Do round door knobs really work?

BarneyMc · 04-09-2016 9:01am #1

I'm puzzled. Viewed a few showrooms for internal doors for a new build. Going with white 4 panel doors and would love to use old fashioned round door knobs like these.

Some shops are telling me they are a disaster whilst others say they work perfectly in the right door, e.g. 4 panel doors like the one I'm choosing. What the truth?

Nekarsulm · 04-09-2016 9:08am

Depends on the clearance between the door jamb and the knob. Could be tight enough, going by the size of the usual Basta(rd) lock/catch.
Not easy to use if hands are wet or oily (hand cream etc)

On the plus side, they look good, and bigger dogs cannot open the doors it these are fitted!

Rochester · 04-09-2016 9:10am

They are fine - our house is 1930's and they are still in use, plus as the other poster said, the cats/dogs can't open them.

jack of all · 04-09-2016 9:17am

Only other thing to consider is that they can be difficult for older people to use, especially those with arthritis in the hands.

Glass fused light · 04-09-2016 9:31am

Did they explain why?
Any handle I have seen usually has a square fitting going into the lock, and this is what acts as a lever when the handle turns, so you could look at changing the actual lock

I can see it being much easier to have a lever style handle for when you are carrying things or with young children. The grans house has a round door handle on the inside of the door to the garden and the grandchildren had to be tall enough to reach and turn the handle to escape to the garden to play, where they could jump and pull down a lever at an earlier age.
But if the door is hung properly and not dropped the latch should line up with the door frame do I don't see what the type of door has to do with it.

Bonzo Delaney · 04-09-2016 6:49pm

Another thing to consider is that you need at least a 3 inch cassette lock for it to work comfortably if the stile of your door is only 4 inch it'll leave it out of proportion with the door stile which in turn means you have to position it at the middle rail. Problem is these days most internal engineered doors use a dowel system and a 6 inch mid rail so by the time you've mortised for the lock you've done away with the dowels and the structural integrity of the door.
Hope I'm making sense here.
The argument against this is that now single panel doors are very popular it shows that the mid rail is purely decorative

Do round door knobs really work?

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