Replacing old door knob

[lamquoc]

I attempted to replace an old door knob at my mother's place, but could not complete it. There is no visible screws on it, but after I pried open the inside plate, I was able to remove the 2 screws. However, the knob refused to come off!
I thought of sawing it off, but didn't bring the tool. I've change several locks before, but this one gave me too much trouble. I'm curious of a clean way to remove it. If I can't find a solution by this weekend, I may have to saw it off.

Please help.
Thanks,
Lam :mad:

[cuedude]

Hello Lamquoc,

Welcome to the board. You may have an old Mortise type lock, but I need more information from you. What plate did you get off? Was it around the knob? Or on the edge of the door? One sure way to tell, look on the knobs (either one) next to the door. (Usually on the bottom) Is there an Allen type Set Screw? If there is, loosen/remove one, and the knob will either slide off, or unscrew. (Hold on to the other knob on the other side of the door as you pull/unscrew).

If the plate was near the door, you should be able to remove the knob. The only thing I can think of is that the screws you removed were actually not the securing screws. To determine this, look where the screws secured into. If you notice what looks like a "slot" on a screw, unscrew them, and the knobs should then come off.

That's all the posibilities I can think of without more information. Maybe some of the other Locksmiths out there have more ideas. Good luck with this, and please let us know how it works out.

cuedude

[lamquoc]

Cuedude,
It was the circular plate that was adhered to the door. After it was pryed open, I was able to see the screws. However there was noway for me to unsrew them given the short gap between the plate and the door. So I had to cut the plate off and took out the screws. After that, I was able to slide it out a little bit, but not coming off completely. Something was holding it in place!

One thing I noticed was the outside circular place was threaded into the cylinder. Does this ring any bell of what type of lock it is?

I didn't look for the allen screw. I will go back this weekend and look at it more careful.

Thanks,
Lam

[cuedude]

Cuedude,
It was the circular plate that was adhered to the door. After it was pryed open, I was able to see the screws. However there was noway for me to unsrew them given the short gap between the plate and the door. So I had to cut the plate off and took out the screws. After that, I was able to slide it out a little bit, but not coming off completely. Something was holding it in place!

One thing I noticed was the outside circular place was threaded into the cylinder. Does this ring any bell of what type of lock it is?

I didn't look for the allen screw. I will go back this weekend and look at it more careful.

Thanks,
Lam

Hi Lam,

I must admit, I'm really confused now. I see that after you got the plate off, the screws were in sight. However, you didn't have room to unscrew them? I don't understand. Are you working on the inside of the door? Or the outside? If you are working on the outside, shift your efforts to the inside. Also, I just thought you will have to remove the inside knob. Look for a little flat piece thich is spring loaded. (Can be depressed with a small-ish flatblade screw driver.)

Also, from your discription about the outside rose being threaded on to the cylinder, the most common is the Schlage A53PD which is threaded that way to allow for adjustment. (Not all doors are the same thickness.)

Let me know tomorrow what happens, and we'll take it from there.

cuedude

[Wreck]

Sounds to me like he needs to press in the retainer on the insdie knob to get it off. Apparently he bent the roses back enough to get to the screws out of the inside. And the knob won't come off so he can't pull it out. Thats what i'm getting out of it.

[lamquoc]

I worked from the inside.
Clarification, I couldn't get the plate off because the knob was on the way. I could only slide it out about an inch and half and peeked in to see the screws. I was able to take out the screws by drilling a hole in the plate and unsrew them.

It was hot the other day and I didn't exam it enough. I'll come back this weekend and look at the bottom to see if there is any hidden screws.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks,
Lam

[cuedude]

I agree with Wreck. It does sound to me like you have to take the inside knob off. Well, now we're getting somewhere. On the side of the knob, near the door, there will either be a little hole, or you may have one with a flat retainer. This looks like the very tip end of a flat blade screw driver, and is paralell with the door. If the plate has been removed, there should be no problem finding it. It is on the side, and could be on either side, left or right. Depress the retainer, and the knob should just pull off. This will save you a bunch of extra work trying to get those screws out. Again, good luck, and keep us posted.

cuedude

[lamquoc]

Finally I had more time to come back to my mom's place and examed the lock thoroughly. Yes, it did have a retainer. I depressed it and the inside knob came right off and the rest was history :)

The right sequence would have been:

depress the retainer while pulling out the inside knob
Slide off the insde plate
At this point, there are 2 visible screws. Unscrew them.
Pull the outside knob, the entire lock will come out.


