Which uPVC door handle do I need?

Door handles for uPVC and composite doors look interchangeable and are not. Three dimensions have to match, and a fourth decision — the spindle type — determines how the door behaves rather than whether the handle fits. Getting the spindle wrong is the reason for most of the returns.

Step by step

1. Measure the screw centres.Centre to centre between the two fixing bolts that pass through the door. 122mm covers the great majority of British uPVC and composite doors, but 92mm and 70mm exist and a handle with the wrong centres will not line up with the holes already drilled.
2. Measure the PZ.Centre of the square spindle hole to the centre of the keyhole. It must match the lock in the door — 92mm on most domestic doors, 62mm on many others. If the handle's PZ is wrong, the cylinder will not line up with the hole in the backplate.
3. Measure the door thickness.At the lock edge, with a tape or caliper. Add the thickness of both handle backplates. That total, plus a little, is the spindle length you need. Spindles can be cut down but not extended.
4. Decide solid spindle or split spindle.A solid spindle means lifting either handle throws the bolts, so the door can be locked and unlocked from outside using the handle plus the key. A split spindle means the outside handle does nothing until the key is turned, which stops anyone who reaches the handle from operating the lock.
5. Check what your door was designed for.Look at the old handle's spindle. If it is in two pieces with a shoulder, the door is a split-spindle door and it must stay one. Fitting a solid spindle to it removes a deliberate layer of security. Fitting a split spindle where the lock was never designed for it leaves the outside handle apparently broken.
6. Decide inline or offset.Inline handles have the lever and the keyhole on the same axis. Offset or 'cranked' handles move the lever clear of the keyhole. It is mostly aesthetic, but on a door with a very deep frame an offset handle can foul the reveal.
7. Check the security grade if this is a front door.Handles are made to graded standards, and higher grades add a hardened backplate that resists the attack used to snap a cylinder. On a front door, the handle grade and the cylinder standard work together; a high-grade cylinder behind a thin handle plate is only half the job.
8. Match the finish across the door.White, black, chrome, gold and anthracite are all common. Buy handles, letterplate, knocker and hinge caps together if several are being changed, because 'white' and 'chrome' vary noticeably between makers.

Common mistakes

• Buying by the picture — Handles that look identical come in three sets of screw centres and two PZ dimensions. Two measurements take a minute and prevent almost every wrong purchase.
• Reusing the old spindle without checking it — Spindles wear and twist, particularly on a door with a stiff lock. A tired spindle in a new handle produces a handle that feels loose from the first day.
• Overtightening the through-bolts — It pulls the backplates in against the spindle and makes the handle stiff. Tighten evenly, just until the plates stop moving.

Alternatives

• Lever/lever handle: A lever both sides. The usual choice for a back or side door where the door is opened from outside often.
• Lever/pad handle: A lever inside and a fixed pad or plate outside. The outside cannot operate the lock at all, so the door can only be opened from outside with the key. Common on front doors.
• Pull handle with a separate operating handle: A long bar pull outside with the lock worked entirely by key. Used where the door is a front door that is never operated by handle from outside.

Questions people ask