Door Knob Question

[Tom Winship]

I know, there is no such thing as a dumb question, but here is mine for the day...........

Is there such a thing a door locks for right or left hand doors. I just installed one pro bono for a friend of my wife's and when I finished everything was fine except that the key slot was 180 degrees off; i.e., the key teeth would be pointed down instead of up when installed. I actually took it apart to see if there was a way to turn it 180 but saw no way.

As you approached this lock/knob from the outside, it was on the right side of the door. If it had been on the left, this hardware would have been correct.

What did I miss?

[Lee Schierer]

I don't know what brand you have, but Schlage lock sets are able to be mounted two ways so the key teeth are always down. It is a simple matter of removing the two screws and rotating the unit 180 and putting the screws back in.

[Jason Roehl]

That's funny, Lee--to me, teeth-down is upside down. The vast majority of doors I've painted over the years have had locks (dead bolt and knob) installed so that the key goes in teeth up. I suspect the reason is so that dirt doesn't settle into the tumbler pins and springs.

I should also mention that most modern locksets I've seen are ambidextrous--the knob works the same no matter the orientation of the key teeth, and the strike mechanism can be flipped without a problem, either. Older locksets can be more finicky (though some modern ones are a pain to assemble, too).

[ray hampton]

I install a dead bolt up-side-down because for some reason it would not fit when install the right way

[Glen Butler]

Every knob I have ever installed was simply able to rotate 180 degrees to make it teeth up. You want teeth up as previously mentioned, not only for dirt, but also for wear. If any of the springs or pins wear and fail (A) gravity will keep the pins down and your tumbler locked and (B) you can still open your door.

[Lloyd Kerry]

But then, if you watch the movie "The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon, the controllers turn the know counter-clockwise, but one told Matt Damon humans could only turn the knob clockwise... Be wary... ;-)

[David Larsen]

Kwikset has a tool that you can stick inside the tumbler to release the cylinder. It will pop out when you release the tabs. Then you turn it 180 and push it back in. That way you can get all of your locks the same way. I put all of mine teeth up.

I am not aware of right and left locksets. BUT... if you ever install lever handles with locks, you will notice that some appear right side up and some appear right side down depending on the swing. If they are a simple passage lever, then it doesn't matter which side goes inside or outside the door. The levers have an allen screw that can be removed to pull the lever off and then can be switched with the other side to make them the same.

[Tom Winship]

Kwikset has a tool that you can stick inside the tumbler to release the cylinder. It will pop out when you release the tabs. Then you turn it 180 and push it back in. That way you can get all of your locks the same way. I put all of mine teeth up.

David, thanks, that was the answer I was looking for. Will see if I can get one.

[ray hampton]

David, thanks, that was the answer I was looking for. Will see if I can get one.

keep everyone inform as to your progress

[David Larsen]

This is what I have. Google youtube for how it is used. You can also do the same thing with a couple of narrow screwdrivers, but I have found that it is possible to pry the retaining clips a bit too far and damage them. The Kwikset tool lines them up enough just to release the pressure so that it falls loose easily.

http://www.amazon.com/Kwikset-81467-Cylinder-Remover-Kwik/dp/B00002N9WE (http://www.hardwareworld.com/Cylinder-Removal-Tool--Kwikset-pW3AVB0.aspx)