Installing a door knocker is very easy and depending on the size of the knocker, should take no less than an hour. For obvious reasons installing a door knocker will differ from piece to piece.
Tools Needed:
- Drill with drill bits
- Multipurpose screw cutter
- Standard screw driver
- Phillips Screw Driver
- Tape Measure
- Bubble leveler
- Wood Pencil
- Safety Glasses
- Dusk Mask (not mandatory, but highly recommended)
- Stepstool or Ladder (optional)
1) Pick a location on the door that is comfortable to you and where you might think a standard door knocker would go. A good starting point will be between 60”- 70” from the base of the door.
2) Once the height is determined find the center of the door using the tape measure and mark that point with your pencil.
3) Take your door knocker and look at the mounting holes. This is where variables will come in to play. Sometime there may be two mounting holes and other times some door knockers come with three holes. I’m going to assume the door knocker we are mounting has two mounting holes. Find the center of your door knocker and place it directly over the mark you made that represents the center of your door. Take your pencil and mark the two holes where your mounting screws will go. You should now have three marks on your door. Make sure the holes line up vertical and are not crooked. You can use your bubble leveler to check the straightness of your holes. This is a critical part on the installation as you want to make sure the door knocker is mounted correctly. Nothing is worse than having a crooked door knocker…looks horrible! Take your time and get them aligned.
4) Now take your drill and drill bit and drill some pilot holes for the mounting screws. Be sure to choose the correct drill bit for your mounting screws. This will ensure that the screws will thread properly and are snug. This is a very important step when installing a door knocker.
5) Now that you have your pilot holes…open the door half way and straddle it so you can access both sides of the door. Place the two mounting screws into the door and place the door knocker over the screws. If your screws are too long than use your screw cutter to cut them to the right length. Then fit door knocker over the screw and tighten the screw by hand to start the threads. Use your screw driver to tighten both the top and lower screw. Be sure not to over tighten or strip the screws a minimal amount of force is needed.
That’s it…your done! Removing a door knocker will be just the reverse of the instructions. You will need to plug the pilot holes with either a paintable compound or decorative accents. If your replacing a door knocker you will just need to ensure the previous mounting screws are filled and painted to ensure a clean look. As you can see installing a door knocker is very easy. Here is also a installing a door knocker video to use as reference.