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Home > Door Hardware Help > Installing a Door Knob Latch - With Attached Mortise Plate
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Installing a door latch is really quite
simple, if you have the right tools. Door latches come
in various configurations; but the most common are a drive
in tubular latch, or a latch with attached mortise plate.
A latch with an attached mortise plate is generally more
secure as it holds the latch securely with screws
whereas a drive in latch is relying on the snug fit of
the latch in the cross bore of the door. In this article
we will address the installation of a door latch with an
attached mortise plate onto a new door. The latch we are using is from a Nostalgic Warehouse door knob, which is very similar to the latches you will see from Emtek knobs and levers.
If you are installing a latch
on a non-mortised door, as we are showing here in this
article, you'll need the following tools: Hammer, a sharpened
chisel,
a pencil and a screw driver.
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1. First
place the latch [or just the mortise plate] in place on the
edge of the door. Make
sure it is centered
on the cross bore hole and mark the perimeter with a pencil.
This will allow you know exactly where to chisel out the
wood of the door so that the mortise plate fits nice and
flush on the surface. You want the mortise plate to be flush.
If it is not the door will likely not shut correctly, or
may not close at all. Also, the finished look of a correctly
set mortise plate is much better than a plate that protrudes
from he surface. Be sure so use a sharp pencil so that your
mark is right next to the edge of the plate. If it is not,
you'll end up with a hole that is too big and it won't look
as nice when complete. |
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2. Once
you have marked the location of the mortise plate you can
begin working on cleaning out the center with a chisel.
Be sure to use a sharpened chisel as the end result will
be much cleaner, not to mention easier to do. First, score
the perimeter of the area with the chisel. This basically
boxes in the area that will be removed. If you skip this
step, you will likely remove material past the marked area
and the finished project will not look clean and professional. |
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3. Now
start cleaning out the interior of the perimeter with the
chisel. Generally you will need to chisel out about an 1/8" of
the door surface; but that will depend on the type or brand
of latch
that you
are installing. |
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4. When
you have evenly removed door material from the area that
the latch will be installed, you'll want
to check
and make sure the depth is correct. You may do this several
times as you work on chiseling out the area. This particular
latch that we are installing is a Nostalgic
Warehouse latch
which comes in two pieces, the latch itself and the decorative
mortise plate. Combined the two pieces are about 1/8" thick
so the mortise depth needs to be 1/8" for them to fit flush
with the door edge surface. |
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5. Now that the the
mortise depth is just right and you have verified that
the mortise
plate fits nice
and flush with the door surface, you're ready to install
the latch. Make sure that the curvature of the end of the
latch is placed correctly so that the curved part strikes
the jamb [or location of the strike plate]. This is a common
mistake. Really not that big of deal except that you have
to take everything apart and put it back together again.
So, once the latch is in place, all you have to do is
grab the screws provided and secure the latch in place
using a screw driver. Once this is complete you can move
on to installing the hardware itself. Most brands of door
hardware have very similar latch types so this article
can be applied to the majority of applications.
NOTE: Some latches
may be designed such that you need to put a certain side
up. These notations should be on the latch themselves
if required. You may check with the installation instructions
provided in the door hardware packaging.
Copyright 2005. Direct
Door Hardware /Installation Help.
For publication of this article for use on another website,
please contact
us. |
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