I caught a bit of luck in that the POs (Previous Owners) did not remove the antique pine front door and replace it with a Big Box pre-hung door. Of course the door was layered in paint and the original antique mortise lock was replaced with a typical off-the shelf lock for a bored-door.  This is the modern way in which locks are fitted to doors, while antique houses would largely have had their doors fitted with mortise or rim locks.

The not completely unattractive, but completely inappropriate track mansion lock

While the new lock was not completely unattractive (relatively speaking I suppose), it unfortunately meant that one of the POs bored a hole in the door, right through the mortise so that a modern lock could be installed. This meant that a antique mortise lock could not just be fitted into the door without repairing the hole that was made for the lock. Minor headaches, but not an impossible fix.

To fix the hole in the door, I had a local carpenter fix a “plug” to the diameter and width of the door. A bit of sanding, carpenters glue and wood epoxy and I had restored the door. Some chisel work removed wood from

Wood plug to fill bored door hole

the plug to restore the space for the mortise.

The inner workings of the lock are fascinating and it still has a solid and clean working mechanism.

The reason for all this was because I love house hardware and really wanted to make use of the antique bronze Eastlake styled mortise lock I picked up. It is a great piece of hardware made by Corbin in 1878 and matches some existing Eastlake hardware within the home.

Corbin apparently still manufactures door “furniture” (a UK and rarer Canadian usage) or hardware at a factory in Berlin Connecticut. The company started off as  Corbin Russwin in 1839 manufacturing plate locks.

The escutcheon plate has a swing key hole cover that is meant to prevent outside drafts. The inner workings of the lock are fascinating and it still has a solid and clean working mechanism. Of course, a deadbolt should be used for real “security”.

The anatomy of a mortise lock

Luckily, the mortise lock’s face plate fit my mortise well. It is important to get the “back-space”, that is the distance from your door’s edge to the centre of the door knob accurate if you are fitting a lock into an existing mortise. Since the door was bored, I could re-drill the appropriate length backspace into the new wood plug, meaning I did not have to endlessly search for the perfect mortise lock with the right backspace for my door.

Eastlake Corbin bronze hardware

Now I just have to get rid of that Big Box storm door...

After fiddling with repairing the door, it was simple to install the mortise lock, the escutcheon plate, attaching the door knobs to the spindle, securing the set screws on the spindle and enjoying a moment of amazement that a downtown Toronto dude once living in a concrete box on the 22nd floor of “apartmentopia” could somehow pull it off! Houses are fun that way. It was amazing how easy it was once the door was repaired. It just worked the way it was intended to. No headaches trying to force new hardware or materials that were not intended to be a part of an old house.

And done.

It is always exciting finding old hardware in your house that has been forgotten under layers of paint. Intricate Victorian designs in cast iron, brass and bronze give a house an incredible sense of character and it takes very little effort to refinish these antique pieces of your home.

Paint strippers can be used to quickly remove layers of paint. Make sure that you are familiar with the recommended precautions when removing old paint with a high likelihood of containing lead. Consult Health Canada and the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Company (CHMC) for recommended ways to remove lead paint in your home. Trisodium phosphate (TSP) dissolved in water can also be used to soften paint on larger items, such as heating grates, if left to soak overnight. Heating hardware in a utility pot of hot water to loosen paint is, perhaps, the safest, and most environmentally friendly, way to remove paint. Small tools can be used to remove paint from intricate detail.

Choosing the right antique or reproduction hardware will depend on the style and era of your home.

Strippers will not alter the aged patina on the metal and, in keeping with an old house look, items should not be highly polished when remounted. Some people may choose to highly polish items and lacquer them to maintain a bright finish. Lacquer may also be useful to prevent oxidization on cast iron items that are subject to a great deal of moisture, such as hinges on bathroom doors.

Antique hardware is often not any more expensive than good quality Victorian reproductions. Lost-wax cast reproductions of original designs can faithfully reproduce the intricate details and designs of Victorian hardware. Reproductions, however, lack the patina and soft finish of hardware that has been in service throughout the life of a century home. Reproductions can be matched with antique hardware that may have been damaged or has unfortunately been removed.

Choosing the right antique or reproduction hardware will depend on the style and era of your home. The final look will be far preferable to what passes for house hardware at the big box stores…