A lock: a mortise lock set inside the door, or a lock fixed on the surface.
• A handle or pull, and sometimes an aldrop or kundi.
• Tower bolts (chatkani), especially on main doors and double doors.
• A door stopper, and sometimes a door closer.

Strength first, then looks

Solid wood doors are heavy. A heavy door needs strong hinges, good screws and a sound chaukhat, or it can start to sag and rub. For a large door or a double door, plan the hinges, locks and the meeting edges of the two leaves together with the frame.

The wood where hinges and the lock are cut should be sound, without loose knots or cracks. Agree the lock type and its position with your mistri before the door is made or fitted, especially for a mortise lock, which needs a pocket cut into the door.

Make the details match

Before buying, put together a simple reference set: a photo of the door design you like, the handle and lock you plan, and the colour of the wall and floor nearby. Look at them side by side. A few simple ways to make them work:

• Keep one metal colour for hardware across the house, for example all steel or all brass.
• A carved door already has a lot of detail, so a simple handle usually suits it. A plain door can carry a bolder handle.
• If part of the house is already finished, photograph the fittings and polish there and match the new door to them.

Polish and finish

NordWood supplies doors polished or unpolished.

• Polished: the finish is done before the door reaches you. Ask to see the shade on the actual wood, because the same polish looks different on different woods.
• Unpolished: you choose the final look and get it done at site. Plan who will do it and when. Do not leave an unpolished outside door open to sun and rain while other building work goes on.

Clear polish, stain or paint can change the look of the wood a lot, so see a sample first. Outside doors need a proper exterior coating, with the edges, end grain, joints and hardware cut-outs sealed too. Follow the coating maker's instructions. Putting oil or wax over an existing polish is not always right.

Confirm what is in the order

Photos on websites, including ours, show design references. A handle, lock or closer you see in a photo may not come with the door. Before ordering, confirm in writing:

• Which fittings, if any, are included.
• Polished or unpolished, and the shade.
• Who will fix the hardware, and when.

Fitting (installation) is free with NordWood doors and windows.