Thanks cuedude and Wreck for taking time and answer my questions. You guys are experts.

This forum is excellent. I'm sure I will visit it often for other tips on other topics.

Thanks,
Lam

[cuedude]

Hi Lam,

Glad to have been of help. Most knobsets work this way. Others have exposed screws, and still others hide everything.

cuedude

[Wreck]

My pleasure also, that what we are here for.

[MJ Mattson]

Hi:

I am in the midst of trying to get what sounds like the exact same knob off a door....had to bend the plate to get to the screws...unscrewed those....knobs still in....the inside plate did "unscrew"....still no luck...do not have or see a small hole on the knob inside the door/room....also do not see (?) a retainer......what I am looking at now from the inside knob is a knob, then the loose plate then the "rings" where the plate unscrewed nd thatgoes into a flat silver surface that divides the round circle in half......not sure if this is the "retainer" you speak of.......if so I've tried depressing and nothing happens. Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated....

[WGW]

Hi MJ Mattson
The retainer being referred to is usually located on the part where the knob tapers and goes into the door. It is best depressed with a pin or paper clip. You should feel a slight spring pressure while pushing on it. Pull on the knob as you press the retainer and it should come off for you, then the rest of the removal is obvious.
If that does'nt work, try posting the make of the knobset your working on and that'll make things easier to get you through it. The manufacturer name is normally put on the latch faceplate, so you'd have to have the door open to see it.

Regards

[MJ Mattson]

Hi
don't really see a spot to use a paper clip or where to depress anything...I've pressed and pulled and pushed everywhere......this is crazy...I just completed an entire renovation on this room...it's a half bath..I relaminated a counter....tiled...painted....all stuff I've never done before and this darn door knob is gonna put me over the edge !! It's comical at this point.... anyway, the name on the latch is ABUS...no numbers just ABUS

[MJ Mattson]

Hello:

Well...I got it....!! There is a pin hole...it was being covered by the round plate....it pressed into that andthe knob came off...however did have to take the latch out in order for the whole thing to get out. Phew ....!! Thanks so much for taking the time to help with your advice...persistence is a good thing !

[pooktally]

Thank you all so much, I spent 60 minutes on a doorknob this am and until I read about the release I couldn't get it off! The next knob took 6 minutes :)

[schiejr]

Welcome to the forums, pookltally. Glad you found what worked. :thumbup:

[acarva01]

Welcome to the forums, pookltally. Glad you found what worked. :thumbup:

this was a great help to me. Had the same problem removing a dorr knob. Thanks all.

[Zenbeck]

so I spent 30 min today trying to get this door knob off and decided to take the advice I give my wife everytime she asks me a question I dont know the answer to. Google. I found this place and had the job finished in 5 min. thanks guys.

[MKWK888]

Well I've been at this for 3 days now, and I'm hoping someone can provide pictures or an even more detailed description of the "pinhole" or retainer that needs to be pressed. Ive pressed and pushed every hole,slot and opening that i can see and still nothing!!! help would be much appreciated.

thanks in advance

[GlobalLocky]

Well I've been at this for 3 days now, and I'm hoping someone can provide pictures or an even more detailed description of the "pinhole" or retainer that needs to be pressed. Ive pressed and pushed every hole,slot and opening that i can see and still nothing!!! help would be much appreciated.

thanks in advance

You'll kick yourself when you see how simple it is.

Call a professional!

[OddJobber]

Many thanks for this thread, I had the same problem. You guys are great!

[thaichi23]

Wow, you guys are seriously not giving directions in detail haha. I was about to break my dang door until I figured it out.

So, this "retainer" they are talking about is on the doorhandle itself. You do not have to take off the cover to see it so leave the cover on and do not pry it off. Grip the door handle like you are about to turn it and wherever your pointing finger knuckle is at is where the "retainer" is located at. You can get a flathead screw driver and push this little piece in while pulling out the door handle with your left hand to take the door handle out.

