Unravelling the words used to describe simple door handles.
I recently spoke to a modest but tenacious person who had decided to purchase a door handle set for her new wine cellar. She had spent the previous week grappling with the odd terminology of door handing ,lock backset and door stile and was now ready to place her order.
Exterior doors are made secure by locks that vary in price, strength, and degree of difficulty when being installed. Our handles can be configured for a wide range of locks so choosing the type of lock should not be a barrier to buying whatever style of handle you like. Word of advise, make sure that any lock that is installed on location is done by either a qualified lock smith or competent contractor.
3 Types of door locks not including electric and digital locks
Keyed Cylinder – a simple way to lock the door with minimal door preparation. A 2” hole will typically be cut into the door by the door manufacturer. You will need to understand the term backset which is the distance from the side or edge of the door to the center of the cut hole and can be anywhere from 2 3/8” to 5”. The distance will largely depend on the width of your door stile, which is the flat area of the vertical door frame and typically 2 3/8” or 2 ¾”. The cylinder on the outside of the door is activated by your key which when turned throws a metal tongue into the door jam. The key throws the lock usually when it is turned clockwise and retracts it when turned anti-clockwise. On the inside of the door the turn piece performs the same function of throwing and retracting the tongue. This type of lock also has a double keyed cylinder option and a key is used to activate either cylinder.
Mortise Lock - Arguably the strongest type of lock this requires a lot of door preparation ideally performed by the door manufacturer. Here a very sturdy good gauge of steel is used by the lock manufacturer to create a box that houses the intricate locking mechanism and from which a large heavy duty latch and bolt are released. We use the Accurate mortise lock box that is approximately 6”H x 3 ½”W x 7/8”D.
The mortise lock and keyed cylinder locks both release a metal tongue approximately 1” into the door jam for a single door or the non-operating door in the case of a double door.
Multi-point - This type of lock also provides a high level of security achieved in part because the mechanism throws 3 bolts, one into the top the door jamb one into the door sill and the third into the center of the door jamb or other door if this is a double door. Like the mortise the mechanisms are housed in a central metal box. The top and bottom bolts are typically ½” flat rods that pass through a pre-cut channel that runs the length of the door. As this type of lock requires extensive door preparation the doors are usually sold with the lock already installed.
The multi-point lock box and escutcheon that cover it are usually narrow and I am guessing this is because they are used on French doors aka patio doors designed with glass pane(s) for maximum light. Whatever the historical reason, like most hardware makers, we offer a narrow back-plate to suit this type of lock for most of our door handle collections.