How to Change a Doorknob

How to change a doorknob. Sounds exciting, I know. But it actually is when you see these amazing doorknobs!! I discovered Nostalgic Warehouse on Instagram months ago and I’ve been dreaming about these doorknobs ever since. Now that I have them, it is another reminder of how small changes around the home can have such big impact! Fixing up or changing out the small details little by little adds up to big results over time. And slowly kills my husband. (just kidding, those were actually his words, lol)

 

Remember over the summer when I talked about how to make a small space look bigger? One of the best ways to do that is by keeping the elements in the area cohesive. I’m still working on doing that throughout my house and switching out the doorknobs is one of those projects. I had a variety of knobs in our home, from brass to black to the silver handled type.

We have now replaced every one of them and I am truly amazed by the difference it made.

Installing these doorknobs with the base plates isn’t all that much different than changing out a regular doorknob. I’ll list the entire process here for anyone who has never changed a doorknob before (myself included!). These knobs also come with detailed how-to instructions and illustrations to make it even easier.

You Will Need:

Phillips head screwdriver

New door knobs

How To Change Out A Doorknob:

Remove the existing doorknob with a Phillips head screwdriver, the screws are on the inside of the door facing out. Also remove the latch plate and body. ( photo 1)

Install the latch, making sure the curved part is facing inside. (photo 2)

Next, insert the spindle while pushing down and holding the spindle button while at the same time pulling through on the other side until you feel it click in place. (photo 3)

Place the exterior half of the doorknob set onto the door and insert wood screws. When putting on the doorknob, make sure you can turn it easily before you screw the plate to the door. If it doesn’t, most likely the plate needs to move up a slightly (1/8th of an inch) so the latch is level. You’ll know it’s correct when the knob easily turns. (not pictured)

Be sure to notice on the knobs with locks, where the fitting is for the screw in the privacy pin. Make sure it’s on the inside of the door when installing. My husband made this mistake a few times.

Check that your base plate is level. (photo 4) Screw in the privacy pin if it’s a privacy knob.

Next, install the interior half of lockset by attaching with the woodscrews. (photo 5)

Lastly, attach the strike plate to the door jam using the 3/4″ long wood screws. (photo 6)

 

 

It’s really not too difficult of a process. You can also mix and match the doorknobs and baseplates from Nostalgic Warehouse under the “design your own” tab for a custom look. You can order them with our without the keyhole, I chose to go without it.

 

My knobs are called the New York knob with a Studio base plate. They have a modern vintage vibe.

 

One thing to note is that on a couple of our doors the existing hole for the knobs was slightly larger than the back plates covered. To correct that, I put a piece of painters tape onto the doorknob to protect it. Then I spackled and sanded the are and added a dab of touch up paint.

The finish on these knobs is Antique Brass.

 

 

You can see the true finish a little better in this close-up.

 

We’ve done a lot of improvements in our house, but I have to say these doorknobs are one of my favorites.

 

What one would you choose?

 

 

This post is in partnership with Nostalgic Warehouse, all opinions are my own. You can really my full disclosure here.