You then take off the plate, unscrew the two screws, and the outside doorknob should fall out. Simple. Easy. I don't know how else to explain finding the "retainer" because "inside", "inner," and what not are not clear directions.

[Unhandygal]

I happened upon your forum. Perhaps you can help me. I have been removing the interior door knobs in my house and replacing them with levers as my husband and I are in our 70's and we find the levers much easier to use. I've replaced doorknobs before with no problem - I mean in the past. I have replaced ten in the past weeks - also with no problem - but I have this one! It is identical to all the others. It has the protruding detent in the shaft of the knob that I easily depressed with a small screwdriver on all the other knobs. This one will not depress. I have pushed it so hard that it appears "mashed." Nothing works. If anyone has any advice, I would appreciate it.

[WGW]

Hi Unhandygal
Is the knob your trying to remove, one that works with a key?
If so, then you might need to put the key in and hold it in the turned position while you push on the retainer.

Let us know if that did the trick and we'll go from there.

Regards

[GlobalLocky]

If you are trying to remove the inside knob, for replacement....it would be okay to use a center punch (pin punch) and hammer on this retainer disc. Force it down then remove the knob. If after depressing the retainer, the knob still wont budge....it is likely that the shaft that the knob slides over is bent out of shape.

[kwalyuh]

Took me longer to find the paper clip than remove the old door knob. This forum is fantastic. Thanks!!

[verbal329]

So it sounds like I have a similar problem, except I can't find any sort of release mechanism behind the decorative face plate. The doorknob itself is wooden, or at least has a wooden face, mounted onto a metal neck that fits into the door mechanism. The necks have no set screws, or any screw at all for that matter, though a single metal pin does look like it was hammered into place at one time. I took a hammer to one of them, in reverse, and the pin came out rather cleanly, except I don't seem to have changed anything - the pin almost appears nonfunctional, as nothing has loosened as a result of removing the pin. The other pin (on the other neck) is still in place, as it seems much harder to dislodge without damaging the doorknob neck. I have photos I can send to anyone interested in helping out....

[GlobalLocky]

A picture would tell a thousand words

[schiejr]

Sometimes a knob can be tight on the spindle even with the pin removed. Picture posting is now allowed on the board so you could attach yours-if not here then on a new thread.

[verbal329]

Hi guys - see the image link below for pictures of the doorknob I'm trying to remove....
(I can't figure out how to post an image to this forum directly, and my image link from a moment ago didn't work either)
http://picasaweb.google.com/john.aldridge/DoorHardware

[GlobalLocky]

This knob is threaded and screwed onto the spindle. It is probably frozen or rusted or both.

You need to unscrew it to remove the knobs.

[verbal329]

So having removed the pin from the doorknob spindle on one side, I grabbed onto the wooden portion of the doorknob with a set of vise grips and pulled pretty hard - to no avail. (I protected the wooden part with a folded paper towel in between it and the vise grip jaws.) Any other thoughts on how this might come off? Even though I plan to replace the doorknob entirely, I hesitate to completely destroy it in the process of taking it off....

[GlobalLocky]

IT UNSCREWS!

Turn it counterclockwise!

[verbal329]

Sorry, that's what I mean - I grabbed with the vise grips and tried as hard as I could to unscrew it, counter-clockwise as facing the door. Do both doorknobs need to be un-pinned in order to get only one of them off? I still have one pin in place (on the other side of the door, it pertains to the other doorknob) that is hard to get out, it seems jammed in there. I've work on it with a finishing-nail punch and a hammer, but have only gotten the one pin out....I wonder if any pins remain, then the entire apparatus holds together?

[locksmith]

Some knobs like yours do not have threaded spindles. Spray penetrating oil into the hole left by the pin. Lay the door flat on the floor with a piece of wood under the bottom knob. Protect the upper knob with another piece of wood and lightly tap with a hammer or mallet. Look into the hole left by the pin. If it is blocked then the knob has moved indicating that the spindle is not threaded and these knobs pull apart without unscrewing. If the knob did not move on the spindle then try unscrewing the knobs again. The oil and tapping may have dislodged the corrosion that has "cemented" the knob to the spindle.

