Back to KnowledgeBase Home
The door handle is the unsung hero of your day. It takes punishment day in and day out from angry openings and running way behind closings.
This level of use (and depending on the sort of day you've had... abuse) does mean that door handles can often fail and become faulty.
The short and sweet article answers 2 of the only things you probably want to know about when your composite door or UPVC door handle starts looking worse for wear...
1) Why is it broken?
2) How much is it to replace it?
In its simplest form, a door handle that you would find on your Composite or UPVC door will have three main parts.
- The handle, (fairly obvious this bit, that the part you grab hold of).
- The Escutcheon plate. This is the flat piece that sits on the face of the door, the handle is then attached to it.
- The internals. These can either be very simple or be made up of springs and small moving parts to help the handle operate.
The first and most common failure we see when helping customers is the failure of the internals. Due to most handles using plastic parts internally. These parts are prone to adverse effects from age, heat, and general use. In short, one day you will push down on your handle, the internals will crack or disintegrate, and then your handle will not spring back up to the normal, horizontal position.
The result is what we call a ‘sad’ handle which rests at a downward angle. Not exactly a picture of health!
The second and probably for our customers, the most frustrating failure is when you arrive home after a long day, grab hold of your door handle, begin to pull... and CRACK. The handle pulls straight out of its position in the escutcheon plate.
This is a fairly obvious fault, which usually means using the rear door of your home until a replacement handle can be installed.
Door handles come in a fantastically huge range of types, design colours and of course quality.
As a result, we cannot offer exact prices for every single handle choice, but below is a guide for a few of the most common variations…
A replacement high-quality pair of handles supplied and fitted handle for a UPVC / composite Door would be in the range of £90 to £110
A replacement low-quality pair of handles supplied and fitted handle for a UPVC / composite Door would be in the range of £70 to £90
If you looked at how swiftly and efficiently our service engineers install a new handle, you may think yes, it is an easy job. However, as with many things in life, the magic is in the preparation. The installation of a handle is in fact relatively simple, with some simple tools and a good DIY understanding it can be completed.
The knowledge comes into knowing the handle PZ measurement, whether it's sprung or not, and of course, if the handle has a single spindle or is a split spindle! These terms may seem a little alien, but they’re all needed to ensure the right handle is selected for your door.
Our service engineers are trained, knowledgeable and have the right tools and equipment to obtain these measurements quickly during our initial home visit – so don’t worry about learning the science of handles, we’re happy to help.
And remember, if you’re changing your door handle, why not change your letter plate at the same time to match...
We hope this article has made you more KnowledgeBase of your options when it comes to your front door handle queries.
If you have any further questions about condensation or window repairs in general or wish to speak to a member of the team then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at 01455 850282 or shoot us an email!
We look forward to helping you soon and remember - Why Replace... We Repair...
