Patio Door Handles

Patio door handles come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes but fortunately the mounting dimensions of locks that may look different can often be the same. This is especially true with surface mount types of patio door handles. The Mortise type locks can be a little more difficult because they are usually specific to manufacturers. There is a possibility that the lock is still made by suppliers such as CR Laurence so its important to take pictures and dimensions to help source a replacement.

Surface Mount Locks

Surface mount locks typically are screwed onto the face of the patio door frame. The lock is built into the handle. These are the easiest to replace because most of the time you just have to pull out 2 screws, remove the old handle and bolt on a new one. The bolts or screws that hold the locks on are often 4-15/16" apart. So any handle the has that hole spacing will bolt right on. Even if the spacing is different, you usually only have to drill one new hole in the door and fill or conceal one of the old screw holes.

If you have a dimension other than 4-15/16", you still might be able to find another lock but it may not be worth getting an exact replacement. If no one stocks the lock with the dimensions you have, consider drilling new holes and putting on an easily available 4-15/16" lock. This is easy when its a wooden patio door but you may need to get creative to hide the old mounting holes in you an aluminum or vinyl patio door.

Steel Mortise Locks

Mortised locks fit right into the frame of the door. On a wooden patio door a pocket is milled out of the sliding door panel frame and a mortise lock is slid in. The handle is installed and the lock actuator rod is slid through a hole in the door frame right into a hole in the mortise lock. On an aluminum patio door the mortise lock usually has a steel jacket to hold the mortise lock in. Again the handle is installed first by inserting the actuator rod through the frame and into the lock. Once you have the broken mortise lock removed you need to take a few quick measurements so you can source the manufacturer of the lock.

4. Name of the Manufacturer of the door to which a particular lock is unique.

If you dont have enough information, take a picture of the lock with your digital camera, this can be really helpful when trying to communicate which kind of lock you are looking for.





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