[GlobalLocky]

I'm not in the butchery business, but if you plan to dispose of the knobs, you might consider drilling a 1/2" hole in one of the knobs and attempting to punch the spindle out with a hammer and cold chisel (use a 1/4" cold chisel - will fit in 1/2" hole).

Drill the hole center of knob in middle of end.

Whereas it is possible that there is no thread, like the other poster says, I think it will more likely be threaded.

Opinions vary.

[lazifaire]

Because the glass handles fall out of two of my doorknobs (despite being glued repeatedly), I want to replace these doorknobs but cannot figure out how to do it. In one case, the screws are evident, and the knob is easy to remove. In the second case, however, nothing shows except for the plate (which fits tight against the door) and a small hole that is concealed when the glass part of the knob is in place. The carpenter first tried to pry the plate from the door, but he was damaging a very expensive solid wood door, and I made him stop. Then we tried to put an allen key into the hole, but that didn't work either. Nothing happened. Neither of us know how to solve the problem. Can you offer any assistance? Thanks.

[GlobalLocky]

some trim plates, simply unscrew....but I assume the problem is also getting the knob off?

Then there are others that only the knob comes off one side with the spindle permanently attached to the other side.

[lazifaire]

Both knobs fall off, but the plate stays on. Visible in the center of the plate (going into the door) is a hole. No spindle is visible on either side of the door. Ever seen one of this type?

[antihousemate]

so i read (and reread) all the posts on this forum, but cant actually figure out how to remove my screwless doorknob. which happens to be the only one without screws in the apartment. boo.
i spent a long time trying to find the 'retainer,' and bent back part of the ring around the knob in that attempt -- i found a couple indents in there, but pressing on them did nothing, it didnt look like they connected to anything underneath. i dont know what else to do.
here are pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/laurbackes/Knob#

please help!

[Gunguy45]

Antihouse..

Well, it could be more difficult now...

Your trim ring just pops off the backing plate, thats what the dimple is. If you pryed between the door and the trim ring (it's really thin) you'd pop it right off. But no holes/tabs in the shaft of the handle? Thats kinda strange. If I was there, I'd have it in 2 seconds, but I'm really not an Expert.

I can't tell you w/o seeing a hole or tab and saying "push right there!" Give the Pro's a while to check in.

btw, It's always better to start a new thread than to add on to another, keeps everything nice and neat.

[GlobalLocky]

Some modern versions of Kwikset handles do not have retainer pins or discs. The handles are held to the door fixing plate by a clip underneath the rose.

If you pry the rose from the door, it will stay around the throat and expose a lever on the side of the fixing plate. You might need to lever this lever clockwise or counter clockwise depending on the handing....to remove the handle from the door.

[antihousemate]

yepppp.... definitely a lever. thanks!!

[Gunguy45]

Wow, didn't think that knobs that looked that old used the quick install mounts. Guess they still have the old designs for people that like them.

[AcesDwn]

I know this post is at least 3 months old, but I just HAD to add this. I hope it helps someone as this post helped me a TON!!

I have several doorknobs of the 60's Era in my house.
They look like this: (Sorry pic is huge)
http://www.pwbs.com/images/60s%20doorknob.jpg

I found that what looks like a "Screwdriver" retaining clip is really not so.
The little round hole is what you need to use.
Find a sturdy piece of metal (I used a T7x1-1/2" Torx screwdriver. I DONT RECOMMEND THIS, but it's all I had)
You have to:
1) turn the doorknob so you can see an opening.
2) Place your sturdy piece of metal in the hole to release the retainer.
3) Lightly pull on the knob while removing your sturdy piece of metal.
4) Knob should now slide off.
5) What looked like a screwdriver retainer is now what is holding the knobplate on. A slight wiggle is all it took to remove it at my house, but maybe a flathead screwdriver would help.
6) The 2 screws to remove the handle should now be exposed and easy to access.....

I followed every piece of advice in this post tonight. (12/11/08) and it didn't work UNTIL I discovered the "Turning of the doorknob exposed the retaining clip opening" .

Hope it helps someone, and I post this because I thank this post for helping me...

Thanks