Hardware

Cabinet Catches

Cabinet catches not only keep doors closed, but they prevent the door from saggging due to prolonged use. They come is several varieties including roller spring and magnetic. Choose the right catch for your installation according to the type of door and your personal choice.

Roller spring catches are available with a single or a double roller. They operate quietly and are easy to install on most door and frame designs.

The single-roller design is ideal for doors that slide open, such as a closet or pull-out drawers, because the roller goes over the lip in the catch to operate.

The double-roller version typically has a strike installed on the door that goes into, or around, the catch that is installed on surface of the cabinet.

Magnetic catches range in pull from 8-40 lbs. The holding power is greatly reduced if only part of the magnet makes contact with the strike. Therefore they must be installed carefully to properly align the catch and the strike. Quality magnetic catches feature a floating or self-adjusting action to ensure proper alignment and contact. These are best for cabinet doors in the kitchen, bath or other furniture pieces.

Deadbolt Locks

A deadbolt lock backs up a lockset on entry doors to provide maximum security. Better units have a stainless steel bolt with a roller insert to resist sawing and cutting. The standard length for a bolt to extend into a door is 1-inch. The bolt locks the door into the frame, therefore the longer the bolt the harder it would be for the door to be pried open.

Cylinder locks have a pin tumbler locking mechanism in a cylinder. They are most often used in new installations and as replacements because they are mortised into the frame of the door. Because of the wide range of use they can be installed on heavy entrance doors, apartment buildings and homes with a recommended pin number for the type of door.

A single-cylinder deadbolt is key-operated from the outside and manually operated with a button from the inside. This lock is good to use for solid metal or wood doors.

Double-cylinder deadbolts insure safety with same key-operation from both the outside and inside. Doors with glass panes require a double-cylinder deadbolt to prevent someone from breaking the glass, reaching in and unlocking the door. While you are at home it is suggested that you leave the key in the lock in case of a fire or other emergency. Make sure that you purchase a lock that is designed to fit specific size holes and backset for your door. Backsets refer to the distance between the edge of the door and the center of the handle.

Door Closers

Door closers are different than a regular spring or spring hinge in that it closes the door at a controlled speed. Common residential types have pneumatic or hydraulic piston closers that pull the door closed. Most operate with a spring and piston. When the door is opened, the spring is depressed that will activate the door to close. The piston controls the speed that the spring returns back to the original position. Better grades of closers speed up at the last few inches to insure a tight close.

Garage Door Openers

Garage door openers operate through a large motor unit that raises and lowers overhead doors after the command from a control unit. There are three types of drive mechanisms: bicycle-type chain and sprocket, plastic strip, and worm-screw drive. No design has been judged superior and all work well.
The control unit must be key or wireless operated. If key operated, the driver must leave the car to unlock the door. If wireless operated, the driver has a mechanism inside the car with a button, set on a frequency to open the door. Better units offer security codes, overhead lights, and economical models with a 1/4-hp motor, all models must incorporate an optical sensor that detects resistance when closing.

Hinges

The hinge required for any job depends on the design and size of the door that you want to hang. It's best to know the parts of a hinge before making your purchase. A hinge consists of the leaves, knuckles, pin, tips and bearings. The leaves are the flat components with screw holes that fasten to the door and jamb. The knuckle is the cylinder that holds the leaves to the pin. A hinge can have from two to five knuckles depending on the size of the door. The tips project from the top and bottom of the hinge to keep the pin from coming out of the knuckle. Bearings are important in heavy-duty hinges because they lubricate and reduce friction on heavy-duty knuckles.

Mortise hinge leaves are cut into the door and jamb so that they butt together. A full-mortise hinge is cut into both sides; a half-mortise hinge is cut into the door, the other leaf is surface-mounted.

The proper cabinet hinge is chosen depending on how the door is installed.
Doors that are flush-mounted to the cabinet can use the full-mortise hinges, full-surface hinges, concealed or ornamental hinges.

Lipped doors are partially recessed into the opening around the outside of the frame. In order to accommodate for the lip, you must use an inset hinge (shown). The leaf that is attached to the cabinet frame is exposed and the leaf on the door is concealed inside. Most lipped cabinet doors have a 3/8" inset, but it's always good to check before buying the hinges.

Doors that are completely over the frame of the cabinet are referred to as flush-overlay doors. Mount these doors with pivot hinges at the top and bottom, butt hinges or even semi-concealed hinges.

Doors that cover partial cabinets (usually found in front of sinks) are opened only slightly with your finger are called reverse bevel because they require a hinge that is slanted with the angle of the cabinet door.

Locks

Bored locksets are part of the basic door hardware that includes the locking mechanism built into the doorknob and latch. They are classified as entry locksets for the front and back doors, passage locks for the closets or hall and privacy locksets for the bathroom and bedroom.
A quality entry lockset has a deadlatch in the rear of the latch. A regular latch is angled to the outside of the door, which makes it easier for an intruder to fit a piece of stiff material between the door and the frame; the deadlatch would prevent this from happening if installed correctly it will angle into the door.

Bathroom and bedroom locks are not for security but rather privacy. Therefore they operate by a push button on the inside but no locking device on the outside.

Cylinder locks have a pin tumbler locking mechanism in a cylinder. They are most often used in new installations and as replacements because they are mortised into the frame of the door. Because of the wide range of use they can be installed on heavy entrance doors, apartment buildings and homes with a recommended pin number for the type of door.

There are several mechanical types of key operated locks available for purchase by the do-it-yourselfer. Pin tumbler locks with five or more pins offer greater resistance to picking. Depending on the number of pins, this lock would be able to accommodate to key changes. Five or more pins are the safest but these locks can be made with as few as three pins. Pin-type mechanisms can be found in use for padlocks, deadbolts, cabinet locks and locksets.

Warded locks are a low cost alternative but do not provide a strong security. They offer superior weather resistance because of the lack of rotating internal parts and their simple construction.

Combination locks offer good security and a wide price range to appeal to all do-it-yourselfers. They are available in models for simple bike locks, locksets and heavy-duty use.

Padlocks

Combination locks offer good security and a wide price range to appeal to all do-it-yourselfers. They are available in models for simple bike locks, locksets and heavy-duty use.

Padlocks provide portable security for movable items such as bikes and boats and in locations such as lockers and outdoor sheds. Although weatherproof construction is important, high security is important to protect expensive equipment. Pin-tumbler padlocks provide maximum security for valuables and laminated types are nearly unbreakable. The type of metal used in construction is important to consider. Hardened solid steel and steel alloys make better locks and shackles; solid brass is more resistant to rust than steel but can be damaged because it is softer than steel. Pin-tumbler locking mechanisms make padlocks harder to pick. Four-pin-tumbler mechanisms provide enough security for most uses and padlocks with five or more pin tumblers offer more security and are more secure than combination locks.

Warded padlocks are a low cost alternative but do not provide as strong security. They offer superior weather resistance because of the lack of rotating internal parts and their simple construction.

Use a padlock through the bolt in a hasp for added security. Hasps consist of a metal hinge and a anchoring bolt in order for them to be secured to gates, sheds, and garages. High-security hasps have anchored eyebolts, pinless hinges, hardened steel anchoring loops and hidden screws.