My non-DIY son has asked me to make a loose door closeable, but there are some problems.
The door leads down to his cellar (and isn't used much). This is a typical Cleckheaton terrace. The cellar is partly open at pavement level so the door opens in the wind. My first thought was a mortice latch, but though there is no security need I suspect it will need a proper mortice lock to stop it rattling.
You can see from the pictures the door used to have some kind of mortice lock. But the wood around it is in such poor condition as to be beyond reuse. But I don't think I can just make a new mortice a few inches above the old one. Every house I have been in has had the internal door handles at the same height. The new handle would be immediately adjacent to the dining room door handle, and having the two at close but unmatching heights is going to look eccentric. So maybe the solution is to put the new lock near the top of the door and use an unobtrusive round doorknob rather than a lever. Or maybe some kind of Yale lock.
I am also uncertain whether I need a narrow mortice lock or whether the door will take a standard size. Thickness of the door is 32mm.
I want to avoid any major cutting and hacking on that carved door frame. I am not a carpenter.
Advice appreciated. If anyone can recommend something I can get from Screwfix that would be a bonus.
The door leads down to his cellar (and isn't used much). This is a typical Cleckheaton terrace. The cellar is partly open at pavement level so the door opens in the wind. My first thought was a mortice latch, but though there is no security need I suspect it will need a proper mortice lock to stop it rattling.
You can see from the pictures the door used to have some kind of mortice lock. But the wood around it is in such poor condition as to be beyond reuse. But I don't think I can just make a new mortice a few inches above the old one. Every house I have been in has had the internal door handles at the same height. The new handle would be immediately adjacent to the dining room door handle, and having the two at close but unmatching heights is going to look eccentric. So maybe the solution is to put the new lock near the top of the door and use an unobtrusive round doorknob rather than a lever. Or maybe some kind of Yale lock.
I am also uncertain whether I need a narrow mortice lock or whether the door will take a standard size. Thickness of the door is 32mm.
I want to avoid any major cutting and hacking on that carved door frame. I am not a carpenter.
Advice appreciated. If anyone can recommend something I can get from Screwfix that would be a bonus.
