How to Replace a Door Handle

This guide follows on from our existing guides explaining how to fit latches and locks, and therefore assumes that you have already fitted your latch/lock and are replacing existing handles.

1. Choose your handle height

Firstly, decide the height at which you want your door handle to be. This may vary depending on your door style, property type, and personal preferences, as well as the existing hardware on your door.

Pewter door handle and mortice latch on the edge of a wooden door

2. Fit the spindle

Firstly, you'll need to fit the spindle (the square metal bar provided with your door handle set) to the back of one of your handles. The spindle will then pass through the hole in your door and operate the latch/lock mechanism within your door upon turning of the handle.

Mortice latch and Pewter door handle fitted to the edge of a wooden door.

3. Size your spindle

The spindle provided with your door handle set is designed for use with a multitude of door thicknesses. Because of this, it's quite long and may need cutting down if you have a thinner door.

You can check this by fitting the second handle to the other side of the door and seeing how much (if any) spindle is still showing. If there is any spindle visible, measure this visible length and go to step 4.

If no spindle is visible and your handles fit properly, you will not need to cut down your spindle. Conversely, if your spindle is too short and both handles do not fit on comfortably, you may need to invest in a longer spindle.

Wooden door with a latch and a spindle poking out one side.

4. Cut your spindle

Once you have measured the amount of spindle that needs to be removed, mark it on the end of the shaft and use a decent hacksaw to remove the excess.

Take care after sawing as the spindle will be sharp and may need filing down.

Person using a hacksaw to cut a spindle down to size.

5. Mark your holes

Once your spindle is the correct length, you can begin fixing the door handles in place.

Place the door handles over the spindle on either side of the door. Ensure both handles are straight (we advise using a spirit level) and once you're happy with the positioning, mark the location of the fixings holes with a pencil.

Person marking the fixing holes of a Pewter lever door handle on a wooden door.

6. Drill your holes

Using an electric drill, drill a hole all the way through the door in the position of the upper screw hole. We suggest drilling all the way through as in this tutorial, we are using male and female bolt-through fixings which pass all the way through the door.

However, if you choose to use wood screws, you won't need to drill all the way through the door (you'll just need to drill some pilot holes and screw directly into the wood).

We advise using the bolt-through fixings where possible as they provide a more secure and stable fix than wood screws.

Person using an electric drill to drill holes into a wooden door.

7. Fix the bolt-through fixings

Depending on the thickness of your door, the male and female bolts may need to be cut down to size. This can be done by eye by offering the bolts to the edge of the door, taking into consideration the thickness of the handle backplate, and cut with a hacksaw down to the desired length. Fix with a screwdriver each side of the door.

Person using a screw driver to fit a Pewter door handle to a wooden door

This how-to guide can be used for many types of latches, deadbolts, and even some sash and bathroom locks with a few adjustments here and there. Please seek professional advice to find the ideal product for your needs.

Pewter lever latch door handle fitted to a wooden door