Some minor repair questions

[menty]

My tenants have now moved out of my house and I need to fix it up a bit.

I need to do the following. ANY guidance would be appreciated.

1. The bedroom door handles need to be changed

I have an old style lock that looks like this.

The 'backiing?' plate measures 45mm across and 155mm vertically. I do not need to use the lock function. Are we still able to buy these old handles cheaply? I would prefer not to change to those round ones as that would mean I would have to repaint the door.

2. The bottom of the doors scrape against the floor in winter. I assume they expand. There is little room for me to move the hinges. Can I just file off the bottom? On some of the doors, there is little more room for me to move it upwards.

Or should I just replace the door and use one of those circular hole handles

3. Theres a hole in one of the walls from a broken door stop. Do I need to repaint the wall?

 

[Munchkin]

1. You can get the more modern style lever handles with a similar size back so you could try to find one that would fit.

2. You could just take the door off and plane a couple of mm off the bottom

New doors and passage sets are fairly cheap though if you did decide to just replace it all. we just got a few today - 40 something for the doors and then 20 something for the door handles. about 3 bucks each for new hinges plus the cost of paint if you don't already have it.

3. if its behind the door, I would probably just patch it and paint a small section if the paint matches ok.

 

[menty]

Any idea where I can get these
The doors are bunnings are quite expensive and I cannot find the handles with backing plates anywhere

My doors aren't standard size. 810x 230

 

[vaughan]

Get some Draino (sodium hydroxide) from the supermarket and mix a couple of spoonfuls into a plastic container of luke warm water (not hot). Take the handles off the door and soak them and the screws in the mixture. The paint will fall off. Rinse well and dry. Use some very fine steel wool if needed. They will come out looking brand new.

 

[menty]

Thanks for the advice Vaughn.

However, the handle is actually broken if you look at it closely ( hence why it's slanted and not sitting horizontal)

I assume it's just missing the pin to keep it straight ? If you pull the handle, it pops out
Can I fix this or do I need a new handle

 

[Doovalacky]

The issue won't be just matching the plate but also the depth from the edge of the door to the center of the handle.
Different locks do vary from about 55mm to about 95mm in extreme cases.

Try looking more in the entrance locks area of Bunnings. Alternatively do you have a lock specialist store in the area?

Tight doors is generally fixed with a planner. They are a worthwhile investment as a tool. If you buy one get it with the 90deg attachment to make it easier to plane on the side.

Either remove screws from hinge or take out the pin to release door. Lay door on flat surface. Check the bottom of the door and hopefully there is a few small 3mm holes in the bottom so you can see if there is enough wood before you cut it. Most interior doors are hollow with only a thin frame.
Set the planner fairly light perhaps only 0.5mm or 1mm and take some off where its been touching the floor.

 

[lizzie]

Not super cheap - but they are around. Just need to look beyond Bunnings (although I am surprised they don't have them)

http://www.handlesplusonline.com.au/store/door-handles/traditional/lever-on-plate/

 

[menty]

Will try and see if I can repair that handle first and then if so, try vaughan's method of cleaning. It's really just the handle that falls off, so perhaps I have lost a screw.

 

[Munchkin]

Any idea where I can get these
The doors are bunnings are quite expensive and I cannot find the handles with backing plates anywhere

My doors aren't standard size. 810x 230

We just got all of our stuff from mitre 10

 

[neK]

i just replaced some handles that look sorta similar (cos i didnt like the look, they are still functional).... don't know if you'll need to repaint the door though (in case they dont cover).

Was going to throw them in the bin... happy to throw them your way if you want.

If you're interested, ill take a picture and measure them up.

Btw, the cost of the round door handle are $10... the ones that would fully cover up your door handle (so that you wouldnt need to repaint are like $60).

 

[Scott No Mates]

You should be able to find what you want at Recollections.

 

[menty]

Just went to bunnings tonight guys. $40 each!

Then I proceeded to take off the original handle a little too quickly and stripped off the paint around it.

 

[NBS]

If you decide to take the doors off and plan a few mm off so they do not rub on the floor. I would ensure the door is painted on the bottom.

Majority of new doors if not sealed on the edges IE bottom are not installed as per manufactures specs. Mind you don't know many painters that take doors off to seal the bottom of doors in new places or any places to be honest.

As for the lock I was going to suggest a demolition yard.

Brian

 

[vaughan]

Just went to bunnings tonight guys. $40 each!

Then I proceeded to take off the original handle a little too quickly and stripped off the paint around it.

I was going to suggest running a knife around the join where the plate meets the door before removing it so it does not tear the paint... sorry.

 

[menty]

I changed the handles and they get stuck in position when I open them all the way. It seems as though the original handles had some sort of spring in them, whereas the new ones dont.

Should I bother fixing it, or leave it as is for the tenants?

On another note, I was doing adding a shower in the laundry. I need someone to move my laundry tub to the left by 60mm (and change the associated plumbing), and install an exhaust fan + switch and a powerpoint, and install a shower rail. Quoted $700 for the job. Is this too much?