Everything you need to know about finding a door handle supplier

Door handles may be a subject you have not considered in detail before, but take a look around and you will soon notice that they are a small but vital part of your everyday life.
Even the seemingly simple issue of what type of door handles to choose in a particular situation is surprisingly complex because there are so many variables to take into consideration. The type, style, functionality, security, look, feel and of course price all need to be assessed before making the final decision.

Common Door Handle Types

While there are many exotic styles, we’ll stick to the most popular and explore the two main types of handles commonly available.

Ball Type Door Handles

There are advantages and disadvantages to using ball type door handles. For interior and exterior use, this type of handle has some distinct advantages by being:

Compact: they do not protrude or intrude into the room.
Matching: easily colour coordinated to minimise visual impact.
Easy to clean: allowing hygiene standards to be more easily maintained.
Useful: on bi-fold, louvre and sliding doors because they can be pulled in any direction.

Some minuses of ball type door handles include:

Grip: they can be frustrating with wet or slippery hands.
Difficulty of operation: especially for the aged, disabled and small children.
Durability: as they can be more easily bent or loosened due to multi-directional use

Lever Type Door Handles

The lever handle also has many plusses and minuses, and comes in a huge variety of materials and styles including aluminium, brass, plastic, chrome plated and steel to name but a few. The biggest advantages are:

Leverage: they can be opened with several parts of the body including elbows, chins and even feet.
Strength: they can be installed on heavy doors without compromising ease of opening.
Locking options: there are many more ways of securing lever type door handles

A few minuses include:

Not ambidextrous: whichever way the handle faces will cause issues with both left and right handed users.
Clothing hazard: can catch onto sleeves and other parts of garments damage and even bruising of skin.
Lack of camouflage: these door handles are usually quite large and stick out into the room both physically and visually

Door Handle Availability and Choice

Door handles of all types can be ordered online or bought in hardware or other stores. As mentioned before choice is vast, so it’s best to begin online and research the available options there and then go out and look at physical examples so that you can view them.

It is surprising how many doors a house can have, so when determining how many you need, don’t forget about your wardrobe, linen closet and hall closet doors.

Many people feel obliged to stick to one type of door handle throughout the whole home, but this is by no means a rule. In fact, when you take into account the above list of pros and cons, you can see that it’s a good idea to select a door handle for a particular location or situation.

There are so many ways to make a door both functional and aesthetically attractive that it’s worth the effort to take extra time to choose the door handles you will be using every day in your new or renovated home.