How to fix or replace the door handle?

[CaptainT]

Hi all,

I've recently moved into a new place and slowly trying to fix what I can.

I can't seem to lock the door for my laundry room. I press on the button thing, but it doesn't work. I'm not sure if the lock mechanism is broken and needs a new set or something else.

How would I remove this to check? and If I were to replace what should I be looking into or careful of before getting a new one?

[JacobZ]

Hi @CaptainT,

Thank you for your question.

I've had this exact issue at my home with a handle that looks extremely similar to yours.

In my case, the locking pin was threaded and just required turning clockwise to engage the thread and seat it correctly for operation. I would start by trying to rotate the pin to see if it will engage with a thread underneath.

If this is not the case, the next step would be to remove the cover plate from the door to see the hardware underneath. There may be an alignment issue that can be fixed without too much hassle. The cover plate, which I have circled below, can be removed by gently rotating and pulling away from the face of the door.

Once this is removed, you will be able to see the through bolts that connect this handle to the other side of the door. These bolts align the door handle with the internal mechanisms, so being too loose, or too tight can throw things out slightly. Playing around with the tension of these screws can often be the fix for common door problems.

If you try all of these and have no luck, these handles are very easy to replace, and would closely follow the steps in How to change a door knob, a handy article from my colleague @EricL.

Let me know how you go.

Jacob