Custom Multi-Point Hardware

We are pleased to announce that we have created two new pieces that will make our existing Willow and Hedgerow multi-point trim suitable for installation with Andersen’s current multi-point lock.

Hedgerow Multi-Point trim interior view showing new turn piece designed to work with an Andersen multi-point lock

 Overview of multi-point lock

The multi-point lock and the mortise lock provide good alternatives for making an entry or patio door secure and which you chose will depend on several factors the most critical being that the multi-point lock usually needs to be installed when the door is being made. The multi-point lock is also designed to be activated by a lever rather than knob or thumb-latch and this is a critical factor in choosing suitable hardware trim.

The multi-point  has 3 locking points when the door is a single door and 5 when there are double doors.

The  multi-point system has 2 main components. A rod extension mechanism that has an  upper and lower section that is installed inside the door during manufacture and a deadbolt unit that the extenders are attached to.

The extenders are activated by a decorative lever that  is installed into the central deadbolt unit. When the lever is pushed upwards the extenders act as locking bolts and are thrown upwards and downwards into header and threshold securing the door at these 2 points. A decorative knob or turn piece is installed in the deadbolt box and when turned throws the tongue of the deadbolt into the door jam or in case of a double door into the non-active door.

Decorative Levers Escutcheons and Turn Pieces

Given that the multi-point mechanism is pre-installed during door manufacturer many consumers assume that this means they must also order the trim from the multi-point lock manufacturer, a fact that is far from the truth.

Exterior view of Hedgerow Multi-Point trim showing keyed cylinder

Willow and Hedgerow adapting for multi-point

Our standard turn piece that is used with Accurate’s mortise lock is cast with a fixed spindle that is on the diamond. Our standard turn piece for a deadbolt is cast on the square with a slot. Neither turn piece was suited to the Andersen deadbolt so we created 2 new turn pieces both square and with a square hole designed for Andersen’s activator. The photo shows how our new Hedgerow turn piece aligns with the activator. As we design and make all our work locally in Los Angeles we are well positioned to adapt our designs to suit different multi-points manufacturer by third parties.

Exterior Door Handles – Lock Types & Door Preparation

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.

Creating a simple bracket to secure a door lever

Now that Jackson, our latest Pitbull family member has turned one we realize that his name needs to be changed to Houdini! We had thought our front garden gate was a sturdy secure barrier that would keep us safe as it is fortified with a mortise lock made by Accurate, the industry leader in security locks. What we had not foreseen was that the gate could be opened from the inside by a cunning canine capable of standing on his hind legs while using his front paws to depress the gate lever.
If our dog training had been more successful and the commands of “come” and “stay” had worked then we might have been amused by his antics.
We installed Accurate’ s 9148 series mortise a well-designed mechanism that has an egress rocker that allows you to keep the gate unlocked, a useful function when your spouse is at home, and you want to pop out for a stroll. Faced with this unexpected problem our choice was to either replace the lever with a knob set and install a new mortise or find a way to outsmart Jackson. We chose the latter option as we enjoy our lizard entry set and so designed a simple restraining bracket for the inside lever that may help other homeowners facing the same problem.

Our simple restraining bracket works well for a mortise lock that is configured for an exterior thumb-latch and interior lever. The exterior thumb-latch when depressed retracts the latch that keeps the gate closed and when gripped allows you to pull the gate open without using the lever. The same bracket could be made to work on a simple passageway lever using a tubular latch but would only work if the spindle was split so that the exterior lever could retract the latch even when the interior lever is fixed in place by the bracket. The bracket works well for dogs as they lack a thumb to push the bracket down and thus cannot release the lever, but it would not work for dexterous children. The bracket can easily be made by hobbyists using half rod stock which is available at most hardware stores.

Simple bracket hobbyists can make using metal half rod to secure a door lever

While Jackson may be a challenging dog he is a classic Pitbull and his likeness is available as a door knob or pull or door knocker.

