Here are a few tips that might make life easier when choosing from our range of door furniture. Our products are extremely easy to fit and we supply fitting instructions with most of the items, if you are not sure about the installation then a competent DIY person would be useful.
Letterboxes if you wish to replace an old letterbox with a new one, you need to work out if you can utilise the existing bolt holes and slot.
In all probability the slots on our range of letter plates will be bigger than the slot in your door as most old letterboxes date back to Victorian times when the penny post was introduced in Britain.
If the slot in your door is smaller then it can be modified quite easily by carefully marking and cutting around the existing opening. If the slot is larger it isnt a problem as long as it doesnt encroach on the area where the bolt holes are. Try to use the existing bolt holes if you can, if they dont line up you will need to put a slightly larger drill through the hole to clean it up and then insert a small piece of dowel (using wood glue to secure it) which can then be trimmed off either side of the door and painted the same colour as the door.
The fixing studs for the letter plates are made to accommodate any door; they are supplied over size so you can cut them to the thickness of your door when you are fitting the item. To do this, after you have drilled the fixing holes in your door, put the studs through the letter plate and then through the hole in the door, mark with a pencil (leaving enough for the dome nut to srew onto the stud) and then cut the stud with a hacksaw to the required length. You may have to clean the edge of the cut with a piece of sand paper to remove any burs and avoid the nut cross threading on the stud easy peasy.
Rim Locks & Latches We supply a template with all of our locks and latches, this can be placed against your door and the fixing positions and holes to be drilled can be marked on the door from the template. The distance from the edge of the door to the spindle centre is given on the item description so you can work out if you can utilise or cover any holes.
Door Knockers Again the distance between the fixing bolts is given in the product description. If you are replacing an existing knocker and the new bolts dont line up exactly with the existing holes there is a good chance you can utilise one of the holes and drill and dowel the redundant one as described in the letterbox section.
The same applies with the fixing bolts for the door knockers as the letter plates; they are made oversize so they can accommodate any door thickness. To work out the length you require, screw the bolts into the knocker and then push them through the holes you have drilled in the door. You can then mark the bolt on the inside of the door with a pencil (making sure you leave enough for the dome nut to screw on to) Then the bolt can be cut to size with a hacksaw. You may need to clean any burs off the cut end to avoid the nut cross threading on the bolt .job done.
Bell Pulls & Bells These may look a tad complicated but are extremely easy to fit. Once you know the locations you want your bell pull and bell in, you need to work out the route for the cord to run to connect the two, this will determine how many pulleys you need. The extension pulleys are used to support the cord where it runs in a straight line horizontal or vertical. If you need to turn an internal corner then a directional pulley will be required. Once the bell pull location has been established on the outside of the property, a hole will need to be drilled through the wall to take the cord from the pull on its way to meet the bell. Where the hole enters the property a blanking pulley is fitter, the blanking pulley has a nylon liner in the centre to guide the cord to the next pulley...see I told you it was easy.
Door / Window Bolts Place the bolt onto the edge of your door / window and mark the fixing holes with a pencil. Drill your holes slightly smaller than the screws and fix the bolt in place. Extend the bolt into the lock position and put the keep over the barrel (this is to ensure you fix the keep in line with the barrel) Mark the fixing holes on the door / window frame with a pencil and use the same procedure explained above to fix the keep
Please dont hesitate to contact us if you need any more information on these subjects.
Located in the North Shropshire countryside, The Period Ironmonger provides some of the finest reproduction architectural ironmongery available on the market today. Whether you are building or restoring a period or contemporary property we think you will be interested in our products.
We sell a varied range of door furniture that includes traditional victorian and edwardian rim locks and latches, door knobs and levers ranging from the traditional beehive brass door knobs to the elegant bohemian crystal, bell pulls faithfully reproduced from traditional Victorian and Edwardian originals, door knockers and letterboxes / plates available in either brass or nickel silver finishes, cupboard knobs that will suit any period or modern home and a range of Arts & Crafts door / window bolts. We also provide escutcheons (key hole covers) to complement our range of door knobs and a 19th century toilet roll holder that would look stunning in any bathroom. Most of our products are available in brass, cast iron and nickel silver, please browse our site or contact us for any information you require.
New products include Lead Crystal Glass door knobs based on Victorian / Edwardian styles, we also sell a variety of reclaimed Art Nouveau knobs, letterboxes, knockers, centre pulls, bell pulls and pulleys.
