There are two main styles of commercial door hardware, mortise and tubular. A majority of the door hardware on the market and installed into homes is tubular. There are three main pieces to a door lock-set: the latch that slides into the door and the two knobs for either side of the door. Mortise locks have a lock box that is installed into the door and is more complicated in the installation process. For this reason, mortise locks are more expensive and are mainly used on front entry doors.
Door trims are reversible meaning that they can be installed on a left-handed or right-handed door. To determine the handing of the door, stand outside of the door looking inside. From this viewpoint, if the hinges are on the right, then it is a right-handed door and if the hinges are on the left it is a left-handed door.
Door hardware is sometimes overlooked by homeowners and builders. A majority of homeowners and builders are unaware of all of the options available to them as hardware consumers. For example, you would not necessarily need to have a locking door knob or lever on a laundry room door. There are three main functions of these door knobs: passage, privacy and dummy knobs. Passage sets has a basic interior latching function without a lock for a closet or pantry. Privacy sets have a lock on one side but have emergency access from the exterior and are used on bedroom and bathroom doors. Dummy sets are fixed knobs that do not turn and are most common on French-style closet doors or the inactive door of a set of double doors, possibly entering the master suite.