Grand Entry Doors - Using Cremone Bolts to Secure Tall Doors

The Heroic Hedgerow door grip as is clear from its name is a substantial piece whose size, detail and beauty make it a perfect choice for large scaled single or double entry doors. For security, we recommend a mortise lock and use the American made Accurate mortise lock, an industry leader known for their superior locks. The lock is incorporated using an unobtrusive rose and a keyed mortise deadbolt whose size does not detract from the dramatic tree grips.

Large double doors can be made even more secure with a rod bolt that when engaged locks the door into the header and threshold. These types of bolt are often referred to as Cremone bolts or Espagnolettes and they have been used for centuries. The less mechanized form of this bolt is available for our Willow collection. We are currently developing a mechanized and long form of this bolt for both the Willow and Hedgerow collections.

Our motivation to extend the Cremone bolt collection stems from the limitations of the multi-point lock which is the modern-day equivalent to the Espagnolettes. Multi-point locks are designed to be concealed within the door stile and usually function with an exterior lever. Door levers are necessarily small in scale as they need to be easy to grip and depress by even the smallest of hands. The escutcheon needs to be proportional to the lever and the result is a handle set that is overshadowed by the door. Some multi-point locks use a knob to activate the lock but again the scale of this is inappropriate for larger doors. While certain manufacturers appear to offer a multi-point grip.

Thumb-latches and mortise locks - continued discussion

In the previous post we used a photograph of a mortise lock to identify and name the locks components which we will describe here in more detail.
The turn piece, deadbolt, and keyed cylinder act together to lock the door. When the key is turned inside the cylinder one clockwise turn will unlock and retract the deadbolt and conversely one anti-clockwise turn will throw the bolt. The key can also be used to retract the latch and open the door by being turned one more click clockwise. This sophisticated mechanism is useful when you have a bag of groceries as you can unlock and open the door with the key and simply pull the door open all with just one hand.
The turn piece has one function only to release or throw the deadbolt and if you are on the inside of the door with that same bag of groceries you will definitely need another hand to press down on the thumb latch or lever to open the door by retracting the latch.

In a similar way the thumb latch on the outside of the door and the corresponding thumb latch or lever on the inside of the door act together with the latch mechanism to open and close the door. Our Hedgerow entry sets are available either as thumb latch to lever sets or thumb latch to thumb latch and Accurate makes specific models for each configuration.

Upward Sweep of Hedgerow Branches

We use the Accurate mortise lock because it is a superior lock and made in the US. We also like the custom configurations that Accurate offer such as their disk insert mortise which is better suited to our more fluid and artistic trim designs. Our Willow and Hedgerow levers have branches and leaves that curve upwards bringing the lever closer to the turn piece. To prevent ones knuckles from colliding with the turn piece Accurate make a disk insert that allows the turn piece to be installed higher in the lock body.

Note How The Disk Insert Creates an Alternative Higher Positioned Port For The Turn Piece

Thumb-latches and mortise locks discussed using a Willow Entry Set Example

 The Willow entry sets are configured for use with a mortise lock and keyed cylinder deadbolt. Why are these sets not configured for use with a less expensive tubular latch is a question we are often asked and will try to answer in this post.

 First point to make is that we only use Accurate’ s mortise lock which is made here in the US by a company that has been making superior locks for over 50 years. The lock is a complex 4lb mechanism contained in a robust 4” x 6” x ¾” case that sits inside the door and acts as a highly effective security barrier.

 The mortise lock has a series of portals that allow the lock to perform multiple functions.The picture below shows the deadbolt, latch, and toggle .

When the key is turned inside the cylinder it throws the deadbolt into the strike in the door jamb thereby locking the door.

The latch keeps the door closed and it is operated by the thumb latch which when depressed retracts the latch and when released throws the latch, the same task would be performed by a lever if the Willow thumb latch and lever combination were used. When the mortise lock is supplied the configuration of latch to latch or latch to lever needs to be specified so that the lock interior is built correctly.
The toggle acts as a second locking mechanism and one that works independently of the deadbolt. The toggle when pushed inward releases a mechanism that prevents the latch from locking. This allows the door to remain closed but not locked allowing guests to open the door without a key being needed. If the toggle is placed into a flush position it will throw the latch thereby locking the door without activating the deadbolt.

In a subsequent post we will explain the other functions this clever lock performs.